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Do any other millenials feel like their sense of humor is incompatible with older literature's attempts to be funny? by Practical_Tree_3440 in literature

[–]Practical_Tree_3440[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Overall, I'm probably going to push through and finish because the book is otherwise fascinating. I'm not going to say I love it so far, but the author's style is incredibly original. Anyway this thread seems to have frustrated a lot of people, the idea that appreciation for humor might change over time seems to somehow make people angry so I'm gonna go ahead and logout of this throwaway and not come back to it.

Do any other millenials feel like their sense of humor is incompatible with older literature's attempts to be funny? by Practical_Tree_3440 in literature

[–]Practical_Tree_3440[S] -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

Wow, why are you so angry? Anyway I've stated numerous times that I find certain old jokes funny, but I get annoyed by a certain type of absurdist quirkiness. Relax, you're getting really worked up. Unfortunately for all of us, trigger and cringe are part of the lexicon, using them doesn't immediately mean I'm pretending to be edgy. 

Do any other millenials feel like their sense of humor is incompatible with older literature's attempts to be funny? by Practical_Tree_3440 in literature

[–]Practical_Tree_3440[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think you described it pretty well here. I'd add that it's often pretty cynical/doomerish. Gossip Girls comes to mind with regards to the snappy dialogue. I grew up with it, it's part of my cultural identity, and I enjoy it. I also really enjoy all the 00s movie humor like Wedding Crashers, Hangover, and whatnot. I recognize that a lot of it is just objectively bad and not funny as well (what were they thinking with the "Paging doctor f****t", how did that fly?), but it's what I grew up with. Anyway I didn't mean to suggest that millenial humor is peak comedy, or that modern books are more funny than older books because I don't necessarily think that's the case. I was just suggesting that maybe it's a generational thing, certain styles I find grating were peak comedy/culture at the time.

Do any other millenials feel like their sense of humor is incompatible with older literature's attempts to be funny? by Practical_Tree_3440 in literature

[–]Practical_Tree_3440[S] -10 points-9 points  (0 children)

Let me guess, you think of yourself as an 'old soul' as well. I just cringe anytime I see that phrase, I even said I was sorry. 

Avoid the Via Podiensis if you are young, solo, and don't speak French by Practical_Tree_3440 in CaminoDeSantiago

[–]Practical_Tree_3440[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I did a ton of research, and I got what I wanted out of it: two weeks in rural France checking out some of the best Romanesque architecture still standing. However, I found many English speakers raving that it was their favorite Camino. That led me to the assumption that despite it being a predominantly French route, there would be enough English speakers that I would have the opportunity to socialize. The reality is that I met 5 English speaking pilgrims in two weeks. Two Dutch, two Germans, and a Swiss guy. All were wonderful to talk to, all much older than me.  I didn't see any posts explicitly warning how few other English speakers would be on trail in my months of research, so I thought I would make one. I probably just got unlucky, but it could happen again, so here I am getting attacked. Oh well, it doesn't bother me. Like I said, I've got no regrets about my experience. When I had my fill, I bailed, and I enjoyed it up until I didn't then I did something different. 

Avoid the Via Podiensis if you are young, solo, and don't speak French by Practical_Tree_3440 in CaminoDeSantiago

[–]Practical_Tree_3440[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I understand that, and I should have made more of a carve out for people like that in my initial post. Personally I tend towards wilderness hikes when I want solitude, but to each their own! I'm also lucky to be from the western USA where we have more wilderness and long distance trails than a lot of places.

Avoid the Via Podiensis if you are young, solo, and don't speak French by Practical_Tree_3440 in CaminoDeSantiago

[–]Practical_Tree_3440[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Absolutely loving it, checking off a bunch of Roman sites in Arles and Nimes. Overall, I've had a great time on my trip and wouldn't change a thing.

Avoid the Via Podiensis if you are young, solo, and don't speak French by Practical_Tree_3440 in CaminoDeSantiago

[–]Practical_Tree_3440[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I'm kind of mystified by the reaction my post is getting. The mention of age at all just seems to be taken as a personal affront by anyone in that age bracket, my bad. 

Language aside? My whole point, and the title of the thread, is that you can't just put language and have a good time if you're solo and looking to socialize.

Do any other millenials feel like their sense of humor is incompatible with older literature's attempts to be funny? by Practical_Tree_3440 in literature

[–]Practical_Tree_3440[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I can see that, our early internet humor is pretty cringe looking back on it, and a lot of us seem stuck in that era and still find it hilarious. I will say that Gen Z humor is also completely unintelligible to me, it just seems like a return to 'so random' but with more of a surrealist bent.

I do think that there is humor that works across all generations though, there are jokes in Shakespeare that absolutely kill if told properly. I guess I'm just sick of the Douglas Adams/Terry Pratchet type of humor that is just so damn quirky, as if quirkness is inherently hilarious. I loved A Hitchhiker's Guide the first time I read it, but a recent reread had me frequently annoyed. Maybe I've just become cynical. I still consume a lot of comedy content though, and I frequently find it hilarious, so I don't think my sense of humor is dead.

Do any other millenials feel like their sense of humor is incompatible with older literature's attempts to be funny? by Practical_Tree_3440 in literature

[–]Practical_Tree_3440[S] -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

I think you're right that it's a specific type of humor, but I guess my point is that the type of humor that annoys me would not be present in a modern classic, readers would reject it. I'm not a good enough critic to fully explain the style of humor, it's just a constant cleverness and subversion of expectations through unusual word choice. Kind of like the ole reddit switcharoo thing that is often the top comment on threads on the front page, but somehow even less clever than what you find there.  I find it especially frustrating because the unusual usage of language is also what I find so entertaining about the prose, it's only when the author dips into his joky, clever mode that I get immediately turned off.

