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u/ElectronRotoscope 23h ago
The cliche of what a spy looks like: wearing a fedora, in a button up shirt with a tie, in an overcoat, reading a newspaper. The cliche lasted decades and decades after that was actually a way to blend in
Also, relevant xkcd
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u/queerkidxx 21h ago
Thereâs a ton of things in pop culture, especially cartoons like this. For example, tin soldiers, Jack in a boxes, and that sort of thing as Christmas gifts despite these not being common toys since like the early 20th century. And a billion more things I canât think of right now.
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u/Critical_Company3535 19h ago
Dracula is another one. He is supposed to be dressed the same way a Victorian aristocrat would dress.
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u/mocny-chlapik 17h ago
They caught Dracula by analyzing property records in estate agencies and other offices. He was defeated by modern paper trail.
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u/Sudden_Leadership800 18h ago
Hey if you wait long enough it'll come back into fashion. I bet some people on here still have flares.
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u/NotGood-With-Names dangerous crow boy who eats plastic 15h ago
Also a really ugly, out of season strawhat
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u/spacebatangeldragon8 16h ago edited 14h ago
One of my favourite franchise-wide examples: the Simpsons live in a town written by people in the late '80s and '90s as a parody of the Americana of their own childhoods, which explains basically everything from the show's premise that's kind of weird when you think about it (Bart's celebrity idol is a public access TV clown, wealthy Italian mafiosi coexist with Indian immigrant convenience-store clerks, everybody in town still goes to church on Sunday including the people who aren't even religious, etc).
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u/ElectronRotoscope 21h ago
Okay now I want to see a nutcracker that's just in the soldier uniform for whatever time and place the story takes place in. Like the mouth is exactly the same, but instead of lobsterback uniform with white sashes or whatever he's dressed like this
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u/bloodwitchbabayaga 19h ago
When i worked at target we actually did have more modern ones. Specifically the army uniform with the cap. I dont know if they still have it.
Edit: googling "army uniform nutcracker" there are ones in the exact outfit linked
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u/erroneousbosh 17h ago
That would actually rule, and you need to find someone with a decent woodworking shop to make the nutcracker and paint it.
You've got two months until Christmas. Make us proud. Blow our minds.
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u/ShatnersChestHair 6h ago
It also highlights that clearly we aren't going around cracking nuts as much as we used to
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u/TrekkiMonstr 18h ago
here you go lol it put the flag on the wrong shoulder but whatever
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u/Thromnomnomok 17h ago
Gemini
ew
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u/erroneousbosh 17h ago
Yeah, but Reference Reference Reference.
If you wanted to make one, it would be a good place to start.
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u/SchumacherIsMid 17h ago
Nobody cares. Quick informal concepts like this are one of the few good things image generation is actually good for.
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u/Void_0000 17h ago
It's only a concept if you later intend to make something real from the same idea. Otherwise you're just generating slop.
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u/arakus72 17h ago
Look at your downvotes, we do care round here
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u/SchumacherIsMid 17h ago
Wowee, literally one downvote. It could be at a thousand and it wouldn't matter.
If downvotes on Reddit has any influence on your opinions you are lost. Internet echo chambers are quite literally the worst possible place to take advice from.
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u/TrekkiMonstr 17h ago
Bro it's a comment on Reddit it's not that deep. Wanted to see what it would look like, now we have.
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u/BobcatTim 17h ago
I had a jack-in-the-box as a little kid, I donât think theyâre that obsolete. And I donât think Iâve seen tin soldiers depicted as stereotypical Christmas gifts. Usually itâs the green plastic army men, and I had lots of those as a kid too. Interestingly, the soldiers and weapons they represent are obsolete. You could buy a bag at the dollar store today, and I bet theyâd all be armed with WW2 era bazookas and what not.
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u/SplurgyA 14h ago
In fairness, tin (or lead) soldiers that kids played with in the 40s often depicted Napoleonic battles
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u/SplurgyA 14h ago
The Fisher-Price Chatter Telephone! Many children today have never seen a landline with a handset and cradle, let alone a rotary phone... in fact you can get little wooden smartphones for kids so they can pretend they're making phone calls like the grown ups they see.
