Unpopular Opinions

[Fone Bone]

No child actors... that's certainly an interesting take. If nothing else, it's a form of child labor, so maybe one way to deal with it is to make the rules on working with child actors so restrictive that you wouldn't want to bother, either as the parent or the producer.

I'm reasonable. I could go for that.

 

[Shiloh Otter]

I don't think I can possibly agree with the "no child actors" take.

It would kill youth and high school theatre productions, for starters. There are many kids for which acting is their passion, and the earlier you learn to act, the better at it you'll be.

Not to mention, the crap that plagues child acting also plagues the adult acting industry, sometimes to even worse extents. Might as well ban all acting.

 

[Fone Bone]

I think high school theater productions are a LITTLE different, don't you? Maybe my belief should not be taken literally by everyone else. Instead consider it the starting point for moving the Overton Window in the correct direction on the subject.

I am not intractable. I am giving you a crazy opening offer so wherever we meet halfway down the middle WILL actually protect kids.

Meet me halfway. That's all I ask.

I do have to point out I feel my opening offer is MUCH better than "Well write some legislation and union protections to protect kids." Because apparently merely SUGGESTING that (which has been going on for decades) does nothing. Time to play hardball a little.

Edit:

I notice some people are offering suggestions to work around my tough idea. That's what I was hoping to trigger.

Edit:

I am going to drop out of this specific argument now. People seem to be offended by the suggestion. The fact that it's impossible doesn't really seem to factor into the fact that it's upsetting people. I don't retract the Unpopular Opinion, but I also won't go to bat for it further. This is entire thread IS Your Mileage May Vary, after all.

 

[Zorak Masaki]

How about having former child actors on set as part of the production team? Now, I know there are several who have gone on to major roles on their own and are too big to have a role like that (ie, Jodie Foster), but it could be a way to make sure the child actors are being treated well, since they themselves were child stars and know the business (as a bonus, they could also be there for support and advice).

 

[LinusFan303]

That was an unpopular opinion a big one, I'll disagree that child acting should be banned, then would also have to go after youth sports, activities and more because bad actors are there too. But I will say like Nickelodeon and possibly Disney showed themselves to not be doing the best job, they cared about the money over anything else, that's bad. The industry can't be trusted with investigating themselves, so like how we have the FDA for food and drugs, we should have an independent body of people who are there to watch like hawks the productions and production companies. Make sure children are being well cared for, and even adults , men and women shouldn't have to suffer under an abusive boss because he makes the CEO big bucks now. Someone who can go to report anything they feel is wrong and investigated, and not allow anyone who works or recently worked for a studio or production company on that board, like 10 year ban, to make sure there's none of that collusion looking out for friends type stuff going on.

 

[Fone Bone]

Can't say I didn't deliver what the thread title promised.

I have to confess, I was a little taken aback at how upset the idea made people. The fact that it is something that could never, EVER happen was something I thought insulated the opinion from TOO much blowback. Do people fear somebody important would have read that random opinion in this thread and run with it? Perhaps a studio head anonymously browses Toon Zone every day and thought "Gosh, what a great idea to lose the studios a TON of money and basically cripple the entire industry. I'd better call my Congresscritter to make it happen."

Because of the impossibility of the opinion, I didn't expect such a strong reaction against it. Here is why Fone Bone is dumb: It's the internet. Everyone reacts strongly to EVERYTHING. How the hell did I temporarily forget that?

Edit:

Want to add a couple of specific apologies to @Classic Speedy and @Light Lucario . I was out of line to you both. I am sorry.

 

[JMTV]

That was an unpopular opinion a big one, I'll disagree that child acting should be banned, then would also have to go after youth sports, activities and more because bad actors are there too. But I will say like Nickelodeon and possibly Disney showed themselves to not be doing the best job, they cared about the money over anything else, that's bad. The industry can't be trusted with investigating themselves, so like how we have the FDA for food and drugs, we should have an independent body of people who are there to watch like hawks the productions and production companies. Make sure children are being well cared for, and even adults , men and women shouldn't have to suffer under an abusive boss because he makes the CEO big bucks now. Someone who can go to report anything they feel is wrong and investigated, and not allow anyone who works or recently worked for a studio or production company on that board, like 10 year ban, to make sure there's none of that collusion looking out for friends type stuff going on.

