Current Events > film prof makes reference to the matrix, students don't get it

(+) Yeah! (+)

If only there were someone to teach the film students about these films

what was the reference exactly

would a musician or author or painter be good if they simply ignored all the work in their field from before they were born?

Not in any sustained or meaningful way.

sometimes people are more privvy to stuff than others are willing to give them credit for, but don't give that acknowledgement for a number of reasons.

maybe the professor's reference was lame, maybe the students who recognized it didn't want to speak out, and henceforth.

That's nothing, I made a reference to "Valkoinen peura" in my Finnish Horror Film class, and everyone just kept telling me they'd seen "Let the Right One In"! Despite that film not even being Finnish!

I had a mind to quit, right there!

I'm having a hard time believing that nobody out of an entire class of film students (or apparently several classes, according to the tweet) had ever seen The Matrix before.

It was before their generation. I'm a movie buff and I'm sure there's still a bunch of 'classics' I never saw or haven't seen in decades.

Mechu posted...

what was the reference exactly

hmm... not sure...

DipDipDiver posted...

If only there were someone to teach the film students about these films

yeah. or they could just be curious and find stuff themselves.... i dunno. i didn't go to film school and still got into old movies, and it was before college age. i follow a lot of critics and historians who are also teachers on twitter and they often mention that most students aren't interested in film or television but are attending so that they can have better looking content for youtube or tiktok or whatever.

Zithers posted...

would a musician or author or painter be good if they simply ignored all the work in their field from before they were born?

discuss.

I dont see why they couldnt be. Isnt all the work from after they were born itself just an aggregate of all the things that were learned before?

how far back do you have to study in film/music/art history before you can stop?

ClayGuida posted...

It was before their generation. I'm a movie buff and I'm sure there's still a bunch of 'classics' I never saw or haven't seen in decades.

its the equivalent of a 90s film student not understanding a reference to jaws or star wars or the godfather, man.

knightmarexx posted...

That's nothing, I made a reference to "Valkoinen peura" in my Finnish Horror Film class, and everyone just kept telling me they'd seen "Let the Right One In"! Despite that film not even being Finnish!

I had a mind to quit, right there!

You expect me to believe that Sweden and Finland are different places? OR THAT THEY'RE REAL?

So before like 2012 you didnt have much choice in what to watch so you would have seen a lot of the most popular movies.

also what is really quotable in the matrix

Zithers posted...

its the equivalent of a 90s film student not understanding a reference to jaws or star wars or the godfather, man.

Its actually not, because the matrix was 25 years ago, so the period of time youre actually referring to is 1965-1974 if your example is a 90s film student

TheGoldenEel posted...

I dont see why they couldnt be. Isnt all the work from after they were born itself just an aggregate of all the things that were learned before?

how far back do you have to study in film/music/art history before you can stop?

i would imagine you don't stop. you keep looking and then revisiting and go looking some more.

At least it means he has no weirdo redpill students

Zithers posted...

i would imagine you don't stop. you keep looking and then revisiting and go looking some more.

So in order to make interesting rock music in 2024 someone must be studied in medieval bard music?

josifrees posted...

So before like 2012 you didnt have much choice in what to watch so you would have seen a lot of the most popular movies.

also what is really quotable in the matrix

netflix streaming existed before 2012. as did video stores and dvd's. so did piracy. what are you talking about bro

josifrees posted...

also what is really quotable in the matrix

Lol

My 15 year old cousin would rather watch other people play video games.

hockeybabe89 posted...

At least it means he has no weirdo redpill students

actually makes me wonder if people even realize "im getting [insert thing]-pilled" is a matrix reference

and what sayings are references to things i don't know about

Zithers posted...

netflix streaming existed before 2012. as did video stores and dvd's. so did piracy. what are you talking about bro

my memory is hazy, go back to the video store era

bump

When I was in film school Matrix was required viewing in one of the classes. Pretty sure every film school has two or three classes where they just make you watch movies and write papers. Dope classes.

Sleeping, in their pods!

Get flushed!

Yeah this guy's full of shit. The Matrix movies are popular on streaming sites and sometimes on the home page. Unless Gen z simply doesn't watch movies at all and has parents who never watched movies with them I'd think most of them have seen it. I've seen plenty of movies made before I was born.

TheGoldenEel posted...

So in order to make interesting rock music in 2024 someone must be studied in medieval bard music?

Dunno about films but for music, yeah kinda. I wouldn't say studied but familiar at least. A lot of stuff that worked back then will work today.

