-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
It's 250 years in the future. Do the most iconic characters and films remain relevant?
- Thread starter MasterYoshi
- Start date
Mickey Mouse is an interesting one just because how large Disney is, and their theme park presence. If I had to bet on an IP from the last 100 or so years being relevant in some way, I would probably guess that
Batman already hit 80 and has no signs of stopping when it comes to relevancy. They can get another 50-70 out of Batman easily.
A lot of them will likely be known, stuff like Star Wars and Mickey Mouse and Marvel stuff and Spongebob and The Simpsons and so on. Whether or not they'll be relevant who knows. But with how corporate many of these properties are and how they are pushed they will remain in peoples conscience for a long time.
This Halloween, why don't you let me know how many Frankensteins come to your door. My guess is it will be around zero.
Exactly. There is a difference between something being known vs relevant. Some seem to be mixing the two up.
Also I too would wager most people don't know who Frankenstein is. Now Frankenstein's Monster...
Lol Between living in a Jesus house then moving out to an apartment, I have never entertained a trick or treater in my life.
Something from today will still be around. Maybe not immediately recognisable, but it'll be there.
We've still got Robin Hood, King Arthur, and all of Shakespeare's stuff after all.
We've still got Robin Hood, King Arthur, and all of Shakespeare's stuff after all.
Like a handful, 3-4 things.
There will be nods and references of a lot more, but RELEVANT? Probably not that many
There will be nods and references of a lot more, but RELEVANT? Probably not that many
Troy - Fall of a City.
Based on a literary work from 2900 years ago.
Think about characters that exist and that most people know of that are pushing 100 years old. The aforementioned Mickey Mouse, Batman, Superman, Porky Pig/Daffy Duck/Bugs Bunny, Popeye, Tom and Jerry, etc. All of these will turn 100 within everybody on this boards lifetime.
The year is 2270. A young boy and his parents, who are regular people because billionaires don't exist anymore, finish streaming a vintage animated gif into their brains. They are transported past an alley by personal hoverpods. There is no crime so they arrive at their living quarters safely. Also bats are extinct.
It goes into what we consider relevant vs known. To me, relevant means it has current mass appeal at a given time. Star Wars is relevant. Mickey Mouse isn't.
I'd argue that's inaccurate. Maybe Mickey is irrelevant as a media property, but as a merchandise property he's extremely relevant. Can hardly go anywhere without seeing his face and/or trademark ears.
if Disney keeps up the marketing machine Mickey will remain relevant for generations to come.
that's another thing too, Mickey started a trend that was rather unseen prior to him, he as a character represents so much more than a mere film character. What other character before him was used as an icon for a corporation, or used as a perennial source of merchandise? It's common now of course with characters, but wasn't common at all prior to Mickey.
By that measure, Star wars wasn't even remotely relevant in the early 90s. I was the ONLY kid at my school (80-90 kids) who knew what it was.
no of course not. I look at movies from the 40s and 50s like they should be in a museum.
250 years in the future will look upon us like the dark ages.
Ok, but I'd argue Mickey is relevant as a brand or logo. But Mickey the character? Find me someone under 65 that cares about him.
Lots of people. Mickey is still one of the most beloved fictional characters. Hell he does have a relatively popular cartoon that is still running.
This is nonsense (your point, not your experience). Growing up in the 90's, pre episode 1, there was SW merch EVERYWHERE. SW absolutely carried mass popularity throughout the 90's.
In the US.
Something may be relevant somewhere, and not somewhere else.
One of the best selling comics in the world is Tex, an italian monthly comic set in the Far West. 800,000-1,000,000 copies EVERY MONTH.
First number? 1949.
So, are westerns still relevant? Are black and white comics still relevant?
In Italy THEY ARE.
I'll take your word for it. But I think you'd be hard-pressed to find many younger people that care about Mickey Mouse the character today. Maybe I'm dead wrong, though.
That's fair, I am talking from an American perspective, you're right.In the US.
Something may be relevant somewhere, and not somewhere else.
One of the best selling comics in the world is Tex, an italian monthly comic set in the Far West. 800,000-1,000,000 copies EVERY MONTH.
First number? 1949.
So, are westerns still relevant? Are black and white comics still relevant?
In Italy THEY ARE.
I feel like the "flash in the pan and then move on to the next new shiny" way the games industry works, combined with big companies' desires to hold as tightly to their IPs as possible rather than letting them enter public domain or letting fans have them when the company is obviously never going to revisit them, is going to prevent all but the most resilient IPs and characters from even being known, much less relevant in 250 years.
I don't feel like the comparisons with music or books or stories that old (and older) are quite the same, because new copies of the stories can be published and sold. New recordings or performances of the music can be made. They're in public domain and people are free to do things to bring them back into focus, whereas with present-day movies and games, they're kinda stuck under the sole control of the relevant publisher, most of which seem content to play the "if I can't make a buck, nobody can" game with them long enough to ensure that they fade out of relevancy before they hit public domain.