Exactly! Okay, maybe I was bit exaggerated that child acting should be illegal. I was just more upset of the lack of regulations and strong protections and wellness checks for child acting, led to a lot of loopholes to take advantage of. Children are human beings who deserves dignity and respect, and it's the network's responsibility to put more guardrails and protections for these kids to prevent any future unsafe workplace experiences, but they never did since Nick decided to turn the other way.

 

[Light Lucario]

Then why don't they do that? This problem has been occurring forever.

As for women being treated badly, I always tell my feminists friends I will sometimes mess up and say something stupid at some point. I'm a dude. That's what we do. Sorry I didn't think through my words there, LL. My apologies.

I don't know. It unfortunately can take time for systems to change, especially something like Hollywood. That doesn't mean that we should give up on trying to encourage such changes and more victims being able to tell their stories will hopefully lead to changes that will prevent more people from hurting children.

I do have to point out I feel my opening offer is MUCH better than "Well write some legislation and union protections to protect kids." Because apparently merely SUGGESTING that (which has been going on for decades) does nothing. Time to play hardball a little.

I disagree. At least having more legislation and union protections to protect kids is plausible and doesn't create new problems like AI actors would. There's a reason that was a major sticking point in the strikes last year. People don't want their work to be taken over by AI whether it's acting, writing or art work.

Can't say I didn't deliver what the thread title promised.

I have to confess, I was a little taken aback at how upset the idea made people. The fact that it is something that could never, EVER happen was something I thought insulated the opinion from TOO much blowback. Do people fear somebody important would have read that random opinion in this thread and run with it? Perhaps a studio head anonymously browses Toon Zone every day and thought "Gosh, what a great idea to lose the studios a TON of money and basically cripple the entire industry. I'd better call my Congresscritter to make it happen."

Because of the impossibility of the opinion, I didn't expect such a strong reaction against it. Here is why Fone Bone is dumb: It's the internet. Everyone reacts strongly to EVERYTHING. How the hell did I temporarily forget that?

Edit:

Want to add a couple of specific apologies to @Classic Speedy and @Light Lucario . I was out of line to you both. I am sorry.

I don't really see people being upset by your idea. I think people just disagree with your proposal for a few reasons. Your desire to want to actually protect kids is sincere, but I just don't think this is a good or effective way of stopping child abuse in Hollywood. I appreciate the apology though.

 

[Zorak Masaki]

I'd just to apologize for my AI child actors proposal. I even pointed out how it would backfire (though if you had voice actors doing the voices for the AI actors, at least they would still have a job), but now I realize it would just lead to the entertainment industry getting more corrupt, at least in the business end.

 

[Fone Bone]

I'd just to apologize for my AI child actors proposal. I even pointed out how it would backfire (though if you had voice actors doing the voices for the AI actors, at least they would still have a job), but now I realize it would just lead to the entertainment industry getting more corrupt, at least in the business end.

See that mess? That's why Hollywood will NEVER get rid of child actors. Because the alternative would probably be even worse.

 

[JMTV]

See that mess? That's why Hollywood will NEVER get rid of child actors. Because the alternative would probably be even worse.

Personally, I think a better option is to have more tight restrictions, more safeguards, wellness checks and therapy, background checks, and much better protections for children in the child acting industry, and holding bad actors accountable. Right now, there are very few laws that protect kids in toxic workplaces in Hollywood, and the bad apples are going to find loopholes and get away with it by exploiting kids who are vulnerable in those type of environment. In my opinion, those loopholes should've been closed instantly. Sadly, Hollywood for decades doesn't want to because as the old saying goes: money talks, BS walks.

