this post was submitted on 17 Dec 2024
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There’s a difference between someone who’s an actor and someone who’s distinctly a theater kid, just like there’s a difference between someone who’s a musician and someone who’s distinctly a band kid, and the theater kids seem to be taking over our media institutions lately. Nobody on the current snl cast seems like a normal person with a good sense of humor - they all feel deeply sheltered and siphoned through private schools and theater camps. It’s more about taste than theater in particular too - I can’t judge people for caring about drama as an art form, but too many new celebrities and comedians seem like they can recite songs from wicked and hamilton from memory.

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[–] Dolores@hexbear.net 45 points 2 months ago (1 children)

There’s a difference between someone who’s an actor and someone who’s distinctly a theater kid, just like there’s a difference between someone who’s a musician and someone who’s distinctly a band kid

you just don't know what these people were like in older generations. these same institutions were producing the same kinds of professionals for the industry long before you were born. it's more difficult to recognize some geezer was an enormous nerd because their reveues are even older. Bruce Willis is a theater kid but instead of Wicked the man knows Bing Crosby shit

[–] JustSo@hexbear.net 28 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Such a good observation.

And it's funny how the theater kid era of creatives turned out to be just as riddled with sleazebags and abusers as the earlier generations who just didn't need to mask their negative behavior so effectively because society hadn't yet progressed as far in terms of recognition of why the various vectors of abuse are bad (avoiding the censor bot by being vague but I mean there's just as manyremoveds and racists) and how to recognize those behaviors and the sorts of personalities who tend to commit them.

[–] Dolores@hexbear.net 17 points 2 months ago (2 children)

yeah now youve made me think of joss whedon who is the avatar of shitty theater kids and he's dominated pop culture for a couple of decades at this point

[–] tombruzzo@hexbear.net 14 points 2 months ago

He's like a third generation screenwriter as well so no one could be normal growing up like that

[–] JustSo@hexbear.net 10 points 2 months ago

Good point I was thinking of a couple of cartoon dudes but Whedon is a perfect example.

[–] Parsani@hexbear.net 44 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Lol no, our culture has been seized by focus groups.

[–] GaveUp@hexbear.net 21 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Aka MBA and tech bro bullshit

[–] Parsani@hexbear.net 19 points 2 months ago

10000%

There is a direct correlation between the number of MBA grads and how shit things become.

[–] SkaveRat@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 2 months ago

As a White, 30-40 yo male with expendable income, I take offense

[–] BigLenin@hexbear.net 39 points 2 months ago

Theater Kids are really the "Gamers" of the art world.

[–] coeliacmccarthy@hexbear.net 23 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

meanwhile the stage crew kids are stockpiling ammo and waiting

[–] JustSo@hexbear.net 7 points 2 months ago

dropping molotovs from the gantries

[–] darkmode@hexbear.net 23 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

i can confirm it’s a mixture of this and daddy being an executive

[–] Wolfman86@hexbear.net 22 points 2 months ago

Heavily on the second half.

[–] ChaosMaterialist@hexbear.net 21 points 2 months ago

It's New York City, so I'm expecting some Times-level disconnect.

Unfortunately Actors did seize the White House :freedom-and-democracy:

[–] JustSo@hexbear.net 19 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Amusingly I was watching a compilation of

(I DISAVOW, I DISAVOW. DO NOT SUPPORT THIS MAN.)Sam Hyde
videos talking about the decline of Adult Swim yesterday where he echoed this observation quite closely.

I think of it as the "corporate friendly"-ization of entertainment media.

I reckon the theater kid archetype comes from, basically, outcasts and queer kids spending formative developmental years sharing spaces where they have to accommodate and work with each other and where it is necessary for their social cohesion to develop harmless inoffensive and often child-like innocent ~~personalities (or masks)~~ personas in order to stay socially connected and sane around other fragile people.

This is also the sort of ~~personality (or mask)~~ persona that is most attractive to large corporations because (bla bla classic liberalism theory stuff) gotta keep that market share growing, can't afford a boycott! Better not offend anyone, might make line go down.

[–] Des@hexbear.net 15 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Nobody on the current snl cast seems like a normal person with a good sense of humor

damn how are u just going to do Brace Belden's girlfriend like that

[–] GrosMichel@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

Also Connor O'Malley's GF.

[–] Sulvor@hexbear.net 9 points 2 months ago

This is Hugh Jackman slander

[–] gay_king_prince_charles@hexbear.net 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I still defend that cumtown is the epicenter of culture and an artist's popularity is linked to how close they are to Stav. Adam Friedland is responsible for liberals winning football in the culture wars.

[–] JustSo@hexbear.net 4 points 2 months ago

Imagine a world where Nick Mullen had a work ethic. (jk jk, I would never criticise my best friend and we don't deserve more from any of these people.)

[–] Crowtee_Robot@hexbear.net 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

There's some sort of improv corollary to this thesis as well.

[–] CocteauChameleons@hexbear.net 6 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Why would any artsy joe want to be in TV. Everyone knows by now that you have to be rich to get in

[–] GalaxyBrain@hexbear.net 5 points 2 months ago