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u/MobileJob1521 16h ago
Iâm dreading the day I have to tell my 5yo that he canât grow up to be a steam train driverâŚ
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u/featherknight13 14h ago
Funnily, it's probably easier to grow up to be a steam train driver than a modern train driver. Steam trains mostly run on tourist railways, which are often run by volunteers, so if you have the time and money to spare, you can train to get the appropriate qualifications and then volunteer. Meanwhile getting a driving job with a freight or passenger network is incredibly competitive.
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u/CaptainDildobrain 21h ago
So flowers are like anime body pillows for bees?
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u/ElectronRotoscope 21h ago
So, Captain Dildobrain, I see you've chosen the path of word violence
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u/CaptainDildobrain 18h ago
For you, the day Captain Dildobrain soiled your eyeballs was one of the most disturbing moments of your life. For me, it was a Saturday.
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u/chairmanskitty 13h ago
Most of them aren't, because as it turns out if you base your reproductive strategy on weeb's ability to fuck, you will go extinct.
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u/cantantantelope 22h ago
The ninja in all black is similarly removed
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u/No-Supermarket-6065 Gin-soaked, semi-literate munchkin 22h ago
I think that was something to do with how kabuki theater works. All the background extras wear black in order to blend in and so when someone gets "killed by a ninja" they get stabbed by a background extra. I'm just a dumbass American though so I could very well be wrong.
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u/cantantantelope 22h ago
Basically that. Real spies wear whatever blends in, low wage workers, peasants etc. The theatre workers wore all black and were basically supposed to be ignored because thatâs part of the theatre rules. Having one suddenly act as a character is a HUGE twist that would make m night shamylan weep with joy.
But then it becomes removed from its original context.
Can you even imagine the first play that happened in tho. Gotta have been amazing
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u/eydirctiviyg 11h ago
It'd be the equivalant of something like Undertale, where the save file mechanic turns out to be fully diegetic.
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u/cantaloupelion đđŚ 16h ago
(this is how i remember it please tell me if i am wrong)
so back in the day, if you wanted entertainment in Olden Days Japan it was Alcohol, Prostitutes or Theater ( i mean you could have tea with your friends or whatever...i guess)
Anyway outdoor theaters were the bees knees, especially for family entertainment. Like you would grow up watching your neighbors and villagers put on shows, see traveling troupes and if the Lord was feeling generous, he would pay/sponsor for the troupes to visit your village. Every one of these shows would have stage hands that move things on the stage (usually a large bit of grass or flat land), nearly all of them dressed darkly or in black
depending on the show, the actors would either have a monolgue/sidescene or something to keep everyones eyes and brains entertained. Other shows the actors would walk onto the stage, continuing the scene while ignoring the stagehands as they alter the set.
So from a very young age, you are aware of the trope of the 'invisible' stage hands, as every single one of the many plays you have seen has some variation on the theme/trope.
Imagine then, being 31 with your wife and neighbors at a new tavelling show. The Lord walks in from stage left, trailed by his 4 loyal retainers. Already on stage is the villian & crew, the suspected traitors! You know its going down, but not how! (The stage hands are bringing out the Lords
chairspillows,) as the Lord strides confidently towards the knaves, denouncing their recent actions. The pillow goes onto the ground and mid-sentence the Lord falls over with a short sword in his gut!oh shit, how!!
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u/Chaos-Queen_Mari 22h ago
Well, that one was always a dramatization. Ninja either wore blue (which blended into the environment much better than pitch black 90% of the time) or the same clothes that were expected to be worn in the place they were infiltrating.
A lot of people dont seem to realize ninja are just feudal japanese spies.
