This weekend, in a fit of abject boredom, I broke down and did something I haven’t done in nearly a decade: I put a VHS tape in my cassette player. (Yes, I’m aware that I’m behind the times, but I use the VCR as a video router to keep all my antediluvian video equipment in line. Until last Christmas, my television only had coaxial inputs.) In any case, ancient tech or not, large portions of Heavy Metal still have the same punch as back in ’82, especially the last 30 minutes of the film, with Taarna’s fully orchestrated battle against the armies of the Loc-Nar and their cyborg leader. Even 30 years later, I still got literal goosebumps as the injured bird-creature lifted her into the air the last time, and the echoing cries of the Loc-Nar filled the world, and I once again remarked what a shame it is that so much of the movie’s early going is filled with boobie shots and adolescent humor…
The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) by the power of the glowing Loc-Nar, placed in your hand, commands you, come forth, Ulu’thc, asking: How do you deal with the embarrassing bits in your favorite pop culture?
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Put him on the podcast and let him write for the site… BA-ZINGA!
Cringe.
There a lot of good movies from the 80’s that fun movies, but are quite dated in terms of cheesy dialog and special effects. Still, they are fun movies, but cringe-worthy at times.
I just pretend Jar Jar was at the exact spot where the Death Star laser hit Alderaan.
Embrace them. Those little glitches in taste are after all part of the fun of the pop culture to begin with.
Accept them fully. They are a part of something you love and give it its personality.
Laugh them off. There’s really nothing else I can do about it.
Wallow in them. Defend them as the BEST parts of certain bits of pop culture. If you don’t think Streaky the Super Cat and Beppo the Super Monkey are awesome parts of the Superman mythos, if you think they are ‘stupid’ then maybe you are an enemy of fun.
Hair metal produced some great records as silly as the outward appearance often was. Stay Hungry, and Pyromania are two of the best records of the 80s.
I guess my point is that ’embarrassing’ elements are often at the heart of the things we love, and distancing ourselves from those elements can strip the guts out of a concept. Think of all the attempts at a ‘serious’ Captain Marvel/Shazam. Usually falls flat.
1. By being a closet fan “What me? I totally don’t like that.”
2. Ignoring it “Han shot first!”
3. If I am being lambasted over said content, using the old school yard tactic finding something lame about what the other person likes and using it to change the topic. “Yeah, well Dr. Who is stupid!”
I remind myself or others about what I like that is an awesome or at least not embarrassing part. For example, I like anime. 60 percent of people who don’t know anime that well picture either dragonball z, some cutesy girl anime, or flat out anime-porn. I show them that there is cool to anime.
Yeah, I am into One Piece. For those unfamiliar, it gets great, but the first 10 to 15 episodes are a bit arduous. But when you get to the end of Enel’s Lobby, or the Whitebeard War, you get a huge payoff for the investment. Even early on there is an emotional investment in Arlong’s arc
So yeah, the fact that it takes 20 half hour episodes to wind up for its 500 episode length is a bit much for some people. But my wife trusted me when I told her it turned awesome.