Also, what I said back there about agreeing with Fone Bone's point child acting should be illegal, I apologize about what I said and it did come off as poor choice of words. I just want some actual accountability and better protections to prevent any future children being harmed.

 

[Pooky]

Here's some positive unpopular opinions from me for a change; some recent unpopular movies that I kind of liked

The King's Man
I thought this was a lot of fun (with some genuinely sad/poignant moments) with a lot of elements I feel are often missing from modern blockbusters, neat little things that are set up and pay off satisfactorily by the end. I think it may play better for UK audiences than American ones, as we have a rather different relationship to World War I, both in real life and in our entertainment, it's kind of a throwback to escapist literature set during the conflict, like Boy's Own stories and the Biggles novels. Obviously those had a certain historical point of view, and the morality of reviving such works this far into the 21st Century is questionable, but as a film I enjoyed it

The Exorcist: Believer
I saw this on a flight, I might have felt differently if I'd seen this theatrically or even at home, but this was more engaging than I expected. It was certainly better than Exorcist II: The Heretic, or either of the prequel films. That's not saying much (I know The Heretic has a lot of defenders, from Pauline Kael and Scorsese on down, but sorry, I've tried, can't do it), but I thought the performances were strong, and the twists on the format were sufficiently interesting. I wasn't wild about what they did with the returning characters, but I'm actually a little disappointed there apparently quasi-rebooting again and none of the plot threads here are going to be followed through in subsequent films.

Hypnotic
Another plane watch, and again engaging enough to keep me interested. And what do you know, it's a high concept original screenplay, brought to life in a mid-budget film that runs a quick 94 minutes; how refreshing. All that and Jeff Fahey to boot.

 

[Mudplex]

i got some unpopular opinions

1. Sonic 06 Is a good game just broken

2. The annoying orange CN TV show is ******* amazing

3.Gen 5 of pokemon is bad same with gen 7

4. I never understood why The Fairly Oddparents And The Loud House got so popular

5. Whatever happened to robot jones is one of the greatest cartoon networks to ever exist

 

[AdrenalineRush1996]

Without meaning to minimize anything, if people want a break from these heavy themes, here's a controversial but trivial opinion people can debate and/or get mad at me about instead.

I don't like X-Men. Not in any format; not the animated series, not the films, not what I've read of the comics. The arcade games are OK, I suppose, but I'd like them more if they, you know, featured characters I like.

To be clear I don't hate them. I believe I've seen all of the films, somehow, and most of them have their moments. But I feel like most of them don't come together. The two James Mangold Wolverine movies are pretty good, but are they really X-Men films per say? First Class has some very strong moments, alongside some truly terrible ones. X2 is above average but ultimately kind of forgettable.

However, I find the concept unappealing and the characters, barring Magneto, bland and often defined primarily by a single ability or power. As a metaphor for the plight of the oppressed I think it's kind of tacky and certainly dated (as Deadpool noted in his second movie). I'm not saying the issues they try to tackle aren't relevant, they sadly still are, but in it's presentation it often feels like something being covert for reasons that no longer make sense. Admittedly you could say the same about a lot of allegorical Science Fiction and Fantasy, but often they have more going on then X-Men does IMO.

Regarding the comics, maybe this is more general than Xspific, but I think while we hear a lot about how people overestimate quality through nostalgia when it comes to film and TV, it's never really discussed for comics. Maybe the Dark Phoenix saga was really something special to loyal 14 year olds when it dropped in 1980, but when I picked it up the collection in a thrift shop a few years ago, it really wasn't. Granted, it was only ever meant to entertain the former, but that's not how people talk about it.

I do feel like a Grinch saying this on the day the new animated series drops. But these thoughts come to you as they may.

