Re: Trash: Age and Accessibility

walter_shandy <*no_reply_at_yahoogroups.com*> · Thu, 20 Feb 2003 02:59:14 -0000

> --- In quizbowl_at_yahoogroups.com, abillsmood <no_reply_at_y...> wrote:
> > While I agree with your position that using 1980-2003 as
> > restrictions on trash questions does not guarantee that it is
> > focused perfectly toward college-age players, I think you need 
only
> > look to Trivial Pursuit 20th Anniversary edition's entertainment
> > category and compare it to the original's entertainent category to
> > see that the idea has merit ;)  If this leads some people to
> > challenge themselves to find the most minute, annoying, unreleased
> > movie or 4 episode tv show of the 80's or 90's, then we will deal
> > with that as editors.  However, I believe it will lead to more
> > familiar subject matter (as kids we watched 1980's kiddie movies;
> as
> > teenagers, we watched 1980's comedy reruns on cable and snuck into
> > early 1990's R-rated movies; some of us may have gone to the local
> > metropolitan movie theater to see a remastering of His Girl 
Friday,
> > and good for them for getting in touch with the past, but it's
> > simply not our generation).

Or, for that matter, Masters players' generation.

> > I, personally, believe that enough
> > happened in these last 23 years to make a perfectly reasonable set
> > of packets for the tournament.  Furthermore, there remains ample
> > room for a few questions each round on cultural items that 
continue
> > to affect our generation (the Beatles, A+W Root Beer, Miles Davis,
> > etc.  NOT Dr. Kildare, unless, I suppose, it's the John Flansburgh
> > song).
>
Man, if we are to have A&W Root Beer questions, I would certainly
hope they focus on its pre-1980 incarnation.  A&W Root Beer are such
sellouts.  I remember the old days, when they were making albums
like "Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's A&W Root Beer" and "Q: Are We
Not Men?  A: We are A&W Root Beer."  Now, it's all "A Very Special
A&W Rootbeer Christmas" and "A&W Root Beer Sings the Songs of Burt
Bacharach".  Now it's about the money, but it used to be about the
root beer.
>
> > If it turns out that this doesn't come to pass, then I
> > suppose Chris and I will work a bit harder on editing, and your
> > position will be justified.  I still think it'll be fun though.
>
I was thinking about this, and actually, my chief problem with trash
isn't obscurity -- it's asking too many, and too deep, questions on 
non-obscure topics which are (however) obscure to the average college 
bowl player.  Let's face it -- a fair number of people who play 
college bowl are nerds (openly or in denial), and nerds or no, the 
vast majority of them are reasonably intelligent.  This, then, makes 
questions about such august topics as the aforementioned Ms. Spears, 
or the works of Pauly Shore, or this Joseph Millionaire business 
(mercifully) less accessible than some people seem to think they 
should be.  We don't watch that stuff (for the most part).  Stupid 
people watch that stuff.
>
> > P.S. Too far?  That's sad.  We get Penn Bowl and Qotc.  Everything
> > else is either Maryland/DC (3 hours) or Boston (4.5 hours).  I
> think
> > you Boston schools owe us for making it to your TRASH regionals 
and
> > junior-bird tournaments ;)
>
Princeton has cars, doesn't it?  This is a major difference.
>
Not speaking for any larger organization of people,
Erik