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u/slide_potentiometer 11h ago
People joke about Naruto being a ninja wearing orange, but slap some high-vis reflective tape on his outfit, add a hard hat, a badge lanyard and a clipboard, ladder or tool bag and he's ready to sneak in anywhere
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u/ElectronRotoscope 22h ago
You know there's something to that about a lot of weapon stuff specifically. Like [archetype] often wasn't using that sword or gun or whatever because they liked that specific weapon above all others, it was just the best tool for the job available at the time. If your only goal is Kill Target, Get Away then a sniper rifle might make way more sense than a wakizashi or a shuriken or whatever
.....cowboys that carry M16s instead of colts is just that show Yellowstone isn't it
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u/GingerIsTheBestSpice 22h ago
Why would you do this to me
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u/ElectronRotoscope 22h ago edited 22h ago
If The Murderbot Diaries keep making me have emotions from looking at words on my phone, I have to inflict the same experience in as many others as possible
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u/Far-Gur7196 23h ago
Transformers: Hearts of Steel is similar to that but set during the Industrial Revolution
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u/Itsonlyaplay 23h ago
They also did a feudal Japan theme one which had prime turn into an ox cart
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u/Cepinari 17h ago
There was an alternate timeline where the Transformers woke up a century early and took the form of steam locomotives.
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u/valeriabarcelona 23h ago
âchildren once simulated parenthood using miniature plastic humansâ
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u/Pitiful_Calendar3392 23h ago
"It then follows that children viewed themselves as dolls at their parents' tea parties"?
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u/YUNoJump 23h ago
I'm sure there's a rich and specific historical definition of "tea party", but surely in essence they're just "having some friends over to gossip and providing some refreshments"? I'm pretty sure people still do that to some degree, although these days you might more commonly meet at a cafe or some such.
I guess people probably don't often say "I'm having a Tea Party come over", but still
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u/queerkidxx 22h ago
I think it was a bit more of a thing with its own traditions and expectations. I think itâs still a thing for at least some British people.
Bit like the difference between idk, a Super Bowl party and having friends over to watch a game. Yes, both are essentially eating food while watching sports. But the former is more ritualized and has its own rules, expectations, faux pas, etc.
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u/BowdleizedBeta 19h ago
What kinds of rules exist and what kind of faux pas can be committed at a Super Bowl party?
I didnât grow up in a sports household and Iâm sincerely asking.
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u/TheWinterKing 19h ago
As a non-American Iâm also fascinated to hear about the intricacies of the Super Bowl party.
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u/SilverFormal2831 13h ago
A major faux pas would be probably wearing clothes from the opposing team
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u/DroneOfDoom Theon the Reader *dolphin slur noises* 7h ago
Being the one guy who's rooting for the opposite team to everyone else, I assume would be one.
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u/X-1701 7h ago
Super Bowl parties are bigger and can include a wider variety of guests. You could have both a work colleague and a childhood friend. You friends and your partner's friends. Possibly your children's friends (and their parents). With that many kinds of people and relationships in attendance, you'd want to be on better behavior. Acting more like you're in a public place, and less like it's just you and a couple of buddies hanging out in front of the screen.
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u/CriticalEngineering 22h ago
We have a tea party of sorts nearly every month, but we call it a book club.
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u/Best_Cobbler_3719 18h ago
You wouldn't let your 5 year old pretend she was having afternoon Cosmopolitans (or in my world, a smoke sesh) is all.
Tea is a socially acceptable adult refreshment for little children. So we say tea.Â
Ladies who lunch are still totally a thing. The words just changed and there are fewer women not working jobs on weekdays.Â
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u/Oturanthesarklord 22h ago
Samurai Timelines Optimus Prime
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u/InsaneComicBooker 18h ago
How is that is supposed to blend in?
"The lord's chariot sure is weird? And why is that red?"
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u/Pitiful_West_7062 16h ago
we do have tea parties, you're just not invited
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u/gard3nwitch 15h ago
I've definitely heard of people organizing tea parties in the park, where people get dressed up in like Victorian or fantasy outfits and have a picnic. I've never been, but it sounds fun.