So, maybe, like, Mario and Pikachu, and maybe a Star Wars character or some Citizen Kane "classic" film, but in general, I doubt it.
I don't feel like the comparisons with music or books or stories that old (and older) are quite the same, because new copies of the stories can be published and sold. New recordings or performances of the music can be made. They're in public domain and people are free to do things to bring them back into focus, whereas with present-day movies and games, they're kinda stuck under the sole control of the relevant publisher, most of which seem content to play the "if I can't make a buck, nobody can" game with them long enough to ensure that they fade out of relevancy before they hit public domain.
So, maybe, like, Mario and Pikachu, and maybe a Star Wars character or some Citizen Kane "classic" film, but in general, I doubt it.
Where are you from that you are the only one who knew Star Wars in an entire school?
Star Wars probably did have its 'low point'in the early 90s, but I don't think I have ever even met a person who didn't at least knew about Star Wars.
Northern Italy, near Milan. We were watching Batman movies, Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles. Star Wars VHS were released in 1985 and only in 1994 after that. No toys, no books, no animated series. I remember someone knewing the Ewoks for the tv movie. The saga wasn't broadcasted in TV, and still isn't much.
I knew it because my grandfather was a Laserdisc aficionado, and used to buy almost avery laserdisc on the market. And he had ONLY Return of the Jedi.
So I actually only saw Return of the Jedi, not even Star Wars, until the Special Editions in 1997 (which were distributed in the theatres).
Italy-ERA somebody had a similar experience?
Last edited:
surprisingly quite a few.
Zorro, King kong, Godzilla, superman, Batman, Dumbo, Maleficent, mary poppins, the mummy
It's hard to know which characters will survive, but yes, lots of characters will be relevant just as right now many characters from old stories are also known to people. Now, individual stories, I don't know about that. While the Marvel heroes might be remembered, I don't think people in 250 years time will still be watching or discussing something like Endgame. But again, very hard to predict of course.
I think a lot of this is tied to technology, preservation and corporations. We can easily watch a film that came out a hundred years ago nowadays. It's as simple as looking it up on YouTube, going to a film museum/archive or good old Piratebay. Media from 60 years ago can easily be found somewhere online or on a blu-ray, dvd or cd.
Digital technology makes it easy to preserve films, books and music in ways that was unthinkable 100 years ago. As soon as something's stored digitally, it will remain there pretty much forever, unlike in the past when you were working with tape recordings or vulnerable film reels. Corporations also got a much stronger hold over their media and refuse to let things die or slide into public domain (oh hi, Disney). Media preservation is also something that many people take very seriously nowadays, making sure that everything that is created gets stored immediately (and older films and music get restored all the time).
I think a lot of this is tied to technology, preservation and corporations. We can easily watch a film that came out a hundred years ago nowadays. It's as simple as looking it up on YouTube, going to a film museum/archive or good old Piratebay. Media from 60 years ago can easily be found somewhere online or on a blu-ray, dvd or cd.
Digital technology makes it easy to preserve films, books and music in ways that was unthinkable 100 years ago. As soon as something's stored digitally, it will remain there pretty much forever, unlike in the past when you were working with tape recordings or vulnerable film reels. Corporations also got a much stronger hold over their media and refuse to let things die or slide into public domain (oh hi, Disney). Media preservation is also something that many people take very seriously nowadays, making sure that everything that is created gets stored immediately (and older films and music get restored all the time).
Last edited:
Last year I went as Frankenstein to a Halloween party last year but it was kind of dimly lit and a bunch of people thought I was in blackface 😫
I do feel that countries like Italy and Spain are special cases when it comes to popular media, considering how much those governments promoted Italy's own cultural productions.
I remember how as a kid I would be mesmerized every time I went on holiday to Italy by how different the popular movies and music were from where I'm from (The Netherlands).
And to form the counterpoint to your "Star Wars was nothing in the 90's"-point. As a child in the 90's in The Netherlands, I distinctly remember Star Wars being literally everywhere. It was impossible to avoid Star Wars leading up to the release of Phantom Menace.
Technically, it's unlikely anyone would go as Frankenstein. You're probably more likely to encounter a couple of kids dressed as the Monster of Frankenstein.
My tale is specifically from 1990 to 1996. When the Special Editions came out, the merchandise machine started to hit HARD.
Also, Looney Tunes in the 90s were BIG. Space Jam and Roger Rabbit were the lightning rods for cartoons, comics, toys, etc... Nowadays they are relatively obscure again.
And Donald Duck is a legit hero in Germany, Italy and Scandinavia. Way more popular than Superman, I'd dare to say. This isn't a fan art. This is from AN ACTUAL COMICBOOK.
My point is: "relevancy" is not easily misurable. Every country, every decade, every year has its own parameters.
Last edited:
