Reagan Rock and The Cold War.

[padraig (u.s.)]

the main underpinnings fears now are climate change apocalypse (represented as zombies or what have you), terrorism, etc

(terrorism does exist in 80s action but it's cartoonish, like Hans Gruber in Die Hard, not serious)

the violence is (nominally/stylistically at least) realistic, whereas in the 80s realistic violence was reserved for serious films like Platoon

the pure escapism of 80s action has moved on to comic book movies; Rambo (at least in II + III) having been basically a very dour superhero

it's hard to make cartoonish war movies when your country has spent the last 20 years fighting a very real (if far away) war

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

Martin had a good post that I guess he deleted which I'll still try to address, from memory

basically, why does 80s weightlifting now seem like the province of tough guys, whereas now it isn't necessarily?

for one, I don't think that was ever true in either case

but also, it's a few things - a huge one I'd say is class

up until pretty recently lifting weights was seen - outside of sports - as mostly a blue-collar thing

80s yuppie fitness was running, squash, etc. for women, aerobics, Jazzercise.

whereas Crossfit and things like it are 100% the province of yuppies. they are, like high quality food, fucking expensive.

also, they're part of the great drive for efficiency. the optimization of fitness, as all other things.

being tough in a fighting sense and being tough in grinding out workouts, staying disciplined etc are not the same thing

tho they do overlap - the blue-collar toughness has moved, again, into things like mixed martial arts (as has always been the case with boxing)

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

the serious pursuit of fitness is similar does require an intense of amount of discipline, and a risk of injury

but getting punched in the face is a different thing. it's not something people generally choose as a career if they don't have to.

so that's my answer, I think.

 

[padraig (u.s.)]

if you want to see a truly perverse historical phenomenon related to physical activity, consider rowing

for virtually all of human history it was considered so terrible an occupation that it could only be done by slaves, or men under some other extreme duress

nowadays, it's the final sport that at the collegiate level is almost exclusively the province of the most elite universities in the U.S. and UK

it's something that never fails to astound/amuse me

 

[DannyL]

Chest beating. Bellowing. Taking up too much space.

You ever heard Ted Nugent? I remember reading an interview in Grand Royal and it just made no sense to me. Just didn't jump the Atlantic barrier. Loud, shouting, white (but not in the deliberately racist way like the current crop of cunts)

 

[DannyL]

Read more of the thread now... What is interesting to me is how phenomena like Brexit and Trump are absent from cultural discourse in terms of sublimination into music etc. There isn't a wave of anti-Brexit sentiment expressed in song. Culture seems to have changed. Either music is less important or its the fact that you can just get on the Internet and fight the culture war directly, Idk.
..

 

[luka]

You ever heard Ted Nugent? I remember reading an interview in Grand Royal and it just made no sense to me. Just didn't jump the Atlantic barrier. Loud, shouting, white (but not in the deliberately racist way like the current crop of cunts)

I read that too. I'm pretty sure he's been invited to the trump White House. I remember seeing some funny photos.

 

[luka]

Here we go. Kid Rock and Sarah Palin were there for this special occasion too.

https://www.businessinsider.com/sarah-palin-ted-nugent-kid-rock-trump-white-house-2017-4?r=US&IR=T

 

[luka]

the main underpinnings fears now are climate change apocalypse (represented as zombies or what have you), terrorism, etc

(terrorism does exist in 80s action but it's cartoonish, like Hans Gruber in Die Hard, not serious)

the violence is (nominally/stylistically at least) realistic, whereas in the 80s realistic violence was reserved for serious films like Platoon

the pure escapism of 80s action has moved on to comic book movies; Rambo (at least in II + III) having been basically a very dour superhero

it's hard to make cartoonish war movies when your country has spent the last 20 years fighting a very real (if far away) war

https://www.dissensus.com/showthread.php?t=15178

 

[luka]

Read more of the thread now... What is interesting to me is how phenomena like Brexit and Trump are absent from cultural discourse in terms of sublimination into music etc. There isn't a wave of anti-Brexit sentiment expressed in song. Culture seems to have changed. Either music is less important or its the fact that you can just get on the Internet and fight the culture war directly, Idk.
..

I think the most powerful moments culturally are when a group of people go, don't look over there, don't give your attention to the spectacle, it's a vampire-parasite.

weve found this better game to play, come and take loads of lovely drugs with us and dance around like a lunatic.

 

[luka]

The really potent cultural expressions are never protest in a straightforward 'here's a song I wrote about Vietnam' way

 

[luka]

There are wresting of a whole generations attention away from the grubby power struggle.

 

[yyaldrin]

i know this is not the kind of rock that we are talking about but the lyrics are very relevant. plus, it's a gorgeous song. we share the saaaaaaaaaame biology, regardless of ideology.

Slappy
Slappy
5 maanden geleden
I remember I was standing guard duty one night in 1986, watching the snow fall and listening to the radio, when this song came on, and I though, "Yeah, me too".
50

 

[DannyL]

I think the most powerful moments culturally are when a group of people go, don't look over there, don't give your attention to the spectacle, it's a vampire-parasite.

weve found this better game to play, come and take loads of lovely drugs with us and dance around like a lunatic.

What is the game that young people are playing now? I don't know.

Agree that straight forward protest songs are frequently rubbish and aren't the best expressions of a moment, but to me it does seem weird and notable that cultural dissent isn't meditated via music in the way it was when I was young.

 

[luka]

What is the game that young people are playing now? I don't know.

Agree that straight forward protest songs are frequently rubbish and aren't the best expressions of a moment, but to me it does seem weird and notable that cultural dissent isn't meditated via music in the way it was when I was young.

There isn't one. This is what Barty keeps saying. There's a complete convergence in the way accelerationism always advocated. There's no oppositional element in culture anymore. There is only one thing not two things.

 

[luka]

No Man and no stuffing it to The Man. Just the runaway forces of history. Just the same but different novelty machine of capitalism.

 

[pattycakes_]

everything is outlandishly unrealistic. the good guys are 100% good, the bad guys cartoonishly evil. it's basically agitprop.

Exactly. The Military Industrial Complex took over showbusiness in the 80s.

 

[luka]

Exactly. The Military Industrial Complex took over showbusiness in the 80s.

The thumbprint of the same super villains is as obvious on black panther and other marvel films as it ever was on Rambo.

 

[pattycakes_]

Yeah and The Iron Sheik in wrestling etc etc. The claws were fully dug in.

 

[DannyL]

There isn't one. This is what Barty keeps saying. There's a complete convergence in the way accelerationism always advocated. There's no oppositional element in culture anymore. There is only one thing not two things.

Any threads discussing this? It feels intuitively right though.