And it’s exactly what @gwensnyder.bsky.social said. They loved being snuggly in their rooms with their VHS tapes and video games, and mom bringing them grilled cheese sandwiches. They didn’t have to deal with grown-up realities, and applied the entitlement to their grown-up lives. 6/
It’s huge among my peers. Middle-aged white guys who like to think they earned it on the merits, and never really stopped playing that Atari. 7/
I’m reminded of your earlier thread about managers freaking out over work-from-home conditions. Same thing, same behavior 100%. “Don’t take me out of my snuggly room, mom! Back to the Future’s on!” 8/
And that’s not Back to the Future’s fault... in context. But it’s okay for other generations to have their own Cool Things. More than okay; normal. That can even be something like Star Trek or Star Wars, both of which have transcended their roots and become multi-generation properties. 9/
Grown-ups understand that; middle-aged children do not. So a beloved franchise changes – becoming more representational, for instance – and that pulls them out of their snuggly room. 10/
They don’t like, say, Black people or LGBT+ people in their snuggly room, except in certain carefully curated roles. And they feel so entitled to it that… *gestures at all the awful*. 11/
I am so sorry for the thread hijack, @gwensnyder.bsky.social , but you hit on something that I’ve been dealing with for the last few years of my professional life, and it really resonated. Thank you for coming to my TED talk. 12/12
Oh no it's on point, thank you
Which is especially hilarious considering that we right now live in an age when you can watch “Back to the Future” whenever the frack you want.
Right? It's not like it's hard to find.