I remember a family vacation, a week at an awesome beach. There we all were, trying to get my dad to come in the water, or play a game of volleyball. Nope, he was busy…
…reading Hunt For Red October.
…
So we all laughed when we saw that ad.
His dad reads them. He’s turning into his father.
So? There are some things about your parents it is laudable to replicate. For example, I bet his dad is not a drunk driver. “OH NO, I have to drive drunk now, or I’m MY FATHER!” roll eyes (I hate the rolleyes emoticon here.)
The point about them turning into their parents is that they are taking on traits that are less desirable. They go from fun-loving “normal” people into clumsy, homebodies with no social skills. They forget how to dance, how to dress casual, and how to make jokes that are funny.
For the latest element with the counselor guy, they take on traits like not knowing how to silence their phones at the movies, or giving advice to strangers. Or the guy who is “helping” someone back out by giving him both the back up and the stop sign at the same time. The lady with too many pillows is funny, because you can’t sit on the furniture. All of those traits are things that intrude on other people. Well, maybe not the pillows thing, but it does prevent her guests from having a place to sit.
But reading books about submarines? He’s not even lecturing others about submarines because he reads books about them, he’s just reading them. The most intrusive thing to someone else is the anecdote above where a dad was too busy reading the book to do things with his family. But that could be any book, not just submarines. Maybe dad gets gripped by murder mysteries. Maybe the Westerns are his thing. Maybe he enjoys the finer points of economic theory and gets deep into the Laffer curve.
But the complaint here seems to be, not that they guy has no social life because all he does is read, or that he neglects his family, or that he needs to get out and get a job. The complaint is that he reads about submarines.
My father works out twice a day and tutors his grandson in college algebra. Oh hells, I might become my dad!
Maybe if the book was obviously nonfiction rather than alluding to a certain movie…
Again, fiction, non-fiction, it doesn’t matter. It annoys me.
By the way, I was just googling to look up “books about submarines”. I got in “books abo” and it popped up “books about submarines” as one of the top entries. Probably because I just looked up “Under Siege” and “Progressive commercial submarines”.
I’m not sure that is the point. Haven’t you ever heard somebody talk about “turning into their _________” when they’re doing something that doesn’t really intrude on other people, but is something the person just never thought they would do? Things like the pillows- sure, you can stretch it to "it’s intrusive because it doesn’t leave the guests anywhere to sit " , but that doesn’t work if it’s “OMG I’m turning into my mother - every flat surface is covered with knick-knacks” or saving twist-ties or watching the History Channel or the loads of other things I’ve heard people say about turning into their parents/relatives that aren’t intrusive to others at all.
It is the point of the ads. They are there to prevent that.
In a crossover post with the Jeopardy! thread, did you see the recent contestant T.J.? As soon as he came on, I said to my wife “we all see it. We all see it!”
Your entire post is well-argued. But I’d suggest that the “books about submarines” component might have been the advertising-company trying to approach the topic of ‘people become more conservative as they get older’ without being overt about it.
“Books about submarines” does have an immediate connotation for many Americans–or perhaps even for any English-speaking people–namely, the Tom Clancy books. And those books are notoriously associated with political conservatism.
So, it may be that I’m reading (ahem) too much into this. But I picture the creative team around the table, brainstorming ways that people might become Like Their Parents–and wanting to hint at the ‘become more conservative’ phenomenon, without being obvious about it.
And the result might well have been “reads books about submarines.”
I may have worded that poorly. Yes, the counselors are there to prevent people from turning into their parents. But I’m not so sure that it’s meant to imply that there’s anything actually inherently wrong or intrusive or less desirable about reading books about submarines or having too many pillows on the couch.
Please tell me I just dreamt a commercial for feminine products that talks about “gush” and “gushing” 
Many people find books about submarines to be boring. If your dad reads books about submarines, he’s boring. If you read books about submarines, you’re boring, too, like your dad.
Many people’s opinions are not worth listening to.
“Books about submarines” covers a lot of territory, and it isn’t boring. There’s a LOT more than Tom Clancy.
Do we have a link?
I think in general “only reading books about military history” has been a meme since at least the 70s to make fun of people who actually read large complicated books but also tend to just have a very narrow range of books they like.
It basically short-hand for “Guys who are smart but should be reading something with actual meaning/values”, similar to how old dudes watching History Channel was a meme back when History Channel used to show actual documentaries mainly about World War 2.
Not everybody shares the same passions about things. It is short-sighted to dismiss other people’s opinions because they don’t share the same interests that you do.
Yes. People that think submarine books are boring shouldn’t dismiss others’ opinions because they don’t share them.
Why do you not want to turn into your parents? Because they do things that you think are annoying or strange. Then you find yourself doing those annoying/strange things. Gah!
Sure, his dad reads books about submarines, and now he does, too. But it strikes me that there is nothing bad/annoying/strange about that in itself to point to and give it the counselor’s attention.
Sure, dads read books about submarines. So do 20 year old tech weenies, science nerds, action adventure lovers, military fanatics, and people who like to read fiction. Why did Mr. Counselor pick reading books about submarines to point out to his client? Just because that guy’s dad likes submarines?
“Oh no, my dad pays his bills on time. I can’t do that.” “Oh no, my dad works for a living, I can’t do that.” “Oh no, my dad is a decent guy who treated me well growing up, guess I have to beat my kid.”
Ok, now that is a reasonable interpretation. It is shorthand for “you should get out more” or something.
Still, it bugs me. Maybe because I have read a few books about submarines.
perhaps the one for men with fire hoses got spliced on to one for women?