# Viewing works differently as you age

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-works-differently-as-you-age/611394>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [February 1, 2012, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-works-differently-as-you-age/611394 "2012-02-01T05:14:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-works-differently-as-you-age/611394/1 "2012-02-01T05:14:25Z")

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The thread on Beetlejuice made me think of how in the movie Betelgeuse uses duress to force Lydia to marry him, and of course he is enjoying her discomfort. As a child I never even considered the realities of this, forced rape by a walking corpse ummm yea.

Same deal for Leia in ROTJ, although it is unclear how long she is in Jabba’s palace she has been stripped and put into a bikini. With time though she is surely in for unpleasant treatment by Jabba and his court though, same as all his other “dancing girls”.  
I think here the implications were obvious but I figured Leia was a soldier or acting as one so she had to be prepared mentally for this.

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**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-works-differently-as-you-age/611394/2 "2012-02-01T06:48:27Z")

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Regarding Leia, I think the novelization of _ROTJ_ described that she was able to tolerate the abuses of Jabba because they were minor compared to the interrogation she suffered aboard the Death Star in _Star Wars_.

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**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-works-differently-as-you-age/611394/3 "2012-02-01T07:08:01Z")

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> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#):
>
> Regarding Leia, I think the novelization of _ROTJ_ described that she was able to tolerate the abuses of Jabba because they were minor compared to the interrogation she suffered aboard the Death Star in _Star Wars_.

:eek:Oh god! Now I’m going to wonder exactly what went on in that room, I assumed Vader was just questioning her while the Interrogation droid injected her with drugs and shocked her or caused pain. Which while creepy is not as creepy as it could be.

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**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-works-differently-as-you-age/611394/4 "2012-02-01T11:49:44Z")

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I really enjoyed _The Breakfast Club_ as a kid, but as I got older it started bothering me that the things that each one did to get them detention, instead of taking personal responsibility for their actions they, and the movie I think, were blaming society. It’s all the fault of their parents, teachers, and so on.

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**Author:** ![boozilu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@boozilu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boozilu)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-works-differently-as-you-age/611394/5 "2012-02-01T14:11:24Z")

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I loved My So Called Life when it first came out. I recently re-watched the first episode – and still loved it. However, this time all of my sympathy was with the mom when the first time I was totally feeling it for Angela.

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**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-works-differently-as-you-age/611394/6 "2012-02-01T16:23:31Z")

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I know I’ve mentioned it a few times in this sort of thread, but books I read as a kid are a lot different to me (if they’re good books, that is) - specifically these two:  
Laura Ingalls Wilder’s dad was a fucking asshole and a piss poor excuse for a man! “Oh, all this prosperity is making me antsy. Let’s go live in a hole in the ground for a while where we can be alone in the wilderness again! You don’t mind, do you, ma?”

The parents in _My Friend Flicka_ and sequels are _soooo_ much more interesting now than they were when I was a kid - now they’re the absolute best things about the books. They’re so realistic and have such a genuine relationship!

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**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-works-differently-as-you-age/611394/7 "2012-02-01T18:24:29Z")

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_Revenge of the Nerds_ was mostly ruined for me when – upon watching it for what must have been the hundredth time – I suddenly realized that Lewis rapes Betty at the carnival.

> [@grude](#):
>
> The thread on Beetlejuice made me think of how in the movie Betelgeuse uses duress to force Lydia to marry him, and of course he is enjoying her discomfort. As a child I never even considered the realities of this, forced rape by a walking corpse ummm yea.

Marriage != sex.

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**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-works-differently-as-you-age/611394/8 "2012-02-01T18:52:49Z")

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A lot of things work differently as you age.

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**Author:** ![Christopher\_Robin\_Davies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8dc957/32.png) [@Christopher\_Robin\_Davies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Christopher_Robin_Davies)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-works-differently-as-you-age/611394/9 "2012-02-01T18:55:28Z")

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> [@grude](#):
>
> :eek:Oh god! Now I’m going to wonder exactly what went on in that room, I assumed Vader was just questioning her while the Interrogation droid injected her with drugs and shocked her or caused pain. Which while creepy is not as creepy as it could be.

I doubt Vader had any sexual capacity after losing his limbs the way he did.

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**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-works-differently-as-you-age/611394/10 "2012-02-01T18:59:29Z")

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\*\*The Graduate. \*\*  
Forty years ago as a young adult, just like everybody else I saw Ben as the victim of narcissistic Mrs. Robinson. Today, having enjoyed the movie dozens of times, this freshman old fart feels that their roles were switched by movie’s end.  
A few of us discussed this briefly in an earlier thread. Couple of years ago, I think.

**Bullitt**  
Regardless of the evil games he may have been playing, Chalmers was correct about one thing:  
Bullitt’s protection of Ross/Rennick was in fact lackadaisical and slipshod.

.

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**Author:** ![DonLogan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@DonLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonLogan)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-works-differently-as-you-age/611394/11 "2012-02-01T21:11:44Z")

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> [@grude](#):
>
> As a child I never even considered the realities of this, forced rape by a walking corpse ummm yea.

