Misused: Were Still Relevant Dammit

While in the middle of doing other cleanups in the long term projects forum, me and a few other tropers noticed how Were Still Relevant Dammit is suffering a large misuse. As per the Laconic, the trope is "Obvious, desperate, and frequently misguided attempts at keeping trendy, hip and young using Long Running media, especially if it's outdated", but there are a lot of examples that instead sum up to "This media mentions modern things like smartphones and social networks And That's Terrible". We did a wick check, and these are the results:

16% correct usage, 64% misuses, 20% unclear.

Opening, although I am a little unclear on what the goal of a TRS would be here.

I agree that the goal of this thread is unclear, so I'm going to refrain from voting on or suggesting anything until we get some clarification.

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Edited by AGuy on May 14th 2021 at 8:40:33 AM

I think we need a clearer scope for what qualifies, similar to what said. Maybe we could specify that this is when the pop culture references are already dated (like an animated show using a "duck face selfie" meme in 2018) or when the modernization clashes with the traditional tone of the work (like if a medieval show tried to include modern slang somehow).

I'm positive the work has to be a Long Runner to count, so it wouldn't be an example if a work that debuted a few years before 2018 referenced duckface selfies, but it would be an example if The Simpsons did that. I disagree with the description's claim that Totally Radical is a subtrope, because I'm pretty sure it doesn't always apply to Long Runners, so much as it applies to older people trying too hard to appeal to younger people.

Edited by GastonRabbit on May 11th 2021 at 8:01:09 AM

I agree with this, this, and this.

The biggest problem with the trope is the amount of complaining and people putting non-long runners or non-dated things in.

Would it be an example if The Simpsons did that? I think another important element should be that the original work clashes with these modern references, and The Simpsons already referenced pop culture frequently in its older years. But there are moments that feel awkward and forced, like the video example with Lisa saying slang. What we need is to figure out what would push a work from simply having pop culture references to having WSRD.

Perhaps the example brought up, where the slang and/or pop culture clashes with the themes or setting?

I don't see why the trope has to be confined to Long Runners. The length of a series has no effect on whether it will make outdated pop-culture references or not.

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Edited by AGuy on May 14th 2021 at 8:40:43 AM

Removing the limit to Long-Runners would only invite more complaining about literally any contemporary work ever. Additionally, a Long Runner has an established identity that makes it easier to tell when the pop culture references stand out rather than being a part of the show's identity.

Admittedly, before we even started the wick check, I had concerns that this trope was just "modern reference bad". Or at least, that's the way it gets used.

After doing the check, I still stand by that concern.

A trope for modern references in long runners? Valid. But why do they have to be poorly done? That's where the complaining comes from. Granted, that's also why it's subjective, but...

OK, sorry if I'm late since I was the one who started this.

I read what you say, and well... that's exactly what I meant.

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Edited by AGuy on May 14th 2021 at 8:40:52 AM

honestly i was gonna say that as well. "don't tase me bro" is one of the "legendary" old memes like rickroll and leeroy jenkins, it'd be better to find something that was more concretely a flash-in-the-pan like the harlem shake or planking

post 4 sums up my thoughts on the matter as well, a concrete definition and guidelines for using the trope that aren't just "a modern day show references modern day technology". the show in question being a long-runner is an important aspect to me, the idea is that modern day topics are inelegantly forced into a work that has already proven itself to be timeless. WSRD in my opinion has a similar issue to Unintentional Period Piece prior to the 10 year limit being added; on that trope, people added examples like undertale and persona 5 being "unintentional period pieces" even though their themes are still relevant to a modern audience because they're barely 5 years old yet

a new, modern day show using dealing with modern day issues and featuring modern day technology doesn't make it a "we're still relevant dammit" case because there's no reason for it to be "still", just as much as it isn't an "unintentional period piece" because the modern day is not a period piece

I think "Don't taste me bro" as the page image might be more jarring because Archie was such a staple of The '50s, but it was always drenched in "modern" pop culture (hence why we now have Riverdale). Something like Mickey Unwrapped is a better example in my mind cuz Mickey Mouse was never trying to be modern so it stands out when they try to blend him with "modern" pop culture that doesn't really fit his image.

This.

For example, if a Rugrats revival, makes a Fortnite reference, it’s weird because Rugrats is so deeply ingrained into the 90s. Or it’s like if Peanuts used “Yolo” in a piece of material.

Long-running and/or things ingrained in one time is part of this trope, and it’s getting ignored.

Or if the work is designed to be timeless or exists in a fantasy setting not meant to be analogous to modern day, like, say, My Little Pony. And especially if the work is a period piece but still incorporates jokes about modern day pop culture.

Edited by mightymewtron on May 11th 2021 at 7:40:16 AM

I just got out of bed, but I should probably explain why I mentioned The Simpsons to begin with. Maybe that show wasn't a good example to use, but I was mainly referring to something from that time period (the late 20th century) making an outdated reference in 2018.

As for everything else said since then, I might come back to that when I'm more awake.

Edited by GastonRabbit on May 11th 2021 at 8:00:44 AM

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Edited by AGuy on May 14th 2021 at 8:41:04 AM

I like your criteria, AGuy. Following it doesn't necessarily imply these references are bad, cringy, or what have you- but more that they're heavy-handed and out-of-place. And I think it's a definition I can get behind.

I don't know if I like the concrete "must fit these four criteria" rules, but I like giving the trope a clearer definition of, "The reference must be out of place for the show."

I also think that even if a show references pop culture, it can still qualify as WSRD if later shows rely so much on pop culture that it detracts from the plot, setting, or tone. This is why certain episodes of The Simpsons could still count.

What do we do with references that are dated by the time the show airs? Do they still count? What about references that just plain misunderstand the pop culture in question, a la Shallow Parody?

Edited by mightymewtron on May 12th 2021 at 10:40:52 AM

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Edited by AGuy on May 14th 2021 at 8:41:13 AM

I think it's more that the criteria currently laid out is a bit too wordy and I don't know if it'll sufficiently prevent misuse. It explains the definition, but I think it's easier to just lay out simple sentences that explain what would and wouldn't be considered WSRD.

I'd also like to flesh out exactly what "standing out" would entail when the pop culture reference doesn't blatantly clash with the setting. Is it the amount of focus given to the reference? Does it have to interfere with the coherence of the plot? Is it that the work itself is an Unintentional Period Piece and it's awkward to try and update it so much? Is it that the characters have to be written OOC for the reference to work?

I think the criteria being split up by each word is what made it difficult to parse. Can we try to combine those four separate criteria into one or two coherent sentences summarizing the trope, but not something so broad that it'll allow any modern pop culture reference in a long-running work?

Edited by mightymewtron on May 12th 2021 at 12:14:53 PM