Quicksand Fans

Does anyone else here worry that the days are long gone when quicksand was commonly used as a plot device in movies and seems not likely to return? That the lack of new (quality) scenes dooms (or at least cools) our interest in QS? (This, coming from someone with no interest in computer generated, or animated or cartoon images.)

I may need some more context for this one. There are notable recent examples of quicksand as a plot device in TV and film. While certainly less common, this may be a good thing, with it being used less as a trope and more of a surprise.

rhinodynamo wrote:Does anyone else here worry that the days are long gone when quicksand was commonly used as a plot device in movies and seems not likely to return? That the lack of new (quality) scenes dooms (or at least cools) our interest in QS? (This, coming from someone with no interest in computer generated, or animated or cartoon images.)

This was covered extensively here - http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2010/08/terra_infirma.html.

The same guy also wrote this - http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2012/01/25/the_artist_and_quicksand_the_oscar_nominated_movie_gets_it_wrong.html

and this - http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2010/08/terra_infirma.html

All of them good reads on the history of quicksand scenes in mainstream media.

The slate article, and its various follow-ups, made a case for this that was supposedly based on research. Research of that kind, however, is notoriously of questionable quality, although its impossibe to judge since the article provided the result but not the precise methodology. One flaw, for example, is the selection of the sample. Did the author really examine ALL movies and TV shows all the way back to the 1950s? I doubt it. Anotheris the lack of a control. In this kind of study, a good control could have been a parallel look at some other kind of scenes. If, say, snake scenes, or shot by arrow scenes, were also shown to have declined then perhaps they are all just being diluted by higher overall production. Since this was not done then the conclusion that quicksand scenes are declining is not supported by the evidence. It might be true and it might not be true, making the question "why are there fewer quicksand scenes?" something of a red herring.

rhinodynamo wrote:Does anyone else here worry that the days are long gone when quicksand was commonly used as a plot device in movies and seems not likely to return? That the lack of new (quality) scenes dooms (or at least cools) our interest in QS? (This, coming from someone with no interest in computer generated, or animated or cartoon images.)

that might be true if we relied on the mainstream media to maintain our interest... but this is the Golden Age of Quicksand since we have so many producers creating scenes of the highest quality

and as someone who felt teased by all the mainstream scenes where the damsel's clothes stayed on, we now get damsels in all sorts of costumes, including none at all

Well, how about this for QS Scene Extinction: I recently saw the BBC series of "Sherlock", with Cumberbatch (?), the person who played Khan in "Star Trek Into Darkness". Lets cut to the chase! The story "The Hound Of The Baskervilles", most famous for the Grimpen Mire scences, was replaced with the Grimpen Minefield! Get rid of the quicksand scene altogether? The villain gets blown to bits instead of sinking to his death. How and why would they want to change such a spectacular and 'classic' set of circumstances is beyond me.

Fred588 wrote:... snake scenes, or shot by arrow scenes, were also shown to have declined then perhaps they are all just being diluted by higher overall production. ..."why are there fewer quicksand scenes?" something of a red herring.

You raise a good point here regarding other types of scenes. While my research is anecdotal at best there are fewer scenes of people being shot by arrows, carried over cliffs in runaway wagons, chased by wild animals, definitely fewer damsels in distress, in the movies today. Most of them appear to get killed by automobiles or blown up or blown up in automobiles or shot to pieces or done in by sadistic killers. To get to the point the situations we see today reflect our times and the things audiences find credible for this time period. You see fewer drownings, giant jungle snakes, lions, and likely quicksand because in popular culture we don't find nature as threatening or mysterious as we once did. The idea of getting lost or being unable to find your way through something is kind of out of date. I hate to say audiences are more sophisticated but quicksand situations don't have the credibility they once did. The most recent big Hollywood movie with a quicksand scene that I can think of, Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, had our hero explaining why it wasn't quicksand he was in even though it was set in the greatest era for such scenes. Political correctness plays against us as well since women must now often be unafraid of everything and more heroic than men. A credible quicksand scene now would take much longer than an audience will sit still for too.

All that being said I don't think there will be any fewer of us who like such things than there are now.

MadMax359 wrote:...that might be true if we relied on the mainstream media to maintain our interest... but this is the Golden Age of Quicksand since we have so many producers creating scenes of the highest quality and as someone who felt teased by all the mainstream scenes where the damsel's clothes stayed on, we now get damsels in all sorts of costumes, including none at all

Exactly.

There are still those who will have an itch to scratch and instead of finding their release through the big screen or television they now have the internet. Our producers need to put their product out there where it will be found even by those who might not know they are looking for it.

There are still those who will have an itch to scratch and instead of finding their release through the big screen or television they now have the internet. Our producers need to put their product out there where it will be found even by those who might not know they are looking for it.

Hehe, two years ago I noticed the small quicksand art community on DeviantArt. I did not think I would post my artwork there, because I thought all the people who would appreciate quicksand art would be here at these forums.

I mulled it over for a while, and had the thought, "If I post on a more public place, I might expose new people, even one person, to quicksand interest!" And I think that is why I started posting there. I did have at least one person say "wtf... quicksand? ok, I'm down with that!" so I guess it sorta worked, if only on a small scale

I'm sure my quicksand interest was fostered by several high profile quicksand scenes during the 1980's... I don't doubt that reduced use of quicksand in pop culture & media reduces the amount of new blood coming into the community!!

I was just thinking today how my 3 favorite scenes from movies are 20 years apart, (40's, 60's, and 80's). And there have been many other scenes that have been produced during that 40 year period, but fewer in the 30+ years since 1980, indicating, (IMHO) a definite trend.

Sadly, I've noticed that QS scenes are far fewer, both in movies and in cartoons. Yet even at the 'peak' of QS perils, too many times, the 'quicksand' was nothing more than water with either leaves or sawdust on top, or just merely dirty water that he/she could easily swim out of.

However there was a scene in "Wreck It Ralph" that involved a quicksand-like scene with a female charachter and a male charachter that I thought was a great scene. I can't remember the details at this time but apparantly they were in some kind of candy-like kingdom and they were sinking in 'Nesquik Sand'. Let's just say that towards the end, I can't tell you all the EVIL thoughts that ran through my head as I watched it.

So, in the end, I've noticed a sharp downward trend in QS scenes in media and Youtube is a notorious offender in deleting QS videos, but I still come upon some really good QS scenes once in a while. Just watch "Wreck It Ralph" and you'll know what I mean.

So while I don't necessarily call it an 'extinction', I do this decline as also being part of increasing censorship by too many PC camps as I mentioned on a separate thread. Youtube not that long ago, took down numerous QS videos, many of them were animated CGI videos that I've found nowhere else. A few QS users here even unsubscribed from Youtube as a result of this.

Perhaps the only way for QS is now up but I definately sense a 'nadir' in qs scenes within the 'mass media' as of this writing.