Tuesday 14 November 2023

How Boomers Ruined Our Entertainment

I often complain that anime got worse in the 2010s compared to 2000. I do specify that is it story and plot that suffers and not the art or quality. There were advancements in art and quality, but they are contrasted by sharp decline in story and plot.

However now I can pinpoint the reason for this decline: boomers.

Back in 90s and 2000s most stories were aimed at youth. They featured characters young people could relate to.


Take Warcraft universe for example. Arthas, Illidan and Kael'Thas where characters actual young people could relate to. Their struggles and choices reflected choices and issues that we (Millennials) as generation faced.

Arthas found that rules set up by his Kingdom prevents him from achieving the objectives they themselves set him to accomplish. It was Uther who told Arthas to investigate the plague in the north. However, it was also Uther who refused the solution Arthas devised at Stratholme. Arthas understood how plague works a lot better so he knew people could not be saved, you as player saw it yourself in previous 3 missions. Yet Uther denied his decision based on some outdated principles that too detached from current reality.

That is so like actual youth experience where young people often find themselves bombarded by adult preaching, that does not reflect reality of their lives and does nothing to address the challenges they face. If anything, it only makes them worse. Just like listening to Uther would have left them fighting a literal zombie apocalypse together with Mal/Ganis.

Illidan suffers from unrequited love for Tyrande, who instead picked his twin brother Furion as her love. 

(Mal)Furion is like a kid who is more loved by his parents compare to pariah Illidan. Favored by Cenarius because Furion is a narrow-minded idiot, obedient student to his doctrine, unlike independent minded Illidan. Furion gets all the good things in life: pretty wife (though Tyrande is messed in the head with her goddess), respect of Night Elves, approval of his superiors. He is somewhat of a cuckold though.

Furion was like a parents' preferred role model of sorts. However, fans overwhelmingly prefer his twin brother Illidan instead. Illidan is a better person, smart and caring in his own way. He is not an idiot who blindly enforces rules, but a person who does what makes sense to him. 

Finally, Kael'Thas suffers from an unreasonable racist bias of Garithos, who is probably jealous of elves' intelligence and beauty. How many young people suffer from stupid abusive evil bosses. Kael'Thas eventually finds new and better friends in Illidan, Lady Vashj and Naga.

Back in 2000s WarCraft was our, Millennial game. Its world, characters and story reflected out worldview aspirations and needs.


Then Cataclysm happen, so aptly named expansion. The game begun catering to boomers and their folly instead. Characters that are approved by elders replaced those to whom young people could relate.

Garrosh that treated everyone like shit but wanted to win approval of Thrall and later his father Grom Hellscream. Thrall still killed him and called him a disappointment.

Varian Wrynn who himself was a kid in early WoW, somehow got very old by the time of Legion and had his own son, Anduin Wrynn. Nwm, it was not him, he was lost and only returned in Wraith of the Lich King. That means most players did not even knew who he was before that moment. Sure, there was a comic about him, but I doubt many read it. Regardless, Varian had very youthful appearance until Legion.

Anduin is more of a favorite flawless son who appeals to parents, rather than a character that young people can relate to. Other Characters often pick on him.

Finally, Sylvanas somehow became WarChief of the Horde. I guess they only done it so that they can make a story about old people reclaiming the righteous Horde from 'spoiled youngsters'. By the way, unlike Varok, who was only introduced in WoW, Sylvanas actually fought and died defending Sylvermoon from Arthas and the Scourge. Arthas did reanimate her as banshee of the Scourge, and she fought for the Scourge for a time. However, she managed to break free from the Lich King's control and started her own fraction of independent undead who also managed to get free of the Scourge: Forsaken. They may be free of Lich King, but they are still undead, which means that are living corpses, Sylvanas as well. I do wonder on what battlefields did Varok fought and 'bled for the Horde'?

Original WoW lore subtly outlined mutual distrust between core Horde on one side and Forsaken and Blood Elves on the other. Orcs Trolls and Taurens did shared common sets of values and admiration for each other. Forsaken and Blood Elves simply joined because of convenience, neither of the wings fully trusted each other but worked together because of common enemies. Such distrust, that hardly disappeared, would make a Forsaken WarChief impossible. 


Older people and old values relatable to boomers replaced those relatable to Millennials. By now it is a old people's game that caters only to boomers's sentiments. That is why so many Millennials desert WoW or play WoW Classic instead. I think Classic will stay at Wraith of the Lich King.

Other entertainment as well. Even Anime, Hollywood became completely woke and subservient to the boomers' nonsense.

So, we need to kill boomers to save our entertainment as well.

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