Huh.

[trinityvixen]

So last night moonlightalice and I watched The Thing, which she was watching for the first time and I was rewatching in anticipation of that "we swear it's not a reboot" prequel coming out in a couple of weeks. She liked it, as only someone with good taste would, but she said something that really made me think. She said she only liked science-fiction or supernatural horror. Considering this angle, I found I could only agree.

Now, there are exceptions--I enjoyed (no, really!) the first two Saw movies, and however ridiculous they were or were not, they were not supernatural. (I put the first one as almost a noir, what with the focus being on two guys in a room with a dead body.) But even the largely reviled slashers are mostly supernatural, Nightmare on Elm Street undeniably so, but Halloween and Friday the 13th were (or became), supernatural, too. Torture porn stretches credulity on occasion, but most of that is non-supernatural, and, mostly, I do not like it. High Tension wasn't technically supernatural, though it pushed the line a bit, and I did like that. But those are two examples and I watch a lot of horror.

Anything with zombies is automatically science-fiction, if it's not outright supernatural, and that makes up a chunk of the horror I watch and enjoy right there. After that, what else is there? Ghosts? Vampires? Unkillable killers like Freddy, Jason, or Michael Myers? Is it because we classify anything that features the flesh-and-blood killer antagonist, no matter how gruesome or scary the movie might be, as "thriller" rather than horror? I wonder.

Speaking of horrors, though: Friendly's is going bankrupt. This isn't horrifying in and of itself, really, though I do have some sadness at the loss of something I used to enjoy going to. It was terrible for you and the food wasn't always great, but I remember, fondly, going to Friendly's as a treat growing up. My mother liked the salads there and she and sometimes Mrs. D would go with me to just chat. Really what saddens me is what has already happened as a result of the stores closing: the Friendly's just up the block closed. There was a man there that I remember working there for all of my life as far as I was aware--so, easily, 15+ years. It was always a little sad to see a grown man working at a food joint (for reasons that are prejudicial based on class, I do realize), but it's even sadder to think he doesn't have a job now.

Comments

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed many enormous sundaes at Friendly's when I was little. The one time I went there as an adult, though, my stomach rebeled on me. Even so, Friendly's is very nostalgic. Now what will parents treat their kids with when they score a goal in soccer?

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I recognize that it's probably for the best that such franchises not be associated with treats, especially given the casual hedonism towards eating that has made our obesity issues way worse, but I'll still miss Friendly's. For their upside-down ice-cream man sundaes if nothing else.

[xannoside.livejournal.com]

I think classification has a lot to do with it; if you check out Netflix's list of horror films, a *lot* of foreign horror films that fall into the slasher/gore-porn genre are actually classified as "foreign thrillers" first and foremost (and there is some truly sick *shit* in there, incidentally).

On some level, despite the explosion of the torture/gore-porn genre in the US, I think we still require some level of fantastic in our "horror" films which we really don't in "thrillers", IMO. I think we want our "thrillers" to be primarily about sensationalizing everyday life, while we want "horror" just like SF/Fantasy to be primarily escapist (even though just about all good horror reflects on the same themes of everyday life like thrillers).

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

I dunno, I think the treats thing can be judicious. Maybe not after every week's soccer game, but we got to go after concerts and sometimes for good report cards, which was probably six or seven times a year max. My brother and I were also routinely bribed with donuts to be good in church. And he and I are pretty darn far from being obese. Sweets aren't bad, they just need to be in moderation. (And if you're using sweets as a reward so often as to have a serious weight impact, you're probably wearing away at the effectiveness of the reward, anyway.)

I used to agonize over whether I wanted a brownie sundae or a Reeses peanut butter cup sundae. Then they switched to the Oreo brownies, which may have name recognition but also have a weird chemical aftertaste and are gross. That made my decision easy.

Now I really want a peanut butter sundae.

(Chuckro points out that going bankrupt doesn't necessarily mean they'll cease to exist. Borders couldn't find a buyer, but Friendly's may be able to.)

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I understand the reward aspects you're addressing, but to me, rewarding someone with ice cream sets up ice cream as a treat, and the more fond memories you build around it that reinforce the yummy aspects inherent to the food, the worse it can be. What I really worry about is that you eat the junk to recapture the nostalgia, I suppose. It's not an everyone-has-this-problem, let's-outlaw-Friendly's-after-practice thing, but it's been shown that such reinforcement does have an impact. I worry about that as much as I worry about how special treats have increasingly divorced "special" from "infrequent."

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

All I know is I got Friendly's as a reward after I got a mild concussion from having a soccer ball kicked into my head (which then went into the goal--which counts as my goal!).

REESE'S PEANUT BUTTER CUP. That stuff really messes with me now, though. We might just have to do a nostalgia trip before they are gone forever (if they aren't just restructuring).

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

I will point out I got it if I scored a goal. Not after every practice. And since I played fullback...that was less likely.

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

Speaking of sick shit--Centipede 2 is out! And playing at the IFC.

[jethrien.livejournal.com]

I think if you take a soccer ball to the face, you get ice cream.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I liked the Reese's Pieces Sundae better, but both are good.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

God help me, I am not seeing that ever. Fool me once, shame on you, Tom Six...

[fairest.livejournal.com]

It never occurred to me that there might be a last Reese's Pieces Sundae, or a last taste of Friendly's ice cream (which is just BETTER than most others). I am wibbly and sad.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Well, next time you're around, we'll try to go to one of the last remaining ones. There's one upstate, one half-way upstate, and one remaining one relatively close to the city. Surely, they can't all be closed.

[bigscary.livejournal.com]

Nooooooo myyyyy Fribbbbbbble!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(as chain diners go, it's also my favorite -- NE-inflected rather than southern)

[lithoglyphic.livejournal.com]

It looks like the Friendly's I remember is still alive and kicking, but probably because it was in a mall (Rockaway Townsquare, NJ). Moving around limits my nostalgia somewhat... Friendly's was the place to go if you grew up in that part of NJ, but I ended up there in middle school and couldn't quite figure out why people thought it was so awesome.

Maybe I'd feel nostalgic now, if I went back. At the time, I preferred the diner up the road that had the most fantastic lemon meringue pie... but apparently that's now closed, after a marked decline (Yelp reviews were giving it one star).

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

The clown cone-head sundae, man. That is something that is a formative childhood memory. I got it all the time. And these days, when I have the big-person's sundae, I am always disappointed when there are no Reese's pieces on the bottom like the kiddie sundae did.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I'll miss the ice cream, myself.

[negativeq.livejournal.com]

The Thing - once a year or so, I try to watch this while eating. I ALWAYS FAIL. And I can never watch the scene with the dogs ...

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

You know, I gave my roommate a warning about the gross out stuff before the movie, and after she said it wasn't that bad. I'm really bad at guessing what will and won't bother people. Some people are fine with anything, some get more squicked out by hyper-real gore/violence, and some find stylized, obviously over-the-top stuff like The Thing worse than anything. I know that the effects in The Thing turn my stomach, but I can still look at them and not be scared or totally put off. I still get why someone like you might not be able to, though. It's pretty damn gross.