Generational gaps

[neatoman]

So when the subject of the new movie came up in a conversation with my sister, she was not only surprised to find out that there was a TMNT cartoon before the 2003 one but also that there was a new one out. She did already know about the comics before this conversation though, but only because I had showed them to her.

Have you ever had a similar experience?

[IndigoErth]

Not really, being older most of the people I know grew up with the original series like I did. I find it a little strange though that some younger ones now seem to be entirely unaware of the older series, esp considering that it's logo and character design on merchandise, esp clothing, has pretty much always been around. Have they never wondered where that particular 'vintage' version came from?

Likewise I imagine many youngsters might be surprised to hear the Turtles are, despite their depictions, 30 years old.

Maybe we need weekend TMNT 101 classes for all ages. Both fun and educational! Sorta.

It's similar I suppose with other old franchises as well; like speaking to the young son of a then-employer back after he and his mother had come back from seeing the first Transformers movie. It was fun being able to chat with this kid about it since my age group grew up with it. He was surprised and seem to think it was pretty cool that they existed when I was his age and that somewhere around still had a couple old ones. Almost feel bad having to break it to these kids that, no, a bunch of this cool stuff did not originate with their generations... lol

Can't say I've had any such conversations with any kids about TMNT yet, don't really know any of that age group right now.

Tell you what though, for those of us that were kids in the 80s, we sure as heck like to keep these things around that we grew up with.

[smitbro2]

Yeah, I mean there are definitely gaps. My little nephew would be really confused if I showed him the Mirage comics. He would ask why there are 4 raphaels lol.

[Candy Kappa]

I don't strike conversations with random kids on the street about Ninja Turtles, but. With my kid brothers, I introduced them to the 203 show as it came at a perfect time with them being very young, tried with the 2002 He-man as well, but the toys vanished too quickly.

also taught them about the FW show, the various Mirage and Archie comics, anime etc and etc.

[Gorilla Grodd]

TMNT doesn't come up in conversation all that much but a few months back I did meet a 23-24 year old that had almost no exposure to any iteration of TMNT. Never saw the OT, never saw the movies, and only knew a little about the 4Kids show since they had seen it on while flipping channels and stuff but never took the time to watch it.

I felt very old.

[ProactiveMan]

A lot of people I know are/were unaware that the Next Mutation, 2k3 series, or Nick series exist. Try explaining Utrom Shredder to these people and watch their eyes glaze over.

My friends know that the Turtles pre-date the OT, but they don't know anything about the comics, so they get shirty when newer adaptations don't include Bebop & Rocksteady, and all that stuff.

[neatoman]

Originally Posted by ProactiveMan

A lot of people I know are/were unaware that the Next Mutation, 2k3 series, or Nick series exist. Try explaining Utrom Shredder to these people and watch their eyes glaze over.

My friends know that the Turtles pre-date the OT, but they don't know anything about the comics, so they get shirty when newer adaptations don't include Bebop & Rocksteady, and all that stuff.

Why don't they read the comics? They're easier to find now than ever, just tell them to buy the Ultimate Collection.

[Netkeeper]

Only slightly offtopic, but I distinctly remember being the only kid in my class that watched the Next Mutation when it was airing.

Generally most of the people I talk to knew about 2k3 [since it aired alongside Sonic X, which just about ALL of my friends watched when it came out] and most of them know about the 87 show. But not much else.

[ProactiveMan]

Originally Posted by neatoman

Why don't they read the comics? They're easier to find now than ever, just tell them to buy the Ultimate Collection.

They don't read comics I guess.

[Leo656]

One thing that was really cool was, I didn't see my niece much for a few years, and then when she was about 10 I found out she had gotten into TMNT all by herself during the last couple seasons of the 2K3 show. Like she had gotten really into it with no prodding from me or her mom (my sister kinda liked TMNT when she was younger but not a ton). She even took the initiative and had gotten familiar with the OT on youtube, although she preferred the 2K3 show. She hadn't seen the movies, so we had a great time watching those together for the first time. She hates to read so comics were never gonna be a thing for her, but I was impressed she had gotten so deeply into the shows and video games all on her own.

Then she turned 13, remembered she was a girl, and stopped liking everything cool. Once in a while we'll talk about TMNT but it's awkward, as you can kinda tell she's a little embarrassed that she was into it. She didn't like the Nick show much and that slowly kind of pushed her out of all of it. All she cares about is One Direction now. Breaks my heart.

[Netkeeper]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Then she turned 13, remembered she was a girl, and stopped liking everything cool. Once in a while we'll talk about TMNT but it's awkward, as you can kinda tell she's a little embarrassed that she was into it. She didn't like the Nick show much and that slowly kind of pushed her out of all of it. All she cares about is One Direction now. Breaks my heart.