I think your opinions on the X-Men comics would fit better on this thread: Unconventional/unpopular opinions you may have (Potential Spoilers!)

i got some unpopular opinions

1. Sonic 06 Is a good game just broken

2. The Annoying Orange CN TV show is ******* amazing

3.Gen 5 of Pokémon is bad same with gen 7

4. I never understood why The Fairly Oddparents and The Loud House got so popular

5. Whatever Happened to Robot Jones? is one of the greatest Cartoon Network shows to ever exist

If you're interested, you can put your opinions on Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) on the video game thread: Unpopular Opinions - Video Game Edition
And the animated shows on this thread: Unconventional or unpopular opinions you have (re: animation)

 

[Pooky]

I think your opinions on the X-Men comics would fit better on this thread: Unconventional/unpopular opinions you may have (Potential Spoilers!)

If you're interested, you can put your opinions on Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) on the video game thread: Unpopular Opinions - Video Game Edition
And the animated shows on this thread: Unconventional or unpopular opinions you have (re: animation)

While I appreciate this was posted in good spirits and intended to be helpful, please note that posts like this do constitute "backseat modding".

 

[Fone Bone]

Random unpopular opinions:

I have a hard time with modern videogame controllers. Too many buttons. I am able to manage the simple games on Switch, but I never adapted to the 3-D revolution back in the PlayStation / Nintendo 64 era because I couldn't work the buttons.

Garak is the best Star Trek character. I think a lot of people agree with me but very few casual viewers of Trek do.

I think the supporting cast of The Simpsons is kind of weak. It's weird they've become iconic, but outside of Krusty the Clown, Mr. Burns, and Principle Skinner (and okay MAYBE Comic Book Guy) most of the minor cast that populates Springfield are just plain unpleasant.

Disney's run of Star Wars has been better than Lucasfilm's run of Star Wars.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2003 is better than 2012. Not even close.

Dilbert has always been an unfunny comic strip, politics aside. The TV series based upon it was atrocious too.

Seven of Nine as seen on Star Trek: Picard is better than Seven of Nine as seen on Star Trek Voyager. Weirdly hotter too.

Dick Tracy 1990 is a better film than Batman 1989.

I LOVE the 1990's era of Disney Comics more than any other. Whether it was at Gladstone, or when they foolishly tried to self-publish, Mickey Mouse Adventures (Mickey fights supervillains!), DuckTales, Chip 'N' Dale: Rescue Rangers, TaleSpin, Darkwing Duck and Roger Rabbit comics were my jam. Don Rosa and William Van Horn's Duck stories were at their peak in this era too.

Once you know the tricks, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles NES is not THAT hard of a game.

 

[Zorak Masaki]

Once you know the tricks, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles NES is not THAT hard of a game.

If not for that underwater level, it would be a perfectly fine game. OTOH, I find the Mega Man series (at least on NES) to be ridiculously hard. Of all the levels, in all 6 games, the only one I can get to and beat is Flash Man's level (and even with the flash beam, I cant get past anything else).

 

[BigFatHairyDeal]

Random unpopular opinions:

I have a hard time with modern videogame controllers. Too many buttons. I am able to manage the simple games on Switch, but I never adapted to the 3-D revolution back in the PlayStation / Nintendo 64 era because I couldn't work the buttons.

The N64 controller was kind of proof of concept: here's an update on the SNES controller but with an analog stick, and a few extra buttons to help with camera controls. And another handle, because we don't know yet where's the best place to put everything. I think it's generally OK for the games designed specifically around it, but it's highly unoptimized and rightly has never been imitated.

The original PSone controller is basically a SNES controller with handles and two extra shoulder buttons. I think's mostly an upgrade over the SNES, but without the analog sticks, it's really outdated.

That's all a complicated way of saying that 3D gaming was in its early phases so it's pretty understandable that gaming on those consoles was not the smoothest experience. But, if PS2, PS3, GC, and Xbox 360 controllers also don't work for you, then I'm barking up the wrong tree.

I think the supporting cast of The Simpsons is kind of weak. It's weird they've become iconic, but outside of Krusty the Clown, Mr. Burns, and Principle Skinner (and okay MAYBE Comic Book Guy) most of the minor cast that populates Springfield are just plain unpleasant.

