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The author seems to conflate "dark" with "adult", so let me take the chance to point out this common mistake. Horror films, Warhammer 40K and 2000 AD comics are

by dash2 2y ago

The author seems to conflate "dark" with "adult", so let me take the chance to point out this common mistake. Horror films, Warhammer 40K and 2000 AD comics are all famously dark, but they're for kids or teens. A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Importance of Being Earnest are light but grown-up. It's a weird deformation of the past generation to think that being depressing makes you deep.

ericmcer 2y ago
Oh man yeah I hate this trend. It has especially worked its way into popular literature. A books writing is at a 5th grade level, has almost zero depth, but then is full of sex and violence which makes it an "adult" novel. Authors like Sarah J Maas are almost comically bad writers but have achieved immense popular success using this setup.
- 7357 2y ago
  Can I mention Jay Kristoff as well?
- guyzero 2y ago
  54% of [US] adults have a literacy below a 6th-grade level - https://www.thenationalliteracyinstitute.com/post/literacy-statistics-2024-2025-where-we-are-now https://www.thenationalliteracyinstitute.com/post/literacy-s... Not surprising that books like this succeed.
  - metalliqaz 2y ago
    Agreed. People just can't read. I think this is one of many upstream causes of the current political landscape. When faced with reading a corporate financial statement, any laws, scientific papers, municipal budgets, or even an article in WSJ or The Atlantic, people are unable to proceed. So a defense mechanism comes up: "it's all just lies, anyway." Then they go and find a tweet or watch TV.
    - mandmandam 2y ago
      I'mma go out on a bit of a limb here, and say that even the people who can read often 'can't read'. Many people who 'can read' only read things in one of two particular bubbles, colored either blue or red. This has resulted in a population which is terrifyingly disconnected from reality, and yet utterly certain of their own beliefs; beliefs which have been worked into the core of their self-identity by the magic of political kayfabe. "The GOP believes Corona is from a lab, so it must be wrong" ... "Trump will genocide Gaza worse, so voting for someone arming an internationally condemned genocide is good and practical actually", etc. Out of the small subset of people who really can read, and think for themselves, there is only a small number of them who can communicate their ideas effectively (and only to people who can at least sorta read at a 6th grade level). And the number of those people who have any power to amplify their voice is too depressing to think about for long. ... And yes, the Age of Resistance ties into this in many ways. The Skeksis are seen as strong, maybe even benevolent leaders by most, who are very far from any levers of power and aren't getting very well informed. Meanwhile, quietly (at first), the life of the small people is being drained...
      - metalliqaz 2y ago
        This is why I said "one of many". There are many motivations and factors at play, but being overwhelmed when reading complex documents is a real great motivator to dismiss them out of hand.
  - metabagel 2y ago
    This may also help to explain why politicians who express themselves with a limited vocabulary can be surprisingly successful. And the implication is that other politicians should probably do so as well.
    - FredPret 2y ago
      Idiocracy cometh
      - tempodox 2y ago
        It hath already arrived.
- pjc50 2y ago
  America gradually reinventing the Japanese "light novel". Or even its own "pulp" tradition, which these days are only remembered for their cover art rather than any of the content.
the_af 2y ago
> The author seems to conflate "dark" with "adult" Oh, how I agree with your comment! This is a bizarre trend I've also noticed. Also unfortunately helped with the "adult" monicker for anything showing sex, which is in reality generally more aimed at horny teenagers and so-called "young adults" rather than grownups.
FrustratedMonky 2y ago
Also, maybe related. Ultra-Violence is for all ages, great for kids. One small shot of side boob -- OH NO, that is ADULT, porn.
fellowniusmonk 2y ago
Another similar conflation is Serious with Somber. Taking an issue seriously can be amusing as hell, it all depends on what mood allows you to best explore the problem space, if you are serious about knowing or solving an issue you won't necessarily lock into a particular mood in that exploration.
chachacharge 2y ago
Gizmodo and all of gawker media= useless waste of electricity
globnomulous 2y ago
Nicely put. I like Lauren Oyler's formulation of a related thought, in her review of a work by Otessa Moshfegh, when she refers to Moshfegh's "bored manipulation of the fallacy that the more unpleasant something is, the truer it must be." https://www.bookforum.com/print/2701/ottessa-moshfegh-s-affecting-meta-mystery-23942 https://www.bookforum.com/print/2701/ottessa-moshfegh-s-affe... Edit: and for the life of me I could never understand what anybody saw in that vile show "Euphoria." It seemed so obviously just to want to do nothing but luxuriate in its own vulgarity and graphicness and expected audiences to be very impressed by how big everybody's feelings are. Same for "The Power of the Dog," which was as unsubtle and uninteresting a melodramatic turd as I've ever seen.
- Micoloth 2y ago
  To be fair- I was agreeing very much with both parent comment and yours, until your edit. I loved Euphoria. > graphicness - Was it graphic at all? > how big everybody's feelings are - Were their feeling that big? > It seemed so obviously.. - Maybe obvious to you? This might say more about you.. I found it brilliant and at times ironic and self aware and very explicit about what its target is (I think it's very much for teenagers) So i don't know if it is a good example of this trend at all. Just to say how nuanced these things can be, i guess...

by dash2 2y ago

ericmcer 2y ago

Oh man yeah I hate this trend. It has especially worked its way into popular literature. A books writing is at a 5th grade level, has almost zero depth, but then is full of sex and violence which makes it an "adult" novel. Authors like Sarah J Maas are almost comically bad writers but have achieved immense popular success using this setup.