I haven't seen the Matrix.

ClayGuida posted...

It was before their generation. I'm a movie buff and I'm sure there's still a bunch of 'classics' I never saw or haven't seen in decades.

While I agree, Id like to think youd expect more knowledge from someone who is such a film buff they actually go to film school.

Someone can be a big literature buff and not have read Shakespeare and I wouldnt see that as unusual. But if you were such a fan as to be studying a degree in English Literature, Id expect otherwise.

The third movie was dumb, and because of such I have absolutely no desire to ever watch any one of them ever again.

josifrees posted...

also what is really quotable in the matrix

This was a joke post, right?

Zithers posted...

would film students of the 90s understand references to popular 70s movies?

Grew up in the 80s-90s, college in the 00s. I definitely got references to classic films from the 70s, 80s, or even earlier, but I think it's because we didn't have much for entertainment options. You rented stuff from the video store or caught stuff on TV. You could only afford a few games and downloading a movie off the internet was a major commitment in terms of time until high speed internet came around. Now there is so much high quality stuff with such wide availability you don't really have incentive to seek out old stuff. And that's fine. If they want to watch old stuff they can, but if they don't it isn't the end of society or something.

Maybe he should try referencing good movies?

I really don't think his students supposedly not seeing or otherwise being aware of The Matrix is actually the problem here, and I am curious as to exactly what "reference" it is he's trying to make. I feel like it's the reference, not the film, that is more vague than he realizes.

This reminds me of a friend of mine, who is a high school teacher. He made a Simpsons reference in his class and nobody got it, and he talked about how it seems impossible that none of them got it.

I told him it would be like if some teacher made a Bonanza reference to us in school. Simpsons is my favorite show ever, but face the facts - the golden years of that show was taking place 30+ years ago.

Whoa

People have to get with the times.Also Terminator 1 was a great movie. All my itself. I would have never watched it if Terminator wasn't great. So with the sucky Matrix stuff out there why would they watch.

The_Popo posted...

This reminds me of a friend of mine, who is a high school teacher. He made a Simpsons reference in his class and nobody got it, and he talked about how it seems impossible that none of them got it.

I told him it would be like if some teacher made a Bonanza reference to us in school. Simpsons is my favorite show ever, but face the facts - the golden years of that show was taking place 30+ years ago.

I used to be with it, but then they changed what it was. Now what I'm with isn't it, and what's it seems weird and scary to me. It'll happen to you...

Would fail them all tbh

TheGoldenEel posted...

I dont see why they couldnt be. Isnt all the work from after they were born itself just an aggregate of all the things that were learned before?

how far back do you have to study in film/music/art history before you can stop?

like all the way back to ancient times. there is no "stop."

yall sound like robots; artists study art cause they love it and it's fun. yall make it sound like it's a chore to learn things. then don't!

josifrees posted...

So before like 2012 you didnt have much choice in what to watch so you would have seen a lot of the most popular movies.

also what is really quotable in the matrix

There is no spoon
Free your mind
Mr Anderson
He is beginning to believe
Etc

Good. Its like when i was in college and my film teacher was getting mad a lot of us didnt care or get his Pulp Ficition, Citizen Kane, or The Breakfast Club references.

Times and changing and people are evolving past certain things. New audiences care about different things.

Cinema isn't doomed because it's already there.

Nobody goes around in Mad Max saying "we're doomed."

And a bunch of kids not getting a reference to a movie older than themselves isn't why. The Matrix is an absolute milestone in the medium, but then again, so are a ton of movies I haven't seen that are older than me. I do have a list I wanna get around to some day but there's just no time.

I havent heard get medieval on his ass in a looooong time. That one is definitely out of the meme consciousness now

I'm 29 and there's like an 80% chance any movie reference you make will fly right over my head, because I've never had much interest in movies. My media consumption is way closer to someone from Gen Z

Gwynevere posted...

I'm 29 and there's like an 80% chance any movie reference you make will fly right over my head, because I've never had much interest in movies. My media consumption is way closer to someone from Gen Z

To be fair though, these students were in a film class.

I was talking with someone about this the other day and he was saying it's probably in part because there isn't so much of a generally accepted must-watch (or must-play, or must-read, etc) canon of media nowadays. more options plus compartmentalization of the internet into smaller spaces for unique fandoms that are still easy to find by just searching reddit means you can still partake in and discuss more niche media without having to stick to the Big Names to find anyone familiar with them

Should have used "I am inevitable!" From Avengers