Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis • Hacker News Board

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#521

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Mar 16, 2026, 3:02 PM UTC

czhu12 wrote: post #174

Jtsummers wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where is that? Tickets here are only $7-10 each (except maybe some IMAX or similar showings) and two drinks and popcorn would be $15-25 for two people (size dependent). This is in Colorado. EDIT: I was going off of memory, but matinee/child/senior pricing is apparently $9.75 at the theater I usually go to, evening is $13.25 (I never go in the evening, had forgotten what that price was). They have a two drink and popc…

I thought tickets had more standard pricing across markets. For a standard ticket here in SF -- (I know we're comparing probably the highest end to the lowset end here) -- its $22. For IMAX its about $30, at your standard AMC. Indie theatres are not cheaper and are often more expensive. 7 dollar tickets I haven't seen since elementary school

[deleted]

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#522

Post by Rover222 » Mon, Mar 16, 2026, 3:31 PM UTC

mapotofu wrote: post #504

Rover222 wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is such a college freshman worldview take, IMO.

That’s great. Your opinions are important, regardless of how well formed they are. What grade level should we assign your worldview?

Being nihilistic about everything is intellectually lazy and self righteous, and usually naïve.

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#523

Post by senordevnyc » Mon, Mar 16, 2026, 4:10 PM UTC

skeeter2020 wrote: post #210

deadbabe wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the millennial suburbs some people have converted their garages into small indie move theaters with good sound systems and people from around the neighborhood show up to watch obscure movies together and eat barbecued food.

pre-millennial here; we call this a party, rather than a "suburban prosumer boutique theatre".

The only person calling it that is you...

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#524

Post by raydev » Mon, Mar 16, 2026, 4:25 PM UTC

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #463

raydev wrote: post #428

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are you comparing prices from a time when most people in the US weren't even born yet? Comparing with the 90s seems reasonable because nothing is dramatically different about the experience except there are generally better seats now.

If someone says “it’s always been like that”, I definitely take that as a historical pre-birth statement.

Luckily I'm near the median age, so it actually has been like that for most people. :)

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#525

Post by garbawarb » Mon, Mar 16, 2026, 4:28 PM UTC

pezezin wrote: post #395

MonkeyIsNull wrote: post #346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everytime I see a trailer for an american film I feel like it's the same crap just re-hashed with different actors and the same plots over and over again. Give me something original. Something from Japan, Turkey, India, someone with a new idea. The Koreans? Yup, they push the boundaries of story telling. For example the School Nurse Files, that was either one of the best or the worse series I've ever seen. I'm still…

It's funny that you mention Japan, because I live here and I swear 90% of Japanese movies/dramas/animes are just rehashes of the same ideas over and over again. I guess only the good stuff gets exported.

Korea too, and any other country. There are some great movies that push the boundaries of storytelling but those are just as rare as great American movies.

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#526

Post by quickthrowman » Mon, Mar 16, 2026, 4:30 PM UTC

dyauspitr wrote: post #338

datsci_est_2015 wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> These same people wouldn't bat an eye at paying $14 for a food truck grilled cheese and leave a tip. This seems weirdly condescending, especially since I think these two things are very related. There are two types of $14 food truck grilled cheese in my experience: The first type is usually found at farmer’s markets or free city events where the cheese will be local and artisan, and the bread will be local and arti…

> the cheese will be local and artisan, and the bread will be local and artisan, and it’ll be pretty freaking good, and remind you that you can make incredible food with simple ingredients. Simple ingredients should be cheap. It’s fucking cheese and bread, stop trying to normalize $15 for it. The raw ingredients are milk and wheat, both of which are incredible cheap.

You’re forgetting the cost of the food truck itself including maintenance and depreciation, plus propane to run the burners and labor to prepare the food, marketing, etc. I’d be surprised if a food truck has a net profit over 10%, after subtracting expenses.

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#527

Post by jrowen » Mon, Mar 16, 2026, 4:38 PM UTC

shiroiuma wrote: post #477

jrowen wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you comment further on this? As an American it's kind of hard to see that. Is this just kind of a temporary reaction to the Trump administration or a larger trend? What is taking its place? Are there more localized media pockets (e.g. is there a significant German-language Instagram influencer world)? Geographically which areas are you talking about?

People no longer look up to America like they did 40-50 years ago. It's been a slow decline, really starting I think in the early 2000s with GWB's "war on terror" and stupid invasion of Iraq, and the election of Trump accelerated it, and the re-election of Trump has really put the final nails in the coffin. Instead of a force for good that sometimes screwed up as America was formerly viewed, it's viewed as an empire…

That's not really about media though. While it does factor into the overall sentiment, a think a lot of people can enjoy America's cultural exports regardless of how they feel about the geopolitical side of things (certainly we can).

I'm just curious because, for better or worse, American movies, music, and TV still seem globally dominant from my POV and it'd be interesting to know if and how that is changing. There's kind of a huge moat, other countries haven't built out these global powerhouse media industries.

Another layer of the moat is how much that media and tech hegemony has entrenched English as the global language. Any culture based on a different language is going to have a really hard time getting beyond their borders.

When someone says that the relevance of American media is in decline, that implies that something else is becoming more relevant. There has to be something there beyond "America sucks now."

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#528

Post by dredmorbius » Mon, Mar 16, 2026, 4:51 PM UTC

Jensson wrote: post #459

dredmorbius wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Metonym & Toponym https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metonymy > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toponymy >. "Silicon Valley": As more high-tech companies were established across San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley, and then north towards the Bay Area's two other major cities, San Francisco and Oakland, the term "Silicon Valley" came to have two definitions: a narrower geographic one, referring to Santa Clara County and sout…

You know there is a tech industry outside of the bay area?

The name also became a global synonym for leading high-tech research and enterprises...

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47390344>

(Emphasis added.)

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#529

Post by dpark » Mon, Mar 16, 2026, 5:16 PM UTC

snapcaster wrote: post #514

pclmulqdq wrote: post #368

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People call the classical music audience prudish for demanding quiet during performances, but IMO when you go to a concert it should be ok to shush people who talk during the quiet parts.

This is so antisocial. Just go listen to it by yourself in your room if human presence is annoying

This is the typical reply of the inconsiderate. “If my behavior is so problematic, then you should stay home.”

The problem isn’t with “human presence”. It’s with the select few who can’t or won’t control their own behavior out of respect for others.

Re: Hollywood Enters Oscars Weekend in Existential Crisis

#530

Post by mrguyorama » Mon, Mar 16, 2026, 5:19 PM UTC

ryandrake wrote: post #384

telotortium wrote: post #275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Beer is cheaper from a super market but everyone I know prefers pubs. It's a pretty frequent complaint that drinks at pubs, bars, and restaurants have become extortionately expensive, to the point that a lot of younger people are drinking less for that reason.

Even outside of pubs and restaurants. Six packs and cases in the grocery store are all hugely inflated. Since I like beer, I got an old freezer and built a kegerator out of it and now buy my beer by the keg. (For now) keg prices are barely reasonable. $10 for a glass of beer at a restaurant?? Fuck right off with that.

The best part about beer being $10 is that most of the other drinks, including things that taste a shitload better, are also $10.

If you are a dumbass kid like I was, that same $10 also gets you a Long Island Iced Tea, which is delicious and only gives you a little liver disease.

But instead of buying anything at all that could get you mistaken for being slightly unmanly, idiots will just complain and spend $10 on Bud Light.

Americans are extremely bad at value shopping or shopping around. They would rather go into debt than try something new.

I don't get it.