Most of them are, but I think you can add a few good side characters to the list. Milhouse and Martin make for great elementary school outcasts. Hollywood has generally struggled with its depiction of unpopular kids at school, so Milhouse and Martin were refreshing takes. Nelson, Jimbo, Dolph, and Kerney fill the roles of academically stunted, overgrown bullies. Mrs. Krabapple was fantastic as a jaded elementary school teacher. I wonder if you're disappointed in them because none of them are particularly likable, as in you get a sense of comfort from seeing them on screen. Many of them are there to be butts of jokes or serve as antagonists for their specific episodes.

Mind you, I'm talking 90s Simpsons only. I haven't really watched much after 2002.

Disney's run of Star Wars has been better than Lucasfilm's run of Star Wars.

Yeouch...

Sticking to the numbered episode movies, OT Lucasfilm and PT Lucasfilm are practically different production companies. OT was something like the dream team, with Lucas bringing forth the initial ideas and a squad of talented folks polishing the script and directors better than Lucas to get the most out of the actors. PT was more like Lucas playing with a lot of expensive toys unsupervised. You can make arguments that aspects of the ST are better than the PT and vice-versa, but in terms of movie making and discounting things like technology to make better special effects, OT beats them both pretty handily. Disney hasn't entirely let me down, but the good stuff seems to be rare compared to the other stuff that feels like content being pushed out to keep the assembly line going. Star Wars has nothing like the 90s era of Star Trek that was able to continue the legacy of the franchise but actually move on with new characters. Andor comes close, but it's a prequel to a prequel of the OT so it's a bit more static in its conclusion.

Dick Tracy 1990 is a better film than Batman 1989.

As a kid in 1990, I thought Dick Tracy was kid-friendlier. It also was less disappointing in that Tim Burton's eccentricities were hard for me to palate. Today, though, I'm just not drawn to the Dick Tracy IP, so I'd rather re-watch Burton's Batman.

Once you know the tricks, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles NES is not THAT hard of a game.

100% agree with you. However, the small stock of lives and lack of continues in that game make it hard to learn tricks without having a guide. For instance, there's a vertically-narrow corridor in the late stages of the Technodrome with those really powerful jetpack guys that will obliterate you in a couple of hits while soaking up your hits before dying. If you think you have to engage and destroy them, you're doomed to fail. But if you know all you have to do is stop, duck, and wait, getting past them is trivially easy. The kicker here is that you can't just pick up where you left off and try again after you die. You restart at a checkpoint several screens back, and if you run out of continues, it's back to the mean streets and sewers of NYC... Compared to modern games, you need a steadfast will (or emulation + save states) to overcome tough obstacles, because the punishment for death is severe.

If not for that underwater level, it would be a perfectly fine game. OTOH, I find the Mega Man series (at least on NES) to be ridiculously hard. Of all the levels, in all 6 games, the only one I can get to and beat is Flash Man's level (and even with the flash beam, I cant get past anything else).

I think the NES games are not bad. Granted, I grinded through 2 and 3 to build up the fundamentals necessary to beat 1, and then I was able to get through 4-6 on an Anniversary Collection years later. With the password system, you can kind of scum your way to hoarding E-tanks, so the first 8 stages won't be so bad.

On the other hand, I think X2 and X3 were a lot tougher than all the preceding Mega Man games because the game is balanced around being able to level up, but you start the game with a small life bar and the random-ish midbosses can seriously block your progress. My friends and I tag-teamed to 100% X2 (and of course the Shoryuken makes the end game a lot easier...), but I was on my own for X3 and don't want to bother trying to 100% that one.

 

[Fone Bone]

If not for that underwater level, it would be a perfectly fine game. OTOH, I find the Mega Man series (at least on NES) to be ridiculously hard. Of all the levels, in all 6 games, the only one I can get to and beat is Flash Man's level (and even with the flash beam, I cant get past anything else).

I got through the underwater level on my own. Practice, practice, practice. Also it's only the second level so having to start over again wasn't a huge deal when I was getting the hang of it.

