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I was part of a francophone school in the 80's on the west coast of Canada. I was shown this movie at too young of an age in KINDERGARTEN! And then proceeded to see it every single year until I was 12. All the French Immersion kids in (I can't speak about other provinces) the 80's saw this movie all the time and most of us were TRAUMATIZED from it. I'm 40 now and I still talk to my best friend how much we hated this movie. Also, my friend's kids have seen it last year (grades 6 and 8). BC Teachers: Please retire this movie! Shout out to the La Guerre Des Tuques (The Dog Who Stopped the War). I have also seen this movie too many times to count.

*** HUGE SPOILERS FOR THIS EPISODE *** W in the actual F.

This movie started me on a deep research dive, because I overcome being deeply disturbed by trying to understand. And it finally made me break down and get an account. Things I learned during my google binge: This godawful abomination started as a bedtime story the director Michael Rubbo would tell his son (shades of Geostorm, anyone?). The producer Rock Demers started his production company and the "signature children's series" Tales for All as a response to learning about child suicide rates in the '80s because he wanted to "give [kids] an appetite for life, in spite of everything." Said production company/Demers is trying to make a remake: "Our goal in tackling a remake was to connect the dots between these ideas and give audiences satisfying conclusions to the unanswered questions asked in the original. What does Micheal see during the great scare? Who sends the ghostly intruders? Why does Micheal’s hair grow out of control? And most importantly, once he learns that he can paint his way into another reality, what will his quest be? As we tackled all these elements, the full potential of the story unfolded and we began looking at a tremendously powerful story of grief and the importance in believing in that we do not see." Also according to IMDB trivia "Producer Rock Demers has said when he and director Michael Rubbo began the film, their goal was to create a "gentle, frightening film." He felt the theme was "If something frightens you, find out why. In most cases you'll discover it wasn't so frightening after all." This movie was syndicated on both Canadian and US television. In Canada, because Canadian children's films were few and far between, and in the US because Disney/Eisner bought it and just...played it. All the time. Skippy peanut butter paid for product placement (what a weird message to send to consumers. Use our peanut butter and grow 6 ft long pubic hair, kids!). The best thing I found is this article by Courtney Fathom Sells. An excerpt: "I even became unable to wear striped jersey shirts to school because Michael sported one in the film and I felt almost definite that I would soon see a similar fate if I continued to mock his costume design. When I noticed one of my pals wearing such garb at church one Sunday, I prayed to God to forgive him, for he had clearly not seen The Peanut Butter Solution." Sells is a maker of short documentaries, and even made a film called The Fright about how this movie traumatized the kids who watched it. Unfortunately, I can't find the film online anywhere despite my librarian sleuthing skills. If anyone wants to reach out to Sells via his website to see if he'll re-release it, I would love to watch. Oof. What a movie.

Ok that mom 100% is leaving that alcoholic dad! He had some kind bed upstairs because he's clearly too sloshed to make it down the stairs after he paints his shitty paintings. Let's be real here he spends most of the time up there drinking. I'm willing to concede *maybe* the mom's dad died and she may even be in Australia to sell the house, but that's just to get a nest egg going to start her new life! Probably in Australia because if I were her I'd want to be as far away from that dysfunction as possible. It's clear from the way Suze acts she's been in this mom role for a while and is used to caring for her dad. Because he's a fucking disaster and can barely function. He needs help. Suze is The only thing holding this family together. The mom has been checked out for a WHILE. Maybe she's having her midlife crisis and is secretly Eat Pray Loving . I don't know. I just know that the children know something is clearly wrong. My mom used to work as a quality auditor in blood banking and would travel around the country for a week every other week. I get missing your mom. But I wouldn't be angry and resentful that my sister was wearing her robe. It's clearly because they know something is wrong, there is tension there. There is a fear that she won't come back. I know that international phone calls are pricey but if your child suddenly had a weird unknown medical condition wouldn't you let him call his mother? Unless you had a very contentious relationship OR SHE WAS GETTING READY TO DIVORCE YOU AND YOU WERE ABOUT TO GO THROUGH THE START OF A SEPARATION! I'm telling you the reason the dad hates Connie is because he mentioned how bad their marriage is because that kid would. The scene after the mom gets in the house after they all settle down is going to start with her telling the kids she has to sit them down and have a talk.

I was genuinely terrified that there was going to a scene where they made magic paint brushes from magic growing pubes. I truly had the fear of God in me.

Canadian Goosebumps is just called Goosebumps: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111987/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2 The 1995 tv adaptation was filmed in Toronto.

This kid goes bald and freaks out. He tries a wig and freaks about that too. Why didn't he just borrow a hat from Connie? He clearly has a never-ending supply. Problem solved, movie over, all of our time saved.

Absolutely! And thank you for all of your insights and composing such a wonderful and enlightening post! I was afraid when I wrote my initial post that I wouldn’t be able to adequately articulate what I was trying to say, so I’m glad I did an okay job of it I have a ton of respect for all writers, and it’s a bit of a pet peeve of mine when Romance is unfairly maligned or otherwise dismissed out of hand. I agree with you that Romance, in all its countless iterations, is as crucial and as valid as any other genre and deserves to be treated as such. (Also, in the nature of full disclosure, much of what I know is due to my wonderful wife who is a professional cover artist. Many of her amazing clients are Romance authors. I was definitely looking for her work in that trailer ) Welcome to the forums!

