this post was submitted on 15 Feb 2024
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Lord of the memes

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The Lord of the rings memes communitiy on Lemmy. Share memes about Lord of the rings and be respectful.

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[–] [email protected] 149 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (3 children)

At risk of being a dork I’ll also compare this to Star Trek (largely because OP is a clear fan). Both series are really timeless and impactful imo because they portray people as almost supremely emotionally intelligent. Everyone is very professional when they need to be - capable of great emotional restraint, but also deeply empathetic and caring and ‘tender’ when the time is right.

I mean Gimli is supposed to be the “emotional hothead” of the Fellowship and he’s literally more chill and emotionally controlled than most of the people you run into working retail

[–] [email protected] 117 points 9 months ago (6 children)

That's why Star Trek is sometimes referred to as "competency porn."

[–] [email protected] 52 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

As someone who spent time in the military, I know exactly what you mean.

I wish the people I worked with were 25% as competent, rational, and level headed as the crew of the Enterprise.

Edit: Spelling

[–] [email protected] 30 points 9 months ago

It’s funny, when I was a fresh college grad I actually considered joining the millitary because I really did have a desire for that competent, almost bureaucratic professionalism and mature outlook.

Then I kind of got my heads out of the clouds and realized diction and reality are pretty separate

[–] [email protected] 15 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

It's almost embarrassing to admit, but TNG was a factor for me in finding emotional maturity.

I was a happy, naive child that was lucky to get to 8 before everything sorta fell apart. Parents divorced, sexual abuse from within the extended family by different people, having to toughen up at school due to the emotional issues starting to crop up, abandoned by a parent because of their addiction, and even the social pressure during the satanic panic (this was obviously the 80's).

Somehow, I did manage to keep some of the happy-go-lucky and naivete, but otherwise I had a rough time reigning in my temper and sometimes would break into tears from being overwhelmed (alone, obviously, because I had to be manly).

When I got into watching TNG, I really admired Picard as a character template, and worked on some of my own self perceived character flaws, and why I acted the way I did. Essentially, looking for the causes and not the symptoms. It was the start of a growth that continues still. His morality and introspection as an archetype gave me hope.

A therapist surely would've been a better way to go about it, but those weren't really much of an option for us back then.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I wouldn't be embarrassed about that at all. TNG also showed me the world I wanted to build for the future.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Thank you!

I'm a pretty pragmatic at heart, so I feel silly sometimes when realizing that I used fictional characters for inspiration to build myself up. I don't aspire to be the hero of anything, but do want to be someone that is worthy of respect.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

Reality reflects art reflects reality. Star Trek has inspired countless people to live up to their potential and even bring to life the fantastic devices we see in those shows.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (2 children)

Very apt. Oddly enough I’ve only heard the phrase applied to The X-Files

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (2 children)

But Scully and Mulder never succeed and demonstrating paranormal phenomena to anyone.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 9 months ago

Can't blame Scully, pretty sure she gets amnesia on a weekly basis

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

They're talking about the guys keeping everything under wraps

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

See also “The West Wing”, which is also entirely more fantastical than 24th century utopian space exploration, based on (gestures broadly)

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Television in general can be "competency porn". Nobody speaks to each other in real life with the attentiveness and thoughtfulness of TV show characters. Most people are devoid of empathy and bad at conversation. If you try to be as attentive and witty and empathetic as characters on TV (the ones at least that aren't written to be terrible people a la IASIP) people will think you're autistic.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago

Oh shit, everybody knows I'm autistic.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Suddenly vanishes the moment you're promoted to Admiral, apparently

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

turn it around, only shitty people tend to be promoted to such positions, it's like the saying that the best president is one who doesn't want the position.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

I was just making a joke about how every admiral in the franchise turns out to be the bad guy in some way, due to malice, incompetence, or because they were replaced by aliens wearing their skins.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

Its so relaxing

[–] [email protected] 44 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Put Gimli in retail and watch him pull out his battleaxe.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 12 points 9 months ago

Oh Walmart isn't the bottom of the barrel. A rite aid in the bad part of town is worse, or fuck being one of the only two people controlling a dollar store seems like some kind of weird hell.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

capable of great emotional restraint, but also deeply empathetic and caring and ‘tender’ when the time is right

Then there's Beverly who wanted Worf to live as a cripple and would deny him both an honorable death and a chance at a normal life, all because she couldn't reconcile her views with those of a different culture. That episode still pisses me off to no end.