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Post by SoCalChevy on May 17, 2015 1:10:21 GMT -5
I'm in college, and I feel like I'm one of "the right people" when I get riffs about things from the sixties and seventies. I know that many of the workd being referenced were popular at the time. But I feel like not many college students would get references to "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," or "Sixteen Tons." So, is it possible to be one of "the right people" if you get riffs that are really only obscure among people in your age group?
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Post by kmorgan on May 17, 2015 16:28:18 GMT -5
I figure it is. As a kid, I'd watch WB cartoons and get references to the World War II era, or listen to comedy albums from the '60's and get cultural references there, that others in my age group had no knowledge of at all. It's not the age or peer group that matters; it's your own level of knowledge, plus your desire to check on something you may not understand to broaden that level.
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torm
Anteater
Posts: 10 
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Post by torm on May 17, 2015 22:11:50 GMT -5
ive never felt that being one of "the right people" as joel says involves getting all the references. i always figured it was more about just enjoying the show in general. to answer your question, i watched a lot of mst3k with my dad who caught most of the references, so i feel i have a generally good grip on what they are reffing for the most part. there are some times where i truly miss a reference (it's usually jokes that are plainly products of their time, like commercial quotes)
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Post by outlawofmitchell on May 18, 2015 8:40:52 GMT -5
A couple of years ago, I introduced the show to some friends of various ages younger than me. It was such a success, we started watching it every Sunday for four years until we had seen them all, not including the KTMA episodes. It was an amazing experience. Beer helps.
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Post by toonfeline on May 18, 2015 17:44:07 GMT -5
Regardless as to whether or not people in your generation understand references to certain riffs, there's no need to be ashamed for being the only one who gets it. As Kmorgan stated, it's more about knowledge on the references than it is about age.
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Post by SoCalChevy on May 19, 2015 9:31:43 GMT -5
Regardless as to whether or not people in your generation understand references to certain riffs, there's no need to be ashamed for being the only one who gets it. As Kmorgan stated, it's more about knowledge on the references than it is about age. I'm not ashamed, I'm glad. |
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Post by Mod City on May 19, 2015 10:03:23 GMT -5
ive never felt that being one of "the right people" as joel says involves getting all the references. i always figured it was more about just enjoying the show in general. to answer your question, i watched a lot of mst3k with my dad who caught most of the references, so i feel i have a generally good grip on what they are reffing for the most part. there are some times where i truly miss a reference (it's usually jokes that are plainly products of their time, like commercial quotes) That's how I've always viewed it. I think "the right people" is more about the general disposition of the viewer and whether or not they have an appreciation for the type of humor, not really that they will get every joke. Nobody gets every reference, plain and simple, and if they tell you they do, they're lying. |
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Post by Mike Flugennock on May 20, 2015 20:28:44 GMT -5
Perhaps there was a time when, for the most part, pop culture references from a certain era were only understood by people who grew up in or about that time -- at least, generally. I was a young boy in the '60s and a teenager in the '70s, but in high school and college I developed an appreciation for movies, TV and music from the '30s, '40s and '50s, so I understood a lot of references to the pop culture of that era. In fact, it was my love of '50s and early '60s "B" horror/sci-fi flicks, first acquired as a teenager watching the Saturday night "creature features" on local TV, that primed me for MST3K. Still, it was fairly difficult back then, having to depend largely on radio and TV as a source of vintage music, TV and films.
I think one of the cooler byproducts of the Internet and DVD re-issues of classic TV and films -- preceeded by cable TV and commercial VHS re-issues -- is that now there are generations whose parents were in diapers in the '70s and early '80s who get all the pop culture references from the '50s and '60s.
Case in point: I was at a meeting with some activist cohorts of mine recently, many of whom are in their 20s and early 30s; during a discussion, I dropped a joke with a Gilligan's Island reference in it, and pretty much all the grad students and early 30somethings totally got it. I was surprised for just a moment until I remembered that Gilligan's Island was one of those shows that went on to become a legend even after it was cancelled (like another comedy show we know and love), and that pretty much the entire series run of Gilligan's Island can be had on DVD, or YouTube, or Netflix, or Hulu, and that when these 20/30somethings were young kids, their parents probably watched old episodes on VHS.
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Post by Mike Flugennock on May 20, 2015 20:33:41 GMT -5
ive never felt that being one of "the right people" as joel says involves getting all the references. i always figured it was more about just enjoying the show in general. to answer your question, i watched a lot of mst3k with my dad who caught most of the references, so i feel i have a generally good grip on what they are reffing for the most part. there are some times where i truly miss a reference (it's usually jokes that are plainly products of their time, like commercial quotes) That's how I've always viewed it. I think "the right people" is more about the general disposition of the viewer and whether or not they have an appreciation for the type of humor, not really that they will get every joke. Nobody gets every reference, plain and simple, and if they tell you they do, they're lying. Hodgson gave a really excellent interview on the "Nerdist" podcast about a year or so ago, where he mentioned that if you're watching MST3K and you wait long enough, you'll hear "your joke" (as he likes to call it) -- that is, if you're a sciencey type, or a computer geek, or a film aficionado, or a '60s rock'n'roll freak, sooner or later "your joke" will come around. Of course, for me, pretty much every joke on MST3K is "my joke". I don't know what that says about me... |
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Post by piccolo on May 21, 2015 20:40:34 GMT -5
I really like the older pop culture references. It has made the show improve with age as I get older and have a broader outlook. Plus, the references fit with the whole puppet show/B-movie host feel of the show, which itself is pretty retro as a concept.
Edit: So, certainly anybody with an open mind and love or interest in pop culture will appreciate it, regardless of age, although there are also "broader" jokes for everyone as well.
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Post by Afgncaap5 on May 22, 2015 1:14:17 GMT -5
I think "right people" is more about the individual jokes than the show itself, honestly. If the host or bots say something that you don't understand, that's fine... wait another minute or two, you'll get it.
Also, general tone in general is a great way to think about the show.
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