So, I’m slightly behind and just finished the mini-episode for Boyfriend School today, and...OMG, Cameron H, I had to come sign up for the forum specifically to tell you how much I appreciated your knowledge and comments about Romance novels! I’m a NYT and USA Today bestselling Romance author (my sister and I are writing partners, actually, we write under a shared pen name), and I have to say, it’s quite rare for someone outside the genre to take it so seriously and give it respect. Much appreciated! For anyone interested, I wanted to expand a bit on the concepts you introduced. ROMANCE AS A VEHICLE FOR WOMEN’S VOICES Romance is, by far, the single best-selling genre in publishing year after year, earning over 1.2 billion annually - and it’s almost entirely created by, consumed by, and about women. Pretty powerful! It is the only genre that consistently centers women’s perspectives and stories, and validates their desires. It tells women that if they want something, that’s great, and they should ask for it, unashamedly, and not accept less than they deserve...and not just around sex, but around career, family, interpersonal relationships, etc. But, like...also, yes, around sex. And that’s awesome. The incredible Leah Koch, co-owner (with her sister Bea) of North America’s first romance-only bookstore, The Ripped Bodice in Los Angeles, says something super powerful about Romance novels in this trailer for Naughty Books, a new documentary about the Romance world that’s doing the festival circuit. “They are written, produced, marketed, and sold by women, for women. So it’s very hard for me to understand the argument that they somehow are not feminist.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cejscmSZrsg Interesting side note - Bea and Leah have actually secured an overall deal with Sony to bring outstanding romance stories to film and tv https://deadline.com/2018/09/the-ripped-bodice-bookstore-overall-deal-sony-pictures-tv-lea-koch-bea-koch-1202463272/ Other interesting side note - if you blink, you’ll miss it, but my sister and I are actually in that doc trailer for a hot second because we were doing a signing at The Ripped Bodice on the day the documentarians came to film. SOCIAL ISSUES REPRESENTATION Because of the explosion of indie publishing since 2012, where people can publish what’s in their hearts and souls to write without being blocked by gatekeepers, Romance has been on the cutting edge of representation for all kinds of issues and people that simply never made it into stories before. Romance has been on the forefront of the Own Voices movement, being written by authors and featuring heroes and heroines on every point of the LGBTQIA+ rainbow, poly relationships, racial and cultural representation, non-neurotypical representation...the list goes on. Even my sister’s and my books, which are quite light in overall tone, have had heroes and heroines in situations like: a soldier who comes home with PTSD overcoming an abusive childhood dealing with an alcoholic parent homelessness, poverty, domestic violence recovering from drug addiction grief over a lost spouse being a single parent with a special needs child ROMANCE vs. EROTICA There are three main categories along the romance to erotica spectrum (although they can be broken down into further nuance), and they have more to do with what drives the story than the actual heat level. Here is a quick and dirty (pun intended) rundown: 1 - Romance: The development of the relationship is the central theme of the story, and any sexual interaction stems from and furthers the core relationship. This category spans all heat levels, from clean to blazing. 2 - Erotic Romance: The relationship is still the central driver of the story, but the relationship is fueled by sexual connection and feelings grow from there as opposed to the other way around. These are, without fail, blazing on the heat scale, and often include kink. 3 - Erotica: This is material specifically written for sexual titillation, and there is little or no requirement for a central love story or a happy ending. So, mainstream romance--the kind you see on the shelves in the grocery store and dominating Amazon’s Top 100--can be (and, in fact, most often is!) quite explicit, actually. The terminology for non-explicit Romance is constantly in flux. The most current phrase people are using is “clean” although that has opposition, because of the implication that the opposite is “dirty.” I’m certainly not a fan, but for now, it is what it is. “Sweet” at the moment is being used more to refer to the tone of a book - ie, light and low-angst. Often also clean, but not necessarily. For instance, my sister’s and my books are referred to as part of the sub-category, “Sweet with Heat” - meaning, low-angst in tone but still naughty as fuck. LOL. LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT While romance novels do sometimes feature a “love at first sight” scenario, that’s not always the case. In fact, we have a term for that convention: InstaLove. And, believe me, not all readers are fans of it! In fact, some hate it with a real passion. A real VOCAL passion. It’s actually also quite common for the story to feature a relationship that builds and deepens little by little, over the course of time, as the characters get to know each other better and develop love and trust. We have a term for that convention, as well - Slow Burn. (Side note - we have a term for almost everything.) Also, the novels often don’t even start with the hero and heroine (or hero and hero or heroine and heroine!) meeting for the first time. Many times, the characters will have a rich and complicated backstory that takes place prior to the first page. Some tropes that lend themselves to that kind of history between the characters would be: Second Chance Romance: They were a couple when they were young and broke up, now they’re back in each other’s lives. Friends to Lovers: Long-time friends, at least one has been carrying a torch for the other, but THERE. ARE. OBSTACLES. (Our debut novel was a friends-to-lovers). Enemies to lovers: Either real, true enemies, or they just get on each other’s nerves, but as the plot goes on (they’re usually forced together into some situation where they’re in proximity), they begin to see deeper into the other person and view them in a new light. (Our most recent release was an enemies-to-lovers). Forbidden Love...sub-tropes like Best friend’s Brother or Brother’s Best Friend, etc: They’ve known each other for a long time, but there’s something that would make it SHOCKING if they got together, or a reason that people in their lives wouldn’t be on board. THE FANTASY OF ROMANCE NOVELS There is a common misconception that women read romance because they are unsatisfied in their own relationships. Most often, that couldn’t be further from the truth! Romance readers just love LOVE. They love going on a journey with the characters as they fall, just like mystery readers love solving puzzles and sci-fi readers love envisioning alternate realities. Plus, in romance novels, the heroine is always supremely SPECIAL in the hero’s eyes. She’s the one who breaks down his walls, she’s the first woman to ever make him envision a future with anyone...she makes him want to be a better man, to bring it around to a movie quote. And he, in turn, is the first one to see how unique and valuable she is, and she begins to see herself through his eyes. He’ll do anything for her, make any sacrifice (Anne of Green Gables fans - think...when Gilbert gave up the Avonlea school for Anne and took Carmody instead), and then she starts to see that she’s worth that, that she deserves it. And, I’m sorry, that’s just a nice fantasy to lose yourself in when you’re reading! LOL. My good friend Erin (also a bestselling romance author) said to me once, "People think the fantasy women are picking up these books for is the sex. Nope. The fantasy we're indulging is that men actually think this way." And...yep. FINALLY, SOME OTHER FUN ROMANCE TERMS Thought this might be a fun thing to end on. HEA - Stands for Happily Ever After, but is used as a noun. Example - “It was so satisfying to see those characters finally get their HEA after all they’d gone through!” In fact, one of our pieces of swag has the phrase, “My husband is my HEA.” TBR - Stand for To Be Read, and it’s the never-ending, always-growing collection of books that we *REALLY* want to read...and are planning to...someday. (Another one of our pieces of swag is a mug that says, “This may look like coffee, but it’s actually fuel for getting through my TBR.”) Book Boyfriend - The one hero, out of all the novels you’ve read, who captured your heart more than any other. Romancelandia - The online (and offline, actually) community of readers and writers of Romance. Alpha - Heroes who are strong, in control but not controlling, protective but not creepy about it, and would do absolutely anything to keep the heroine safe and taken care of. Alphahole - A guy who takes the whole “in control” thing just a little too far. But he’ll get smacked down by a feisty heroine and see the error of his ways, don’t you worry! LOL. I do realize this was super long and the majority won’t be interested in this esoteric info, but I wanted to put it out there for anyone who might be. Also, again, I just wanted to reiterate to Cameron - thank you so much for speaking up, for knowing about our genre and taking it seriously! When people are generally pretty eye-rolly about your art and your livelihood, it can be wearing, and it’s so nice when an outsider treats your industry with respect.

