D&D General Dark Sun as a Hopepunk Setting

[Zardnaar]

The very first adventure, 'Freedom' opened it up

That was political change.

 

[Charlaquin]

But the solution can't be to get even more obvious and get rid of subtext and implications at all. We will just make everybody dumber and dumber, nobody can learn it ever. I have no children so I don't know about state of schools nowadays, but I hope the acknowledge the issue and adjust.

As I said in an earlier post, I think Joker 2 proved that it is possible to get a message across to a willfully ignorant audience, but you might just ruin the work in the process, and at that point is it really worth it? I kinda prefer for art to be good, even if it means a lot of people will fail to get it. On the other hand, as artists we should still try to be thoughtful about, you know, not presenting the thing we’re trying to criticize as badass.

Like, for a really low-stakes example, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, all of the characters who smoked were evil, and Angel picked up smoking when he turned evil for a season and dropped it again when he turned good. I can only speak for myself, but I understood that they were trying to vilify smoking… and I also thought it made their villains look incredibly cool, and was almost certainly a contributing factor to me picking up smoking in college, when I was LARPing as a vampire every weekend.

I don't exactly think that it's a coincidence that we are becoming functionally illiterate as a society. People may know how to read but they increasingly don't, and much less do so critically. Likewise, people may watch films but they don't know how to watch them critically. But there is a deep reluctance in our culture, if not resistance, with engaging in these sorts of things.

Well, there are a few separate issues here. One is that there’s a generation of kids who missed at least a year of school at a critical age. Another is that education is woefully under-funded. But I think the far bigger issue in both illiteracy and lack of media analysis skills is not really improper education but pure anti-intellectualism. And that mostly comes from a place of distrust in institutions. Fixing the “media literacy problem” starts with fixing the institutions that are failing the working class.

 

[Zardnaar]

As I said in an earlier post, I think Joker 2 proved that it is possible to get a message across to a willfully ignorant audience, but you might just ruin the work in the process, and at that point is it really worth it? I kinda prefer for art to be good, even if it means a lot of people will fail to get it. On the other hand, as artists we should still try to be thoughtful about, you know, not presenting the thing we’re trying to criticize as badass.

Like, for a really low-stakes example, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, all of the characters who smoked were evil, and Angel picked up smoking when he turned evil for a season and dropped it again when he turned good. I can only speak for myself, but I understood that they were trying to vilify smoking… and I also thought it made their villains look incredibly cool, and was almost certainly a contributing factor to me picking up smoking in college, when I was LARPing as a vampire every weekend.


Well, there are a few separate issues here. One is that there’s a generation of kids who missed at least a year of school at a critical age. Another is that education is woefully under-funded. But I think the far bigger issue in both illiteracy and lack of media analysis skills is not really improper education but pure anti-intellectualism. And that mostly comes from a place of distrust in institutions. Fixing the “media literacy problem” starts with fixing the institutions that are failing the working class.

I don't think funding the problem but it makes a vad situation worse.

Similar problems in other countries.

Think it's cultural changes eg social media, video games, two parents working and boys for example have been underperformed since the 80s here and USA iirc.

Also depends on what one defines as anti intellectual. Free student loans/relief woukd gave limited appeal anyway because most people don't go to college. Most people at college are from middle class or better back grounds. Essentially that's asking working class people to pay for white coller jobs. That's more out of touch than anti intellectual imho but I've seen it argued as anti intellectual not trying to put words in your mouth specifically.

Cousin graduated recently we had her event this weekend. She asked about how it worked say 40 years ago. She woukd have gad a free education but we pointed out she would not have been able to attend along with most of her friends.

 

[Gradine]

Well, there are a few separate issues here. One is that there’s a generation of kids who missed at least a year of school at a critical age. Another is that education is woefully under-funded. But I think the far bigger issue in both illiteracy and lack of media analysis skills is not really improper education but pure anti-intellectualism. And that mostly comes from a place of distrust in institutions. Fixing the “media literacy problem” starts with fixing the institutions that are failing the working class.

The frustrating thing, and the reason why that anti-intellectualism is so hard to combat, is that the distrust that's driving it is almost entirely completely justified. It's just that the people that are really pushing that anti-intellectualism as the cure don't have those folks' best interests at heart and it in fact makes it easier for those pushing the lie to prey on them.

 

[Charlaquin]

The frustrating thing, and the reason why that anti-intellectualism is so hard to combat, is that the distrust that's driving it is almost entirely completely justified. It's just that the people that are really pushing that anti-intellectualism as the cure don't have those folks' best interests at heart and it in fact makes it easier for those pushing the lie to prey on them.

Exactly! I’d say more, but we’re far enough off topic at this point, it’s probably ill-advised.

 

[Charlaquin]

I don't think funding the problem but it makes a vad situation worse.

Similar problems in other countries.

Think it's cultural changes eg social media, video games, two parents working and boys for example have been underperformed since the 80s here and USA iirc.

Also depends on what one defines as anti intellectual. Free student loans/relief woukd gave limited appeal anyway because most people don't go to college. Most people at college are from middle class or better back grounds. Essentially that's asking working class people to pay for white coller jobs. That's more out of touch than anti intellectual imho but I've seen it argued as anti intellectual not trying to put words in your mouth specifically.

Cousin graduated recently we had her event this weekend. She asked about how it worked say 40 years ago. She woukd have gad a free education but we pointed out she would not have been able to attend along with most of her friends.

What I meant by anti-intellectualism is cultural disdain for deep critical thought. You can’t really teach someone critical media analysis when they actively despise the idea of media even having meaning beyond the surface level.

 

[Zardnaar]

What I meant by anti-intellectualism is cultural disdain for deep critical thought. You can’t really teach someone critical media analysis when they actively despise the idea of media even having meaning beyond the surface level.

I watched a documentary recently. It was called Idiocracy iirc.

 

[Steampunkette]

I watched a documentary recently. It was called Idiocracy iirc.

That's a movie that glorifies Eugenics as a joke.

 

[Charlaquin]

I watched a documentary recently. It was called Idiocracy iirc.

Idiocracy is classist drivel

 

[Zardnaar]

That's a movie that glorifies Eugenics as a joke.

It's also satire an no one's forcing you to watch it.

Blazing Saddles is also satire. Yes satire can be offensive.