this post was submitted on 12 Nov 2024
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Showerthoughts

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VHS tapes are a horror trope now.

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[–] Death_Equity 70 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Kids today know what a floppy disk looks like, but not what one is. They only know it as a "save" icon in games and apps.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 month ago (3 children)

And the phone call icon being a landline

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago

And the email icon being an envelope

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

Land lines are nice

A dumpster for spam

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It's called a skeuomorph, and many times the camera symbol is one too, as most modern cameras don't look like that.

[–] Death_Equity 3 points 1 month ago

The only examples I can think of look like a DSLR or similar. It would be funny if they looked like an 1800s camera with the bellows focus.

[–] Hobbes_Dent 43 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Not rewinding was a horror trope then.

[–] ChicoSuave 14 points 1 month ago (2 children)
[–] Hobbes_Dent 30 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Especially when we had space age tech.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Wait. They made ones that looked like cars? Dammit.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

I had one! My dad got it at a flea market, and all my friends thought we were rich. Lmao

[–] TheEighthDoctor 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Mine looked exactly like that one and I'm in Europe, so it was for sure not a small thing.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

I've got DTIMO. Disappoimtment That I Missed Out. I had a boring grey one when it could have looked like a sports car. it would even go vroom too. faaaaahck.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

Especially for sueded films

[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 month ago (1 children)

None of these horror games show players the true terror of VHS: the soul-rending sound of the VCR eating another tape. That cost $15-30 in 90s money!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

That, and with rented tapes having to get up and adjust the tracking again.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 month ago

Have you ever asked any kids if they know what a VHS tape is?

[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Adults today only know about what horses are because of western films.

Although, some people still ride horses for work or fun, but the vast majority has not even touched a horse. Oh, and it really depends on location too. Rich countries switched to machines about a hundred years ago, whereas poor countries still use various animals in normal everyday life.

[–] ivanafterall 9 points 1 month ago (3 children)
[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 month ago

Oh, I've touched a horse.

1000030367

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

You work for Boeing by chance?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

Can confirm, I'm the horse.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I grew up in the 90s, and before I was out of college I think I'd ridden 3 different horses maybe 20 or 30ish times combined (never faster than a cantor), and learned the basics of being a stable hand and horse grooming.

Seattle and environs. Had both a friend and a girlfriend that each owned horses.

Ex GF actually lived on a small ranch, had 3 horses.

Former friend had a horse in a managed stable about 3 miles from her house.

She sctually paid me and another friend once to clear out a bunch of pigeons in said stable with a pellet gun.

... I wish we had had a .22. We had to break their necks... the pellet gun was only strong enough to concuss them. I felt sick, evil for a month afterward, couldn't sleep... vowed to myseld to never intentionally harm another living being ever again.

Went on to work in the tech sector as a data analyst, software dev, db admin for MSFT, Intl Import Export Firm, Non Profit...

Now I think I'd rather be a stable hand.

Less arrogant, full of shit, incompetent at their jobs idiots....who commit far, far more evil acts, orders of magnitude more evil things, in the name of profit than I had thought even possible.

Horses can often be assholes, but they are far easier to deal with than malicious people.

[–] XeroxCool 2 points 1 month ago

Work horses are a lot closer than I expected. I saw them about 15 minutes from the downtown of a top 20 Mexican city. Hitched up like a western, pulling carts, or carrying a person and sack of produce.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 month ago (3 children)

I think you underestimate how many frugal families still own large VHS movie collections, and use their VHS players to watch them

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 month ago

In 2024, that's actually a giga chad move that hurts the corpos feels.

These people is like the seed reason why they are working OT to kill physical media. Now they are coming for consoles...

If you support the slop, buy a physical copy otherwise arrr

If they don't sell it, that's a service issue and rather disrespectful to media enjoyers IMHO

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Frugal families sold their tapes, sold their VCRs, and sought their fortunes on the high seas.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

ehh while high seas are viable, some people just prefer that physical in similar way a smoker does not just like the smoking but also holding and play around the cigarette

[–] ricdeh 2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Then burn your media onto DVD or Blu-Ray or M-Disc

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

This would work for me but not for the collector types IMHO

They want the physical release!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

The Netflix-by-mail thing came in real handy for this

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago

i have the tapes, lots of tapes. all recorded off of tv. vcr quit working years ago, though. but i do have another at the office. used like three times in the last 15 years to digitize old home movies for someone.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 month ago

I tend to be nostalgic for the tech of my childhood. VHS is an exception. It always was horrid.

(Yes, I know you're referring to it's use in horror films.)

[–] PP_BOY_ 11 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I remember when "analog horror" was when the VCR ate your rental tape

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago

When you pull it out but the tape is still stuck in the machine

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago

Obligatory Studio C Bit

I linked to the relevant bit. The whole sketch is topical.

[–] Lifecoach5000 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

How many of yall remember having to “adjust tracking” when the picture had too much “snow”?

[–] ZiemekZ 3 points 1 month ago

Not me, all my experience with tracking was just seeing "A TRACK" on the screen every now and then

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

[off topic]

I read a collection of comics from the 1950s. There were stories about Hannibal, Julius Ceasar, Emperor Claudius, and other historical figures. The issue with Civil War stories covered topics like the Emancipation Proclamation. Today we don't put anything in kids' media that can't be sold.

EC titles like 'Valor,' and 'Frontline Combat.'

[–] dohpaz42 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It’s unfortunate too, because history has a lot of stories that would make for great media. But it seems there is a war on history these days. At least recent history.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

You can't copywrite a "Hannibal" action figure.

Reminds me of an off topic story.

"Fables" was a comic book whose main idea was that the characters from all the fairy tales were living in one neighborhood in Manhattan.

The TV networks like the idea, so they stole it. Twice.

[–] WindyRebel 1 points 1 month ago

Once Upon a Time and…?

[–] Semi_Hemi_Demigod 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I think a lot of our social problems could be solved if we were repeatedly told to be kind - rewind

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

Unfortunately, we can't rewind, we've gone too far.