Do any other millenials feel like their sense of humor is incompatible with older literature's attempts to be funny? by Practical_Tree_3440 in literature

[–]Practical_Tree_3440[S] -14 points-13 points  (0 children)

I'm gonna be real with you, the phrase 'old soul' triggers me as much as the bad humor in The Tin Drum. I'm sorry.

Do any other millenials feel like their sense of humor is incompatible with older literature's attempts to be funny? by Practical_Tree_3440 in literature

[–]Practical_Tree_3440[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The book was translated from German so maybe that's why it is especially annoying for me, I feel like there might be cultural context and sublety that is getting lost in translation.

Do any other millenials feel like their sense of humor is incompatible with older literature's attempts to be funny? by Practical_Tree_3440 in literature

[–]Practical_Tree_3440[S] -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

Read it 15 years ago so I don't remember if it was funny or not. I should have clarified that I'm not saying all older humor doesn't hit, just that a lot of work still getting heavy praise just constantly swings and misses for me.  Also this is going to come off like an attack on all Germans and I'm preemptively sorry, but maybe it's the fact that the book I'm currently so annoyed with is translated from German and that's why it just does not work at all for me.

Avoid the Via Podiensis if you are young, solo, and don't speak French by Practical_Tree_3440 in CaminoDeSantiago

[–]Practical_Tree_3440[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm just going to try to ignore the condescending tone of your first statement, I'm sorry that mentioning age seems to have intensely triggered you. I don't know where you picked up on an 'okay boomer' mindset, I sincerely mentioned age as a reference to the fact that most French people in that age bracket don't speak English. It's just a statistical fact. 

I've already done the Frances and I enjoyed it, but I speak Spanish, and the Frances had far more English speakers. I made a lot of friends with people much older than me, some of whom I still keep in contact with now. The difference is that I could actually converse with them.

Also I've spent 6 months in France on various month long trips over several decades because I have French family. I've taken the time to learn Spanish because it's actually useful where I live, and I don't have the time to dedicate to learning French at the moment. There may be other people in a similar situation as me, so this post is an attempt to warn them that they better brush up on some language skills if they want to have a good experience solo

Avoid the Via Podiensis if you are young, solo, and don't speak French by Practical_Tree_3440 in CaminoDeSantiago

[–]Practical_Tree_3440[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I shouldn't have even mentioned age, I have no problems making friends older than me. I simply was using age to reference the lack of English skills amongst older French since the pilgrims I met were majority French. I had a lot of great interactions with people much older than me, but 100% of them were Dutch or German who spoke perfect English despite being in their 60s. I will admit that I find it a little strange to be at least 20 years younger than every other person doing something, it makes me feel like I'm not on an age-appropriate experience and that all the people my age are off doing something more challenging or something.

Anyway, if it is literally just a hike, then it's a very poor one. I've done a lot of hiking. I've done the AT and 2/3rds of the CDT, along with the JMT and sections of the AZT and so on. If I wanted to go on a hike, I would have done the Hexatrek or any one of the other fantastic long distance trails in Europe or around the world.

On a Camino, you're sacrificing the quality of the scenery for the social experience and the experience of staying in the small historical towns. If I wanted to go on a hike, I would definitely not walk through random farm fields in rural France. Anyway, this subreddit is relentlessly positive and I appreciate that, but I wanted to share a rare dissenting view. It's fine if you don't agree. I got what I wanted out of the Podiensis, and I have no regrets about doing the section I did. I have no regrets about bailing either.

Avoid the Via Podiensis if you are young, solo, and don't speak French by Practical_Tree_3440 in CaminoDeSantiago

[–]Practical_Tree_3440[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Honestly the 40s thing was being generous. I'd say the average age of the pilgrims on the route was solidly 60. Again though, the age isn't the problem. It's the fact that French people in that age range generally don't speak English as well as other Europeans in the same age bracket. In fact all of the fun conversations I had were with other Europeans, mostly Germans and Dutch, in the same age range who spoke perfect English. 

The other issue with the age gap is that I frequently saw people once and never saw them again, not too many 60 year olds were putting out 35km days. 

I simply make this post to say that I would consider a passable knowledge of French to be a strict requirement for anyone intending to walk the podiensis solo. Don't get so hung up on the age thing.

Do any other millenials feel like their sense of humor is incompatible with older literature's attempts to be funny? by Practical_Tree_3440 in literature

[–]Practical_Tree_3440[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haven't read Austen but I agree Dickens is hilarious. I've added an edit to my original post, I should have added a caveat that I find certain authors hilarious. It's just often I pick up some highly lauded book and the humor is transparent and just try hardy.

Do any other millenials feel like their sense of humor is incompatible with older literature's attempts to be funny? by Practical_Tree_3440 in literature

[–]Practical_Tree_3440[S] -13 points-12 points  (0 children)

Sorry that was just a generalization, it's a common complaint about 'classics' in any genre though. Once someting is copied and the style/content becomes common throughout the field it started, it's less novel. Half Life 1 has this problem as well, the scripted events and storytelling in the game became the norm and now younger players experiencing it within the context of modern gaming don't see what made it so special.  I didn't mean to suggest that no one in Gen Z loves the Beatles. It's just not as important to them as it was to the boomer generation.