Eh, give it some years, she'll grow out of that and eventually come back around to at least being okay with talking about it.

[Davetello]

Well, I have influenced my 9 yo cousin and now he loves the turtles. If I felt I was forcing it on him I would stop, but he has shown great enthusiasm from the start. We watch the Nick show together when he comes to stay with me, and I've also introduced him to other iterations. He was a bit wary of watching the original film as he said it seemed 'frightening' (he's a sensitive young boy, very loving but also a little suspicious, I think), but we eventually watched it a few months ago and he really enjoyed it. He also enjoys some episodes of 4kids and FW, as well as TMNT. He won't watch "Insane in the Membrane" though as he has seen previews of it and he thinks it's too scary.

He likes the merchandise too. He has his own DVDs as well as watching mine (I bought some of them for him as presents), and he has clothes, bed covers, Wii and Gamecube games, toys etc. He really seems to enjoy most aspects of the property.

As he grows and becomes mature enough to handle it, I will begin introducing him to Mirage (I gave him my NECA figures a few years back as he loved playing with them when he was here). My hope is that he will become as passionate as I am, although obviously I will never force it. He's a bright young boy and I want to be having thoughtful discussions about the turtles (and football) with him when he's 18 and I am 40. My mum had us early and my aunt had him late so there's a large age gap between us. We're almost like extra fatherly influences on him due to the age gap. I'm glad that he has many strong and positive male influences in his life.

So yeah, there is a way to bridge generational gaps. We just need to educate the kids we know about the property and let them find their own path. Kids are smarter than people give them credit for - they pick up on what they are seeing or reading.

"All she cares about is One Direction now. Breaks my heart."

One Direction rofl . Absolutely brutal, but on a serious note I find it quite despicable how Simon Cowell plays on the emotions of impressionable adolescents and pre-teens in order to make money. The whole talentless operation is a form of child exploitation. But let's not sully a good thread with talentless parasites like that. They'll be gone soon and she will get back into more substantial things - like the TMNT.

[IndigoErth]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Then she turned 13, remembered she was a girl, and stopped liking everything cool. Once in a while we'll talk about TMNT but it's awkward, as you can kinda tell she's a little embarrassed that she was into it. She didn't like the Nick show much and that slowly kind of pushed her out of all of it. All she cares about is One Direction now. Breaks my heart.

Aww... Give it time, she may be back.

A lot of kids of that age group seem to go through the phase, esp with the influence of each other, where they think they have ideas about what makes them "mature" or not.

I tend to give Yahoo Answers a browse most days for my fave subjects, and it - being "too old" or not - comes up frequently about cartoons, and with Nick's series so popular TMNT is often included in the question these days. I always reassure them that not only do a lot of adults love it still and/or other cartoons, it's also adults who have jobs making those cartoons because they love cartoons. If it wasn't ok for "mature" people to like cartoons then kids wouldn't have any to enjoy.

[Davetello]

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

Aww... Give it time, she may be back.

A lot of kids of that age group seem to go through the phase, esp with the influence of each other, where they think they have ideas about what makes them "mature" or not.

I tend to give Yahoo Answers a browse most days for my fave subjects, and it - being "too old" or not - comes up frequently about cartoons, and with Nick's series so popular TMNT is often included in the question these days. I always reassure them that not only do a lot of adults love it still and/or other cartoons, it's also adults who have jobs making those cartoons because they love cartoons.

Yahoo Answers Full of absolute lunatics.

The Gender Studies section is just madness. Ultra feminists vs misogynists. I read it when I am bored - gives me a good laugh.

[IndigoErth]

Isn't that the truth. Some sections there are best taken only in small doses and otherwise I mostly stick to the newest TMNT and WOW questions. lol Sometimes even those aren't safe.

[Davetello]

Hahaha, it really is a bitter as hell section.

I have seen some turtles questions on there but not that many, relatively seeking. Of course sometimes if you google something specific a YA question will be amongst the first search results, but I've never really seen live questions when browsing the website.

[CyberCubed]

TMNT is like Batman, every gen grows with a different Batman and likes their version the best.

My father grew up with the 60's Batman, I grew up with the 1989 Movie Batman as well as Batman: TAS.

[neatoman]

Originally Posted by CyberCubed

TMNT is like Batman, every gen grows with a different Batman and likes their version the best.

My father grew up with the 60's Batman, I grew up with the 1989 Movie Batman as well as Batman: TAS.

Do you think TMNT will last 75 years?