In a way, I’ve held off this rant, but then my friend decided to tackle it a bit in her last post. That and when I checked the new members intro page, I found exactly what I will be talking about.
Since the whole new member intro page was introduced, I’ve tried to be a good girl and welcome the new guys. Sadly, what I’ve found is that many of the ones I’ve welcomed either disappear from the site or just don’t have much courtesy to say hi back. I grew up in a family where returning a greeting was the right thing to do. A small pet peeve but a slight annoyance all the same. All the same, this is not what really gets me about some of the new members.
If you were to search the list, you’d no doubt come across something like this, “Hey I’m Lust, I desire everyone. Just coming here looking for the others.” Now, just as a point of clarification, FMA is not the only one that gets this treatment but this particular thing has happened with ass of the like characters, many times.
I realize, that maybe, just maybe, these people like to role play, but doing so in an introduction is overkill. So this makes me wonder if it is done as a way of seeming “Otaku”. Which would then make me question what “Otaku” means to them. We all see the word in a different light, many of us knowing the growing negative connotations of the term in Japan. For me, it just means I’m a geek. Not just an Anime fan. A good example is the fact that I’m a total science otaku. (I’m writing this while watching one of my Mythbusters collections.)
But never has my geekdom brought me to thinking that role playing like that was the right thing. I will concede to the fact that I did mess around with doing everything in third person. It was for no other reason then fun and a way of sparking creativity. But after gaining a stalker here on TheO and having my long break while I was training, I instinctively knew it was time to move on.
So where am I going with this? Between the lack of returned greetings and the special role playing, I find myself not really wanting to greet them.
Now, I would touch on their seemingly limited viewing habits, but there are too many factors that play into that and I found that the fan letters at the end of here help shed light on that.
Now on to the rest of the thoughts. Long I know.
Anyway, what makes me think about the viewing habits of the newer generations is what I’ve been watching this past week. It started with both Ghostbuster movies, then moved on into the three Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies. Which was followed by Farris Bueller’s Day Off and Stripes. And ending in the under appreciated Tron.
I’m a child of the 80’s who grew up in a house of 60’s generation. My media choices really reflect that. But it is also that upbringing that broadened my habits so much.
Eh, what can you do but continue to suggest the classics and hope that those youngens will listen.
NNM
