Why I prefer SSO over TCM

Discussion of programming on TCM.
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mrsl
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Why I prefer SSO over TCM

Post by mrsl »

Every now and then I swing over to TCM just to see what is going on. I have stated before how young the newer people are, and don't get me wrong, I'm all for educating them as to the merits and qualities of the golden age and its' inhabitants, however, in helping them, I would expect a little background on their actual interest. Are they one-timers, (as I've noticed many are) on line for a lark, or do they really have an interest in classic movies?

Here is why I say this:

I found on IMDb an actress Gene Tierney who was advised to smoke to lower her voice ,she became addicted and years later she died of Emphysema.

This was in the Information Please topic regarding cigarettes. An actress??!!!? That's like saying "There's a big building in New York City, The Empire State".

In order to get to that particular info, you have to read two biographies, and two other trivia comments, not to mention the whole thing is loaded with photos of her. Didn't the person writing have any indication that this was a particularly popular lady? I come across comments like this all the time, but feel like a jerk when I try to explain who those people were. Today's fans have no idea how involved classic stars had to be in order to make names for themselves, nor how many movies they had to act in before getting noticed. Today, all they have to do is jaywalk, have a photo shoot, and they're celebrities. They can't act their way out of paper bag, but everyone knows their name!

I'm not going to continue this rant because I'm sure most of you are sick of it by now, but can anyone explain to me why (other than causing trouble), people would join a classic film site, unless they had at least a basic knowledge of what they were reading about and wanted to learn more?

Anne
Anne


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Vecchiolarry
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Post by Vecchiolarry »

Hi Anne,

Yes, I know! I hear you!!
Today's youth knows nothing, not even next-to-nothing, but absolutely nothing about classic movies and classic stars.
Yesterday, in a restaurant at brunch, a teenage girl, at the next table, announced to her parents, "I want to be like an actress like Madonna!"... :roll:
I nearly chocked on my omelette!!!

I said to my companions, "Better she aim for Myrna Loy!".... Two of my younger tablemates looked stunned and I said, "Don't tell me you don't know who Myrna Loy was?".... No, they didn't.
I told them to look her up on the internet (they're both geeks)....

I seldom go on TCM anymore and never on IMDb.
Both boards are now taken over by jerks who want to know who was and is homosexual. Not interested, thank you!!

Larry
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knitwit45
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us? OLDER? Nahhhhh

Post by knitwit45 »

I recently visited my favorite thread, "Ask Mongo", and it has been hijacked by some jerk who lectures rather than informs. Too sad.

Larry, I was in a record store (boy, that dates me!) and overheard two young ladies talking about Paul McCartney. One said, "Did you know Paul McCartney was in a band before Wings?" The other one said, "No, what was the name of the band? I thought he was just in Wings". I stumbled out of the store.....

And a co-worker, 20 years ago, didn't know who Clark Gable was, and had never heard of the film Gone with the Wind..... her, I straightened out....

Guess we really are the older generation, even though I still FEEL like the younger one.
sigh.
"Life is not the way it's supposed to be.. It's the way it is..
The way we cope with it, is what makes the difference." ~ Virginia Satir
""Most people pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it." ~ Soren Kierkegaard
feaito

Sad to admit it...

Post by feaito »

All I can say is thanks for SilverscreenOasis and far as I'm concerned, and I say this with utter sadness, the TCM Boards are over for me.
Vecchiolarry
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Post by Vecchiolarry »

Hi,

Well, all I can say is that I'm very happy and glad that we all made it onto this site.
I would hate it to have to lose such great and informed friends.

We may be part of the middle aged and seniors but we are still vibrant and knowledgeable and exhibit good manners. And, that's why we're all wonderful people!!

Larry
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knitwit45
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Post by knitwit45 »

Vecchiolarry wrote:Hi,

Well, all I can say is that I'm very happy and glad that we all made it onto this site.
I would hate it to have to lose such great and informed friends.

We may be part of the middle aged and seniors but we are still vibrant and knowledgeable and exhibit good manners. And, that's why we're all wonderful people!!

Larry
Thanks, Larry, I needed that!!!!
"Life is not the way it's supposed to be.. It's the way it is..
The way we cope with it, is what makes the difference." ~ Virginia Satir
""Most people pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it." ~ Soren Kierkegaard
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mongoII
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Post by mongoII »

Old habits die hard with me and although I think that Silver Screen Oasis is a supreme site, after 7 years TCM is still in my blood.
I just ignore the select arsholes. I manage to participate in and enjoy both movie sites.
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movieman1957
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Post by movieman1957 »

Vecchiolarry wrote:Hi,

Well, all I can say is that I'm very happy and glad that we all made it onto this site.
I would hate it to have to lose such great and informed friends.

We may be part of the middle aged and seniors but we are still vibrant and knowledgeable and exhibit good manners. And, that's why we're all wonderful people!!

Larry
God bless us, everyone.
Chris

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
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CharlieT
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Post by CharlieT »

Oh, I don't know. It's a good place to go to get your spelling corrected. Right, Larry?
"I'm at my most serious when I'm joking." - Dudley

Don't sweat the petty things - don't pet the sweaty things.
Vecchiolarry
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Post by Vecchiolarry »

Hi Charlie,

Yes, what would we do without Cinesage and his correction marker. I just ignore it or try to......

Once he wrote that I'd left out a hyphen in the names of Violet & Lillian Kemble Cooper -eg- Kemble-Cooper. I've seen it either way.
I was half tempted to write back and tell him to stick his hyphen up his 'arse' - - but I resisted the temptation.

