Originally Posted by Susanann
However, long hair being commonplace came and went, the War and the Draft ended, Officer Obie has long since retired, the kids who went to Woodstock are now old gray haired diapered geezers living in nursing homes, therefore, both the song, and the movie, are now VERY!!! dated, they are now virtually meaningless, and no longer entertaining in today’s world.
Hmmm, Yeah, I guess so. It sure looks that way.
Alice’s Restaurant is probably the most “dated” and meaningless movie/song of anything else out there. There is virtually nothing at all about the song or movie that relates to anything anymore.
That said, it was a great movie, a great song, and very meaningful as well as entertaining back in the 1960’s nearly a half century ago.
Is it remotely possible that you have anything other than your opinion to support this? I would be fascinated by any kind of evidence that suggests that someone else would know better than I would whether or not I am being entertained.
Ahh! I forgot this year, and my parents and brother were out to visit, too. When I was a kid, we all went to see Arlo record the anniversary edition inside the actual church, where the pews used to be in, which he now owns.
You already said “you” were entertained by it. I dont dispute that.
YOur question was: *“Why” were you entertained? *
I dont know for sure why you were entertained, but your guess (stupid? Fooling themselves? Just plain wrong about what they like?) is probably better than mine. I dont feel any need to argue about your reasons.
Yep, this is a tradition in my household. I actually interpreted last year in sign language for my older daughter and one of her college friends and they both loved it.
And I can pretty much recite the lyrics from memory. I found a book with them at the local library when I was in high school and made it my challenge to memorize the entirety. “I been singing this song for 25 minutes. I could sing it for another 25. I’m not proud. Or tired.”
This was the first year in a long time I didn’t think about it in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. I had to run an errand that evening, and it was on when I started the car. I missed the first two or three minutes, but was glad to catch the majority of it.
Garbage, littering, and the environment - Check. No one cares about that any more.
Harassment of young people by the police - Check. No concern nowadays.
Fighting a war no one wants - Check. Not relevant today.
Treatment of gays in US military - Check. No issues here at all.
In other words, the song continues to bridge generations. If you can’t see parallels then that’s your problem. But even if there were no common interests, it’s still a funny protest song that makes me smile and sing along to every time I hear it. And I’m not even American. Your comments are unprovoked and ill-informed.
pulls out 27 8x10 color glossies with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one…
If it were no longer entertaining, we wouldn’t still be listening to it every year. Or more often than that, in many cases. Hell, my 8 year old loves it. I honestly can’t comprehend what you’re saying.
As for me, I always listen to it several times during the year. For some reason, my dad liked to listen to it on Christmas, so that’s the traditional listening time to me. My family is weird.
If people are entertained by something, it is entertaining. Q. E. D. My question was ironic, but even if it weren’t, the reasons for being entertained don’t matter.
Listen to it every thanksgiving as well as several times a year, I’m 51 oops 52 yesterday. Some gray hair but not wearing diapers or in a nursing home.
But by that argument, The Grapes of Wrath is meaningless because the Great Depression ended over 60 years ago, and A Tale of Two Cities is meaningless because the French Revolution ended over 200 years ago, and… well, I could go on. Yes, “Alice’s Restaurant” is now a period piece, but it’s still a funny story, well told, with human interest.
On the contrary, Grapes of Wrath is very meaningful, and appropriate to the current times, since we are now entering the Great Depression 2. We currently have many times more foreclosures, and bankruptcies, today than compared to the 1930’s. We today have over 40 million Americans in bread lines(getting food stamps). Our people our corporations, our banks, and our state and federal governments are drowning in debt and all headed for bankruptcy. We probably have more people unemployed than were unemployed back then. …and we are just getting started. The Grapes of Wrath is our future in the next couple of decades.
One can not compare Grapes of Wrath with Alices Restaurant.
The idea of a new draft (spun like a potter’s wheel as “Service Nation”) was being floated just last year, and will probably be instituted as soon as Obama’s re-election is secured. Think it’ll be relevant then?
Susannann, we have a little thing called threadshitting, which involves someone coming into a thread to tell the people participating in a thread that the topic they are discussing is stupid, and that the people discussing it are, ipso facto QED, also stupid.
This:
all looks to me like threadshitting.
If you want to debate the timeliness or otherwise of this and other songs/works of art, pls. start a new thread in which to do so.
Your coming in here to diss a song that is part of many people’s holiday tradition is not okay.
Completely forgot this year but usually we listen to it as some point. I can recite the whole thing along with it and could give it a good try on my own.
The movie is pretty dated however, but as a cultural artifact is kind of interesting to watch once.