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u/StupidScaredSquirrel 15h ago
Maybe it's a cultural difference thing but I definitely go to and hodt tea parties. It never dtruck me as archaic. What do people do when they get invited? Do they always need to play a game or eat or watch tv? What if people just wanna talk?
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u/GalaxyPowderedCat Only on Tumblr for daily cat posts 23h ago
My mom gossiping while having coffee would disagree with that outdating part.
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u/tornedron_ 23h ago
So they did sorta make a stagecoach Transformer once: https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Optimus_Prime_(G1)/Generations_toys#Timelines_.282025.29/Generationstoys#Timelines.282025.29)
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u/DoubleBatman 19h ago
They also have that shogun optimus that turns into a Japanese bull war cart thing
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u/HallucinatedLottoNos 20h ago
You act as if tea parties are lost knowledge. Yeah, it's not something EVERYBODY does all the time anymore (outside of maybe some parts of Britain), but there's tearooms and fancy dress up "high teas" that you can go to in a lot of cities in the US. My mom and sister did it all the time when I was a kid in the 90s.
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u/kaye4kinky 14h ago edited 11h ago
While my girlfriends and I donât have traditional tea parties, we do brunch and bitch. Same same but different right?
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u/Previous-Artist-9252 23h ago
I am a 40 year old man and I still host tea parties in my home a couple of times a year.
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u/Elite_AI 15h ago
What? Your mums didn't have each other over for tea?Â
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u/Lilash20 But the one thing they can never call us is ordinary 11h ago
It's not really a thing in the US. Parents might invite each other to hang out though, just not usually for tea specifically.
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u/Later_Than_You_Think 2h ago
Sure, but they aren't on the same social or frequency scale of olden times. Before phones, the only way you'd socialize with people would be to have them over. Women would have friends over all the time for short little visits to talk on a daily basis.
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u/syntaxvorlon 18m ago
These days it's all the dads getting together to try each other's homebrew craft beers on Friday at Beer:Thirty
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u/Dahkeus3 23h ago
Coach starts to transform
âWait! We didnât disconnect the horses!â
bone cracking and squelching noises
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u/Far-Gur7196 23h ago
Donât worry, they go to the same place Optimusâs trailer does (offscreen, only to reappear when he transforms again)
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u/oath2order stigma fuckin claws in ur coochie 8h ago
bone cracking and squelching noises
Just normal horse things tbh.
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u/MercifulWombat 17h ago
Not exactly a horse drawn carriage but there's an ox drawn carriage transformer.
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u/CodingNeeL 15h ago
Its nice to see an active forum for once, instead of a graveyard with the last messages from 2014 or something.
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u/PatchyWhiskers 12h ago
You can still have tea parties. Highly recommended. Make tea in a proper pot and serve little cakes and cookies.
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u/Van_Weezer 22h ago
Everyone needs to read Simulacra and Simulation by Jean Baudrillard.
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u/TheWinterKing 19h ago
I did try
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u/Van_Weezer 18h ago
Do you need help?
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u/TheWinterKing 17h ago
Yes
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u/Van_Weezer 17h ago
What were you having trouble with?
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u/TheWinterKing 17h ago
Oh just the words and the ideas
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u/Van_Weezer 6h ago
If you want to give it another try, my DMs are open for explanations
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u/TheWinterKing 5h ago
Thanks, I appreciate that. First time round I was deeply sleep-deprived with a newborn. I might have a better go of it next time!
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u/AdministrativeRope8 15h ago
I have had it for years, I don't know if it is the English translation or Baudrillard writing style, but trying to read that thing has been torture. Love his ideas though
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u/Van_Weezer 6h ago
Reading it is painful. Baudrillard has a way of expressing his ideas that is not easy to consume, but is vital to understanding his points.
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u/AdministrativeRope8 5h ago
I first learned of him through a video essay on american psycho that connected the movie to Baudrillards ideas and ever since then I can't help but see his ideas explain everything. The last 15 years feel like they were tailor made to prove him right.
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u/BrittEklandsStuntBum spiders Georg 19h ago
People still go to each others' houses for coffee and tea. Coffee mornings are literally a thing.