More power me & it is to laugh!!

Larry
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CharlieT
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Post by CharlieT »

Well, Larry, I'm willing to contribute my share of snorts and giggles. :lol:
"I'm at my most serious when I'm joking." - Dudley

Don't sweat the petty things - don't pet the sweaty things.
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sugarpuss
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Re: us? OLDER? Nahhhhh

Post by sugarpuss »

knitwit45 wrote:Larry, I was in a record store (boy, that dates me!) and overheard two young ladies talking about Paul McCartney. One said, "Did you know Paul McCartney was in a band before Wings?" The other one said, "No, what was the name of the band? I thought he was just in Wings". I stumbled out of the store.....
Oh God, please tell me you're kidding. Or that those two girls were being totally sarcastic. I was a little kid and I knew who the Beatles were! Isn't that part of the information packet that you're automatically born with? What is your name? Where do you live? Who are the four Beatles?

I prefer the people on SSO, although I have to say that I really miss going over to the TCM boards and seeing intellegent discussion. There's a lot of new people on the boards who I just don't care for, mainly because all the good posters are here. Sometimes I feel like a traitor posting at the TCM boards, which bothers me.

I don't know, it just bugs me knowing that a lot of the well-informed, fun posters are gone and are being replaced with newer, less fun versions. I post in both places because I enjoy talking about classic movies (there's not a lot of people my age who enjoy talking about the classics, let alone watching them), but I enjoy the people here a whole lot more. The topics are more interesting and it's more positive than negative.

The posters here speak with fondness and love for the movies, while I feel a lot of the newbies at TCM are always trying to out know each other.
"Some of the best parts of life are frivolous." - Arthur Kennedy in A Summer Place
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Dewey1960
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Post by Dewey1960 »

sugarpuss sez: "I prefer the people on SSO, although I have to say that I really miss going over to the TCM boards..."

That's exactly how I see it. The Oasis is a much more pleasant place to inhabit, although at times it does appear that lively discussions in areas I'm interested in still happen over at TCM, which is why I've also started posting there again as well. I think that once The Oasis begins actively recruiting new members, the need to travel over to TCMland will diminish.
pktrekgirl
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Re: us? OLDER? Nahhhhh

Post by pktrekgirl »

sugarpuss wrote: The posters here speak with fondness and love for the movies, while I feel a lot of the newbies at TCM are always trying to out know each other.
I feel this way too. In fact, I began to feel this way about 6 months ago there, which is why I stopped participating much even before the exodus.

I have been back there a handful of times since the exodus, and things have not improved much. I think that board really caters to a different group though. They cater to TCM viewers - of all different levels of knowledge and interest. It is also a very transient board, and always has been. The 'regulars' all came here pretty much...and I am really not interested in wasting my breath on a constant stream of 1 post wonders, because half of them only go there to complain about a particular matter and leave. We saw that alot last month with some of the people who came to protest Screened Out.

Now, since it IS a board that is for ALL TCM viewers, those one post wonders have a perfect right to be there, expressing their views.

But I want something more from a board. I want to learn new things from people more knowledgeable than me about this or that topic or star, get suggestions for films, and *not* rehash the same stuff over and over with newbies, many of whom are under the mistaken impression that they are the only ones who have ever read a book or seen a particular film, and after 15 minutes are 'experts'. Some of them, in my experience, don't even read other people's posts, which 2 hours or 2 days earlier said exactly what this or that newbie tries to impress you with, acting like they are some great authority or something. Those sorts of people pretty much ran me out of one thread I used to post in over there. 10 minutes and they are all experts. :roll:

Further, I like to discover 'new' actors and actresses - most of whom at this point are not the biggest stars on the block. I want to continue to TRY to become a well-rounded film fan by trying new genres, actors, directors, etc. And it really annoys me that you get alot of people there who are simply obsessed with one actor/actress, and compare everything and everyone else negatively to that person.

I remember last year with that gang 'o Jeanette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy 'shippers who would go berserk if you told them that you did NOT think Nelson and Jeanette were ready to drop everything and run off together any second. That is the sort of foolishness I like to avoid. I mean, who CARES? And the same goes for people who seem obsessed with 'proving' everyone was gay...or conversely, was NOT gay. What difference does it make? I mean, gay or straight, most of them are, above all else, DEAD. And last I checked were not sexually active. :P

I like to have a few laughs - mainly by being a silly fangirl on occasion. But at it's root, I am really there to share a love of classic film - to feel like I can ask for advice/suggestions....and occasionally offer them.

TCM is simply not the place to do that, most of the time.
Vecchiolarry
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Post by Vecchiolarry »

Hi,

I must say I had a good laugh at your statement about the dead and their not being sexually active. That is funny to my quirky sense of humour.
Just think if we made a movie about corpses in the graveyard rising up at midnight and chasing each other around for some good lovin' and snogging.
It would confound the critics - is it a comedy, a romance movie or a porno flick??

I did enjoy your post and couldn't agree more. I'm all for knowing more about the lesser knowns as well as the stars and the unpublicized old movies that are so good and go unseen.......

Some people have an agenda, I think, and want to put out there an incredible notion: Is so and so gay? Who cheated on whom? Did he/she commit suicide?
These are personal family concerns and ours should only be: Did he/she give a good performance? Who won or should have won an Oscar?

Incredibly, on the IMDb boards there is a question - "William Holden - Gay???"
Unbelievable - William Holden??????

Larry
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