Do young people today know about shows like The Young Ones..
Discussion
or The A Team for instance?
A work colleague tells me that his 15 year old son had no idea who Mr T is which I found baffling as Mr T and the A Team were one of the great pop culture icons of a generation.
I grew up in the 90's but watched all sorts of older shows, like The Young Ones and then the following day at school a bunch of us would be talking about it.
Is it still a rite of passage to watch films like Alien, The Terminator or Predator? Or have things moved on for the kids of today?
Are films like Labyrinth or The Goonies still popular with kids growing up today?
A work colleague tells me that his 15 year old son had no idea who Mr T is which I found baffling as Mr T and the A Team were one of the great pop culture icons of a generation.
I grew up in the 90's but watched all sorts of older shows, like The Young Ones and then the following day at school a bunch of us would be talking about it.
Is it still a rite of passage to watch films like Alien, The Terminator or Predator? Or have things moved on for the kids of today?
Are films like Labyrinth or The Goonies still popular with kids growing up today?
I think a lot has moved on, presumably because there’s so much more media available to consume. I’m not sure that kids today would be able to relate to 70s TV content anyway, would they?
My kids (6 and 10) rarely watch TV programmes at all, and never ‘when it’s on’ it’s always watching things on-demand. So I guess that pattern of ‘what was on last night’ doesn’t really exist any more…
To add… I think Predator/Terminator etc will all be old news. Presumably there are more recent equivalents they might want to watch, to be fair I am nearly 42 and have never seen any Terminator films myself either…
Although, bizarrely, my oldest was a big fan of the original Italian Job and Cliff Richards ‘Summer Holiday’ when he was about 6 years old…
My kids (6 and 10) rarely watch TV programmes at all, and never ‘when it’s on’ it’s always watching things on-demand. So I guess that pattern of ‘what was on last night’ doesn’t really exist any more…
To add… I think Predator/Terminator etc will all be old news. Presumably there are more recent equivalents they might want to watch, to be fair I am nearly 42 and have never seen any Terminator films myself either…
Although, bizarrely, my oldest was a big fan of the original Italian Job and Cliff Richards ‘Summer Holiday’ when he was about 6 years old…
Edited by johnpsanderson on Tuesday 5th December 20:27
Edited by johnpsanderson on Tuesday 5th December 20:29
I have been teaching my Grandson at 2.5 years . Thunderbirds, Stingray and a bit of Mysterons, albeit you have to choose them , some of them even scare me .
When he was younger I introduced him to Trumpton and Camberwick Green
All originals none of the new stuff.
He utterly loves Thunderbirds, I have got him a TB 2 and a Stingray sub from E bay.
His mum and dad tell me none absolutely none of his similar age friends or their parents have any idea what it is .
Trumpton is fantastic TV for really little kids , it's so well made , great tunes for kids and lovely little stories . It's not all pink or green and shouting, like modern kids TV. Add original Postman Pat too.
When he was younger I introduced him to Trumpton and Camberwick Green
All originals none of the new stuff.
He utterly loves Thunderbirds, I have got him a TB 2 and a Stingray sub from E bay.
His mum and dad tell me none absolutely none of his similar age friends or their parents have any idea what it is .
Trumpton is fantastic TV for really little kids , it's so well made , great tunes for kids and lovely little stories . It's not all pink or green and shouting, like modern kids TV. Add original Postman Pat too.
grumbledoak said:
Why would they?
It's difficult to imagine how bad those old SD shows look to someone who has only ever known HD. It's like us watching Charlie Chaplin now. It's almost impossible to relate to what you are seeing.
I am going to show him Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy when he is older It's difficult to imagine how bad those old SD shows look to someone who has only ever known HD. It's like us watching Charlie Chaplin now. It's almost impossible to relate to what you are seeing.
It's absolutely not what it looks like , it's the content, pace and frankly class that does not exist in modern stuff. He watches what his parents choose at home and what we choose when he is here with their knowledge.
I put home alone on for the kids this weekend and they enjoyed it thoroughly both under 8. I put dumbo on also the next day as we played with Lego and they found it to be “the most boring film they had ever seen”. I think they expected something else from the title though .