You shouldn’t be considering the realities of it as an adult, either, because it’s fake.

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**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-works-differently-as-you-age/611394/12 "2012-02-02T01:59:40Z")

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> [@Misnomer](#):
>
> Marriage != sex.

Did you watch the movie? He says the reason he is marrying her is to impregnate her and then posses the child as his new body. He makes various lewd gestures with his tongue etc that has Lydia horrified.

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**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-works-differently-as-you-age/611394/13 "2012-02-02T06:00:37Z")

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> [@Zsofia](#):
>
> I know I’ve mentioned it a few times in this sort of thread, but books I read as a kid are a lot different to me (if they’re good books, that is) - specifically these two:  
> Laura Ingalls Wilder’s dad was a fucking asshole and a piss poor excuse for a man! “Oh, all this prosperity is making me antsy. Let’s go live in a hole in the ground for a while where we can be alone in the wilderness again! You don’t mind, do you, ma?”
> 
> The parents in _My Friend Flicka_ and sequels are _soooo_ much more interesting now than they were when I was a kid - now they’re the absolute best things about the books. They’re so realistic and have such a genuine relationship!

That’s what struck me. Pa Ingalls uprooted his family without considering the fact that his wife enjoyed socializing, and that his kids probably needed other people around, too. He was a hard worker, but he wouldn’t stick to any one place long enough for his work to pay off. He was always looking for the Next Big Thing, and jumped in without making sure he had some fallback plan. And when he experienced a setbacks, quite often he’d just shrug and move to another state or territory.

“Hey, let’s homestead this territory before it’s legally open to homesteading! Who cares if we build up a cabin and then lose it?” And even though Pa was actually friendly and progressive towards Native Americans, he was sure quick to take their traditional lands.

I got the distinct impression that Laura was Daddy’s girl, and Mary was her mother’s favorite.

I’ll probably have to re-read Flicka. I don’t think that I’ve read it since I started using double digits for my age.

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**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-works-differently-as-you-age/611394/14 "2012-02-02T07:48:23Z")

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> [@TreacherousCretin](#):
>
> **Bullitt**  
> Regardless of the evil games he may have been playing, Chalmers was correct about one thing:  
> Bullitt’s protection of Ross/Rennick was in fact lackadaisical and slipshod.
> 
> .

This is nonsense IMO. Had no one been tipped where the witness was stashed and had the witness himself not unlatched the door then nothing would have happened.

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**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-works-differently-as-you-age/611394/15 "2012-02-02T13:35:37Z")

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_Animal House_. The older I get, the more I sympathize with Dean Wormer.

“Fat, drunk, and stupid, is no way to go through life.” The fat comment was uncalled-for, but he had a point.

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**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-works-differently-as-you-age/611394/16 "2012-02-02T13:56:46Z")

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> [@grude](#):
>
> Did you watch the movie? He says the reason he is marrying her is to impregnate her and then posses the child as his new body. He makes various lewd gestures with his tongue etc that has Lydia horrified.

I don’t remember that at all. I thought he said he had to get married in order to be released from his imprisonment.

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**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-works-differently-as-you-age/611394/17 "2012-02-02T16:45:15Z")

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[Alexi Sayle on The Beatles.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_yK6BCbPhE)

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**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-works-differently-as-you-age/611394/18 "2012-02-02T17:15:48Z")

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When I read The Great Gatsby in high school, I thought it was about impossibly adult people living an impossibly adult drama that had no relevance to me. Rereading it 20+ years later, it now seems like it’s about impossibly young people living out a drama that’s impossibly young yet all too familiar.

The last time Gatsby stands vigil outside Daisy’s house while she and Tom talk and eat fried chicken inside, oblivious – the first time I read it, it wouldn’t even have occurred to me that there was anything tragic about that, much less remembered what it felt like to be in such a situation.

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**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-works-differently-as-you-age/611394/19 "2012-02-02T17:29:14Z")

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> [@grude](#):
>
> Did you watch the movie?

:rolleyes:

> [@grude](#):
>
> He says the reason he is marrying her is to impregnate her and then posses the child as his new body.

Nope. As **Koxinga** said, his reason for wanting to be married was so he could be released; he makes lewd faces at Lydia to be funny, but there’s never any indication that he wants/plans to ever have sex with her – let alone against her will.

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**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\
**Post date:** [February 2, 2012, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/viewing-works-differently-as-you-age/611394/20 "2012-02-02T17:39:49Z")

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> [@Misnomer](#):
>
> :rolleyes:
> 
> Nope. As **Koxinga** said, his reason for wanting to be married was so he could be released; he makes lewd faces at Lydia to be funny, but there’s never any indication that he wants/plans to ever have sex with her – let alone against her will.

I don’t remember that being said on screen at all (the possess the baby bit)…but that actually makes more sense then somehow marrying her will release him.  
Maybe it was all subtext that I missed out on since I haven’t seen the movie since I was 10 years old?

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