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u/fishbake 17h ago
Hm, Hasbro could combine toy lines. Optimus Prime turns into a stagecoach, and he gets pulled by Rainbow Dash.
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u/lollipop-guildmaster 21h ago
Now I'm just imagining a kid lining up her Bratz or whatever little girls are into these days and trying to sell them essential oils.
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u/jonfrombuckland 20h ago
"It is a truth universally aknowledged that all sentient beings have a fundamental right to freedom, as such, liberation is our goal. Autobots, saddle up!"
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u/the-kendrick-llama 22h ago
Tea parties do happen but they're far less common and more of an EventTM. Source: I've been to one.
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u/Excellent_Law6906 22h ago
Meanwhile, douchey carriage culture seamlessly morphed into douchey car culture.
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u/Kaurifish 21h ago
There is a fanfic that crosses Pride & Prejudice with The Sentinal.
But there is just about every P&P fic possible.
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u/PoniesCanterOver gently chilling in your orbit 19h ago
The Sentinel the tv show from the 90s about the guy with super senses?
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u/Kaurifish 10h ago
Yes.
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u/PoniesCanterOver gently chilling in your orbit 10h ago
I fuckin loved that show, it formed so much of my brain
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u/aminervia 21h ago
I used to have my birthdays at a local tea house and my friends would get all dressed up and we'd go eat petit fours and drink sugary tea with our pinkies out.
Women getting together for coffee or drinks is absolutely still a thing, and the "tea party" is just that in a British accent. It's not a random, totally unfamiliar thing, it's just changed a little bit
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u/AuthorCornAndBroil 17h ago
19th century John Cena: "My word, they call themselves Bamboozicons, and no man among you rang the alarm?"
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u/pancakecel 15h ago
I mean having tea parties is something that girls and adult women still do, it's just more of a special occasion. There's even tea houses that specializes in hosting these events
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u/UInferno- Hangus Paingus Slap my Angus 22h ago
BTW there's a TTRPG about being a Power Ranger in Regency Britain called Sentai and Sensibility
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u/characterfan123 21h ago
The Smothers Brother's Comedy TV show evolved the concept of tea party in the late 60s with the Share a Little Tea with Rosie sketches. Hiding weed jokes from the censors.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlGsAJWvjFoKvIw_F_aprvLj48FuDnCpC
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u/CatLongjumping4644 21h ago
Alright, yeah, its a funny punch line. I don't think the stagecoach transformers guy really got the point tho.
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u/splashes-in-puddles 21h ago
I sometimes meet my friends and we have tea together. It is not so different.
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u/One_Muffin6580 20h ago
optimus private transportation (2026 Orion Pax) vs megatrolley (D-16 via galvatron alley)
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u/HistoricalAbies293 19h ago
I remember being a kid and being upset playing a tea party didnât mean we would actually get tea
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u/chairmanskitty 13h ago
The technical term for this is hyperreality. The activity no longer has the function of exploring social situations through play, instead becoming a reference to the notion of playing that is familiar to consumers. It is a deliberately engineered cargo cult, as if play is stored in the doll and can be bought, rather than coming from the child's developing relation to the world.
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u/Ze_Bri-0n 5h ago
I remember my big sister doing it a lot in the early 2000, despite our mother never having a tea party, so I think its ongoing mostly because girls see it on tv, give it a try, and decide to keep doing it.
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u/HumorousHubris 4h ago
Is OOPâs tumblr url meant to be read as âheck yeah pony scansâ, or âheck yeah ponyâs cansâ??
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u/GarageIndependent114 3h ago
As a brit, even though it is still outdated, this is like hearing someone describe, like, going to the cinema as though people no longer did it or going to the opera or the theatre as though nobody had heard of it.Â
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u/IconoclastExplosive 23h ago
I mean, tea parties are still not unheard of in parts of the US and they were downright common until like the 50s so it's more like Starscream turning into a Corvair. Which I would also buy.