I’m looking forward to when I can introduce them to gremlins and goonies in time.
.I’m looking forward to when I can introduce them to gremlins and goonies in time.
I only had the 4 channels growing up and was a bit of a TV nut. I also as a kid enjoyed watching old 50's B Movies, like Attack of the 50ft Woman, so I'm probably an outlier even in my age group.
When Thunderbirds was repeated in the early 90's it was a big thing. Blue Peter did the whole build your own Tracy Island section.
I suppose with hundreds of channels and streaming services things are very different for the kids of today.
When Thunderbirds was repeated in the early 90's it was a big thing. Blue Peter did the whole build your own Tracy Island section.
I suppose with hundreds of channels and streaming services things are very different for the kids of today.
My 10 year old son loves older films and can clearly define what made films of the 80s,90s so much better than most of the rubbish being churned out in the past 10-15 years. They were just better stories, movies like Goonies, Gremlins, Back to the future, Indy 1/2/3 etc.. are just classics.
His favourite movie is the 1978 Invasion of the body snatchers!
His favourite movie is the 1978 Invasion of the body snatchers!
Watched Elf and Home Alone 1&2 with my lads recently (all of them under 8) and they really enjoyed. Gremlins I hadn't seen in years and I watched the other night and it was better than I remember might be a tad scary for a 4 yo tho! My lads are also v interested in the Ninja Turtles now which was one of the big things when I was young. I think most of those 80s ones including Thundercats have had more modern makeovers. Some things are timeless while others will show their age to a young audience.
The way kids come across visual media is vastly different now from how it was before the internet age. I grew up in the 1970s-1990s and when I was little, there was only one TV in the house, so a child would be exposed to all their parents' and grandparents' viewing choices, and would become familiar with some of them even if it was stuff that the kids found totally boring like One Man And His Dog, or romance films from the 1930s.
Also for most of my childhood there were no video recorders, so even if I had the TV to myself I was limited to what was being shown on the three TV channels that then existed. So as a kid I naturally found myself watching everything from the latest prime-time entertainment to old black and white films and TV shows from the 60s.
The viewing experience for kids now bears no relation to my experience. Children may or may not have a TV in their room but they will usually have a phone and a tablet, and an endless selection of modern content tailored to their age group. They can watch children's programmes all day and all night, or anything else they find out about, but they're not likely to be exposed so much to stuff from 50 years ago unless someone older deliberately introduces them to it.
Though having said that, if young people do get interested in something 'old' for some reason, they have more chance of exploring it online than we did.
Also for most of my childhood there were no video recorders, so even if I had the TV to myself I was limited to what was being shown on the three TV channels that then existed. So as a kid I naturally found myself watching everything from the latest prime-time entertainment to old black and white films and TV shows from the 60s.
The viewing experience for kids now bears no relation to my experience. Children may or may not have a TV in their room but they will usually have a phone and a tablet, and an endless selection of modern content tailored to their age group. They can watch children's programmes all day and all night, or anything else they find out about, but they're not likely to be exposed so much to stuff from 50 years ago unless someone older deliberately introduces them to it.
Though having said that, if young people do get interested in something 'old' for some reason, they have more chance of exploring it online than we did.
I loved all the old Tom & Jerry cartoons from the '40s when I was younger, watching them in the 1970s.
Personally I wouldn't have thought they've aged like a Chaplin film (mentioned above) and would imagine they would still be watchable to youngsters.
Times change, we grew up on Captain Scarlet and UFO.
Personally I wouldn't have thought they've aged like a Chaplin film (mentioned above) and would imagine they would still be watchable to youngsters.
Times change, we grew up on Captain Scarlet and UFO.
Not unless their parents have shown them, I make all sorts of references that end with puzzled looks on my kids faces, a quick visit to you tube and they get it, Python, Naked Gun phrases, they are used around the house now, sometimes they go on to watch the film/show, sometimes not.