Jurassic Park is plainly Michael Crichton revisiting his Westworld premise to greater success. The simplicity of Jaws elevates it above Jurassic Park in my book, though JP is a fine movie.

"Draw what you actually see, not what your brain wants to autocomplete" is pretty standard art school advice for sure. It's one of the first tips in Betty Edwards' classic Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Though obviously we didn't have the word "autocomplete" back then.

Sorry I have a LOT of thoughts about this movie. It was just Too Much. I'm Forever Changed

I think this was funded by Greenland’s tourism board.

The traditional "action adventure music" during the "barrel chase" is used on purpose. It's to show that trio chasing the shark still have the idea it's "just a big shark". Quints playful bragging about 2 barrels stopping a giant marlin shows even he thinks it will be like a normal shark hunt. But notice after those 2 barrels don't even slow the shark down -- and even Quint's face shows this realization -- the music gets somber and trails off, menacingly. The trio realize this is more than just a big fish. A simple "He-man action chase sequence to kill the monster" isn't going to work. This is a primordial monster and it will be a fight to the death. The action music after for the rest of the film is menacing, not rousing.

Reeseez Peeseez, a diaper full of feces, gaseous, gaseous, we all make brown.

While we were first watching this movie, we were wondering why the kids didn't go to the cops. We were positing that there were no cops in the world of the movie, and then....

I saw Gutenberg on the HDTGM instagram today and screamed. Love him. And he mentioned PARTY DOWN, which made me happy. Paul and June were both on that show and the Guttenberg Birthday Party episode is one I think about a lot. (Fleet of blimps) also this weekend I watched ALONE and FLOOR IS LAVA. Thumbs up to both. How gonna watch Steve Guttenberg’s Birthday agains because I just noticed that is the full episode! ETA: @gigi-tastic since I am forum!june and Cameron is forum!paul (how are you today, Cameron?), I feel like I should offer you my emotional support services. I haven’t watched it either. Cameron, who is the Jason of our group?

Great picks! I totally forgot about Weekend at Bernie’s.