The N64 controller was kind of proof of concept: here's an update on the SNES controller but with an analog stick, and a few extra buttons to help with camera controls. And another handle, because we don't know yet where's the best place to put everything. I think it's generally OK for the games designed specifically around it, but it's highly unoptimized and rightly has never been imitated.

The original PSone controller is basically a SNES controller with handles and two extra shoulder buttons. I think's mostly an upgrade over the SNES, but without the analog sticks, it's really outdated.

That's all a complicated way of saying that 3D gaming was in its early phases so it's pretty understandable that gaming on those consoles was not the smoothest experience. But, if PS2, PS3, GC, and Xbox 360 controllers also don't work for you, then I'm barking up the wrong tree.

The Switch controller is all right but I play very simple games. The PS and XBox stuff looks daunting to me.

Most of them are, but I think you can add a few good side characters to the list. Milhouse and Martin make for great elementary school outcasts. Hollywood has generally struggled with its depiction of unpopular kids at school, so Milhouse and Martin were refreshing takes. Nelson, Jimbo, Dolph, and Kerney fill the roles of academically stunted, overgrown bullies. Mrs. Krabapple was fantastic as a jaded elementary school teacher. I wonder if you're disappointed in them because none of them are particularly likable, as in you get a sense of comfort from seeing them on screen. Many of them are there to be butts of jokes or serve as antagonists for their specific episodes.

Mind you, I'm talking 90s Simpsons only. I haven't really watched much after 2002.

I was more referring to the townspeople. For the most part, the school had a good mix. Groundskeeper Willie, not so much, but I like all the characters you mentioned plus Ralph and Super Nintendo Chalmers.

Yeouch...

Sticking to the numbered episode movies, OT Lucasfilm and PT Lucasfilm are practically different production companies. OT was something like the dream team, with Lucas bringing forth the initial ideas and a squad of talented folks polishing the script and directors better than Lucas to get the most out of the actors. PT was more like Lucas playing with a lot of expensive toys unsupervised. You can make arguments that aspects of the ST are better than the PT and vice-versa, but in terms of movie making and discounting things like technology to make better special effects, OT beats them both pretty handily. Disney hasn't entirely let me down, but the good stuff seems to be rare compared to the other stuff that feels like content being pushed out to keep the assembly line going. Star Wars has nothing like the 90s era of Star Trek that was able to continue the legacy of the franchise but actually move on with new characters. Andor comes close, but it's a prequel to a prequel of the OT so it's a bit more static in its conclusion.

Andor defeats all arguments. I will not hear a word against Disney while they came up with THAT. Holy crap. I also think The Last Jedi is criminally underrated. Rogue One kicks ass too.

As a kid in 1990, I thought Dick Tracy was kid-friendlier. It also was less disappointing in that Tim Burton's eccentricities were hard for me to palate. Today, though, I'm just not drawn to the Dick Tracy IP, so I'd rather re-watch Burton's Batman.

Batman is definitely more accessible than Dick Tracy. But Dick Tracy is the better film.

100% agree with you. However, the small stock of lives and lack of continues in that game make it hard to learn tricks without having a guide. For instance, there's a vertically-narrow corridor in the late stages of the Technodrome with those really powerful jetpack guys that will obliterate you in a couple of hits while soaking up your hits before dying. If you think you have to engage and destroy them, you're doomed to fail. But if you know all you have to do is stop, duck, and wait, getting past them is trivially easy. The kicker here is that you can't just pick up where you left off and try again after you die. You restart at a checkpoint several screens back, and if you run out of continues, it's back to the mean streets and sewers of NYC... Compared to modern games, you need a steadfast will (or emulation + save states) to overcome tough obstacles, because the punishment for death is severe.

The last level inside the Technodrome is insanely difficult. The water level was a piece of cake in comparison. How did I finally learn the trick you described? Game Genie. It allowed me to practice and me to learn how to beat the game without it.

 

[Classic Speedy]

Reminder that we do have the unpopular opinions video game topic.