I suppose it's like me dressing in heavy clothes and referencing "Nanook of the North" it was a phrase my Grandmother used all the time for a very famous film she'd watched when she was a kid, in 1922! funnily enough my kids don't get that reference either, but neither does anyone else.
What made me realize how old I am/quickly life moves on recently, was my 17 year son coming back from his first job at Dominoes pizza, his biggest gripe was having to use a land line phone with a wire....he'd never used one before!!!
I suppose it's like me dressing in heavy clothes and referencing "Nanook of the North" it was a phrase my Grandmother used all the time for a very famous film she'd watched when she was a kid, in 1922! funnily enough my kids don't get that reference either, but neither does anyone else.
What made me realize how old I am/quickly life moves on recently, was my 17 year son coming back from his first job at Dominoes pizza, his biggest gripe was having to use a land line phone with a wire....he'd never used one before!!!
fasimew said:
I put on snatch and a 22 year old lad refused to watch it with me because it looked old. He was more interested in looking at mindless crap on tiktok.
A guy at work is 25, us oldies (I'm soon to be 49) will be chatting about actors, films, music, usually iconic stuff and hell be sitting there like "WTF, who/what are they?", as far as he's concerned, anything prior to the 90's is old. My three all know the Young Ones as they were given the DVDs when in their early teens and watched them, once you watch a couple and get beyond the "This looks old and s
t, I dont get it" then the characters get under your skin and you then find its self sustaining.
I work with a 30 year old who knows little from before he was born and generally wont countenance watching anything old, which I think is a bad decision as there was lots of good stuff produced before 1992 when he was born and before 1970 when I was born.
We had less stuff to entertain us, 3 then 4 channels, didnt have a video (insert obligatory "Have we got a video" Young Ones quote) so you could investigate stuff more easily as there wasnt something instantly accessible and more relevant to your interests like there is now, so you picked up bits of random knowledge you may otherwise not happen across, but then now there is so much more to go at.
Also, your age and what you have seen already affects your impression of something, as a kid in the seventies and eighties, a lot of stuff was still new and exciting, you yearned to see more of stuff and when you did it was memorable, going to see Ghostbusters for the first time was a big event, queues round the block, its a great film but someone seeing it now may not share my enthusiasm and just think its a daft old film about some weirdos chasing unrealistic looking ghosts.
You can suggest and convey your enthusiasm for something but you cant make someone else feel it, we had an old Gypsy Caravan locally that was originally owned by a chap called George Bramwell Evans, a "Vardo", its been moved to a museum now but he was known as "Romany", he had a radio show where he told stories and he wrote books, kids loved him. I was walking past and the "Romany Society" had an open day and they were so enthusiastic and suggesting that the kids all listened to the collected recordings but was never going to happen when they had Halo, Call of Duty and stuff, "Here listen to this old bloke from the 40s rattling on about travelling round in a caravan", they would have to be starved of stuff to do to make that happen but the love for the time back in the thirties and forties was clear, all those folk who listened to him will likely be dead or pretty elderly, he died in 1943, 80 years ago so anyone who remembers him will be knocking 90. Things just naturally die off with the presenters and their audience.
Also, the Young Ones, aside from being a TV programme was a cultural phenomenon, every kid in our school was watching it, Wednesday night I think it was and you had to watch it as every kid would be talking about it and coming out with whatever catchphrases, do that now the other kids ill look at you like you are mental so there isnt that to carry it along like back then, plus a lot of it is of its time, mentions of Thatcher, Cliff and whatever are now out of context and a lot of kids wont have a clue who they are on about in the main. Bottom may stand the test of time better being basically a live action cartoon.
t, I dont get it" then the characters get under your skin and you then find its self sustaining.I work with a 30 year old who knows little from before he was born and generally wont countenance watching anything old, which I think is a bad decision as there was lots of good stuff produced before 1992 when he was born and before 1970 when I was born.
We had less stuff to entertain us, 3 then 4 channels, didnt have a video (insert obligatory "Have we got a video" Young Ones quote) so you could investigate stuff more easily as there wasnt something instantly accessible and more relevant to your interests like there is now, so you picked up bits of random knowledge you may otherwise not happen across, but then now there is so much more to go at.