7357 2y ago
Can I mention Jay Kristoff as well?
guyzero 2y ago
54% of [US] adults have a literacy below a 6th-grade level - https://www.thenationalliteracyinstitute.com/post/literacy-statistics-2024-2025-where-we-are-now https://www.thenationalliteracyinstitute.com/post/literacy-s... Not surprising that books like this succeed.
- metalliqaz 2y ago
  Agreed. People just can't read. I think this is one of many upstream causes of the current political landscape. When faced with reading a corporate financial statement, any laws, scientific papers, municipal budgets, or even an article in WSJ or The Atlantic, people are unable to proceed. So a defense mechanism comes up: "it's all just lies, anyway." Then they go and find a tweet or watch TV.
  - mandmandam 2y ago
    I'mma go out on a bit of a limb here, and say that even the people who can read often 'can't read'. Many people who 'can read' only read things in one of two particular bubbles, colored either blue or red. This has resulted in a population which is terrifyingly disconnected from reality, and yet utterly certain of their own beliefs; beliefs which have been worked into the core of their self-identity by the magic of political kayfabe. "The GOP believes Corona is from a lab, so it must be wrong" ... "Trump will genocide Gaza worse, so voting for someone arming an internationally condemned genocide is good and practical actually", etc. Out of the small subset of people who really can read, and think for themselves, there is only a small number of them who can communicate their ideas effectively (and only to people who can at least sorta read at a 6th grade level). And the number of those people who have any power to amplify their voice is too depressing to think about for long. ... And yes, the Age of Resistance ties into this in many ways. The Skeksis are seen as strong, maybe even benevolent leaders by most, who are very far from any levers of power and aren't getting very well informed. Meanwhile, quietly (at first), the life of the small people is being drained...
    - metalliqaz 2y ago
      This is why I said "one of many". There are many motivations and factors at play, but being overwhelmed when reading complex documents is a real great motivator to dismiss them out of hand.
- metabagel 2y ago
  This may also help to explain why politicians who express themselves with a limited vocabulary can be surprisingly successful. And the implication is that other politicians should probably do so as well.
  - FredPret 2y ago
    Idiocracy cometh
    - tempodox 2y ago
      It hath already arrived.
pjc50 2y ago
America gradually reinventing the Japanese "light novel". Or even its own "pulp" tradition, which these days are only remembered for their cover art rather than any of the content.

the_af 2y ago

> The author seems to conflate "dark" with "adult" Oh, how I agree with your comment! This is a bizarre trend I've also noticed. Also unfortunately helped with the "adult" monicker for anything showing sex, which is in reality generally more aimed at horny teenagers and so-called "young adults" rather than grownups.

FrustratedMonky 2y ago

Also, maybe related. Ultra-Violence is for all ages, great for kids. One small shot of side boob -- OH NO, that is ADULT, porn.

fellowniusmonk 2y ago

Another similar conflation is Serious with Somber. Taking an issue seriously can be amusing as hell, it all depends on what mood allows you to best explore the problem space, if you are serious about knowing or solving an issue you won't necessarily lock into a particular mood in that exploration.

chachacharge 2y ago

Gizmodo and all of gawker media= useless waste of electricity

globnomulous 2y ago

Nicely put. I like Lauren Oyler's formulation of a related thought, in her review of a work by Otessa Moshfegh, when she refers to Moshfegh's "bored manipulation of the fallacy that the more unpleasant something is, the truer it must be." https://www.bookforum.com/print/2701/ottessa-moshfegh-s-affecting-meta-mystery-23942 https://www.bookforum.com/print/2701/ottessa-moshfegh-s-affe... Edit: and for the life of me I could never understand what anybody saw in that vile show "Euphoria." It seemed so obviously just to want to do nothing but luxuriate in its own vulgarity and graphicness and expected audiences to be very impressed by how big everybody's feelings are. Same for "The Power of the Dog," which was as unsubtle and uninteresting a melodramatic turd as I've ever seen.

Micoloth 2y ago
To be fair- I was agreeing very much with both parent comment and yours, until your edit. I loved Euphoria. > graphicness - Was it graphic at all? > how big everybody's feelings are - Were their feeling that big? > It seemed so obviously.. - Maybe obvious to you? This might say more about you.. I found it brilliant and at times ironic and self aware and very explicit about what its target is (I think it's very much for teenagers) So i don't know if it is a good example of this trend at all. Just to say how nuanced these things can be, i guess...