mildlysardonicthoughtdump

[mildlysardonicthoughtdump]

You know what I miss....

I really miss conversations consisting of equal parts pop culture quotes/references & sardonic mockery.

When I say 'pop culture quotes' I'm not referring to the almost universal but, for the most part, short lived quotes from the likes of The Fast Show, Harry Enfield, Peter Kay, Catherine Tate & whatever Sacha Baron Cohen's latest 'just short enough of offensive to broadcast' character of the month was... whose shows seemed to be simply 'catchphrase generators' meant to give the general public something to shout at each other ad infinitum for a few weeks until they were, inevitably, replaced by the next 'mildly-humorous-at-the time-but-quickly-becoming-annoying' one, two (or if the writers put the coke down long enough...) three word phrase to bounce around the workplace & keep the 'artist' in question relevant enough to beg another season.

No!

I'm talking about the quotes & references from tv shows, books & movies that have become so beloved & iconic, no matter how small the fandom may be, that in certain cases a single word can communicate your love of a particular property to any other fan that happens to be in the vicinity. Say "Shiny" in a packed room with the right inflection & watch the heads of every Browncoat there swivel in your direction. Say "Geronimo" or "Allons y" & you've just let every Whovian in attendance have a brief glimpse into your preference of Doctor.

What I'm talking about are book series from the likes of Douglas Adams & Terry Pratchett. Tv shows such as Scrubs, Firefly, Doctor Who, Animaniacs, Star Trek, Red Dwarf, Freakazoid & Tiny Toon Adventures. Renowned films ranging across genres from The Lost Boys & The Crow to Blazing Saddles & Ghostbusters. The Back to the Future Trilogy, Star Wars, Flash Gordon, Con Air, Rocky Horror, Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, Every Monty Python movie... all the way to the more cult end of the spectrum such as Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse to barely known flicks like Airheads & Ski School.

Despite the different mediums & genres, the main thing that all of these have in common (as well as many others not mentioned) is that they're all so damn quotable. Incidentally, another commonality is that the majority were created & aired in the 1970's, 80's & 90's. Whether it was due to my age at the time I initially watched them or because the writing & performances were just better back then I don't know... but, with the possible exception of Game of Thrones & certain movies from the MCU,... there just don't seem to be as many movie/tv lines that embed themselves in the mind these days. (As I type this there's actually a Writer's strike going on... unlike the previous one back in the 90's(?)... I wonder if these guys actually deserve the raise tbh)

Take something with a fairly wide fanbase like, say, Red Dwarf. Any casual watcher who enjoyed it at the time will happily call you a Smeg Head if you happen to mention the show in passing... those of us whose fandom is a little more 'rabid' could tell you what Kryten says the apple is when Lister is teaching him to lie (in the episode 'Camille')... *answer at the end of the post for anyone interested... not that anyone but me will ever read this drivel.

The point is that even the most casual of fans can throw out quotes to the above at the drop of a hat...

To get back to my original point (it had to happen eventually)... the conversations I miss having were with friends who were far more than casual fans. These were friends with whom I could throw out an obscure line from an episode of Freakazoid & they'd instantly come back with the response... completely screen accurate... with the perfect timing & inflections. Someone could be getting increasingly frustrated about a printer spitting out endless blank sheets of paper & another friend would comment that "Mr Flibble's very cross"... instantly, the mood of the entire room would lift as we all giggled our collective tits off & the quotes bounced back & forth like tennis balls. I miss standing at the lift with my old next door neighbour (an absolute authority on all things WB animation) & waiting until one of us inevitably cracked & had to say "Elelator go down the hole" which would be instinctively followed by the other uttering "I push the button... my turn, not your turn, my turn... I push the button"!

There's a certain type of person that loves their fandoms (obsesses?) enough that these lines so easily drip into their subconscious & become an integral part of their lexicon, especially when surrounded by the like minded.

I used to spend a lot of time with these people. It was comfortable. Conversation was light & easy because we 'belonged'. Unfortunately, life happens... people drift, circumstances change, new situations create changes in social circles... we end up with different groups &, often, struggle to find that 'belonging' again. Not because these new groups aren't nice, kind, sociable & welcoming people... but simply because they're not 'our' people. We can always find common ground if we try hard enough but it's often not enough common ground to sustain any meaningful communication & certainly not the 'light, easy & comfortable' communication that makes you feel that you are part of the 'tribe'... warm, welcomed & wanted... we, inevitably, end up on the outskirts of these groups, unable to get past much more than a greeting & a minute or 2 of small talk before moving on. We find ourselves, over time, with fewer & fewer invitations to social gatherings &, possibly worse, we find ourselves not wanting to go anyway.

These days we have the wonderful dumpster fire that is the internet. We can find all of our fandoms & shared interests with a tap. We find 'our people' are everywhere... in all the remote corners of the world. The friends we've drifted from are right there on social media. But.... it's just not the same as being there, in the room, making casual, off-the-cuff, random references to a common love, in the complete & total knowledge that the person next to you just 'gets it'... & you... & I miss that!

The sardonic mockery that made up the remainder of these conversations is another story entirely... maybe one day.

*the apple in question was described as "The Bolivian Navy on maneuvers in the South Pacific"