Also, your age and what you have seen already affects your impression of something, as a kid in the seventies and eighties, a lot of stuff was still new and exciting, you yearned to see more of stuff and when you did it was memorable, going to see Ghostbusters for the first time was a big event, queues round the block, its a great film but someone seeing it now may not share my enthusiasm and just think its a daft old film about some weirdos chasing unrealistic looking ghosts.
You can suggest and convey your enthusiasm for something but you cant make someone else feel it, we had an old Gypsy Caravan locally that was originally owned by a chap called George Bramwell Evans, a "Vardo", its been moved to a museum now but he was known as "Romany", he had a radio show where he told stories and he wrote books, kids loved him. I was walking past and the "Romany Society" had an open day and they were so enthusiastic and suggesting that the kids all listened to the collected recordings but was never going to happen when they had Halo, Call of Duty and stuff, "Here listen to this old bloke from the 40s rattling on about travelling round in a caravan", they would have to be starved of stuff to do to make that happen but the love for the time back in the thirties and forties was clear, all those folk who listened to him will likely be dead or pretty elderly, he died in 1943, 80 years ago so anyone who remembers him will be knocking 90. Things just naturally die off with the presenters and their audience.
Also, the Young Ones, aside from being a TV programme was a cultural phenomenon, every kid in our school was watching it, Wednesday night I think it was and you had to watch it as every kid would be talking about it and coming out with whatever catchphrases, do that now the other kids ill look at you like you are mental so there isnt that to carry it along like back then, plus a lot of it is of its time, mentions of Thatcher, Cliff and whatever are now out of context and a lot of kids wont have a clue who they are on about in the main. Bottom may stand the test of time better being basically a live action cartoon.
J4CKO said:
We had less stuff to entertain us, 3 then 4 channels, didnt have a video (insert obligatory "Have we got a video" Young Ones quote) so you could investigate stuff more easily as there wasnt something instantly accessible and more relevant to your interests like there is now, so you picked up bits of random knowledge you may otherwise not happen across, but then now there is so much more to go at.
Also, your age and what you have seen already affects your impression of something, as a kid in the seventies and eighties, a lot of stuff was still new and exciting, you yearned to see more of stuff and when you did it was memorable, going to see Ghostbusters for the first time was a big event, queues round the block, its a great film but someone seeing it now may not share my enthusiasm and just think its a daft old film about some weirdos chasing unrealistic looking ghosts.
I totally agree, the reality is back in the 70s and 80s we had very little to occupy us compared to children today. As you say, 3 then 4 channels yet you always managed to find something to watch. Now I sit in front on Netflix for half an hour, can't find anything I want to watch and just turn it off.Also, your age and what you have seen already affects your impression of something, as a kid in the seventies and eighties, a lot of stuff was still new and exciting, you yearned to see more of stuff and when you did it was memorable, going to see Ghostbusters for the first time was a big event, queues round the block, its a great film but someone seeing it now may not share my enthusiasm and just think its a daft old film about some weirdos chasing unrealistic looking ghosts.
The same with films, if you wanted to watch something you either saw it at the cinema or hired it from blockbuster. If you didn't see it at the cinema then you would potentially be waiting years before it appeared on Video or TV. Not like today where a film is on streaming services or Blueray a few months after release.
If you wanted to listen to a particular album then you had to go out and buy a copy. Because of this I know every single track on all the early tapes and CDs I ever purchased. Not like today where every song ever written is pretty much instantly accessible so you don't invest time in an album anymore.
The only other entertainment was computer games. When I try and replay the Commodore 64 games I thought were amazing as a child I cannot believe how poor they are, yet they kept me entertained for hours back then.
Much as we look back with rose tinted specs on our childhoods, I bet if you were suddenly transported back to 1982 you would think it was utterly boring and couldn't understand what we did every evening.
Children have access to infinite entertainment now, why are they going to care about some 40+ year old TV series or film that we probably watched as we literally had no better options at the time?
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