this post was submitted on 14 Oct 2025
368 points (97.7% liked)

Funny

11955 readers
2034 users here now

General rules:

Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the mods.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Zachariah@lemmy.world 162 points 1 day ago (9 children)

I’d take that over my generation’s childhood trauma any day:

[–] Eeyore_Syndrome@sh.itjust.works 94 points 1 day ago (2 children)
[–] Zachariah@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago

official canon

[–] mindbleach@sh.itjust.works 1 points 23 hours ago

And Henry Blake paddled a liferaft onto the Tracy Ullman show.

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Here's some more trauma:

The novel it's based on makes it clear that The Neverending Story is a psychic parasite that traps young readers in an escapist fantasy, never growing up, never facing your real fears, just endless running down an egocentric treadmill of main character syndrome.

[–] dellish@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I read the book (as a kid) and didn't get that from it at all, but that sort of subtlety would have gone over my head. I'll have to read it again if I can bring myself to do it.

I do remember seeing the movie after reading the book and being pretty annoyed as the movie only covers about the first half.

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Well, do you recall how fulfilling the wishes demands a sacrifice of Bastian's memories and self?

One might alternatively phrase that as wish fulfillment, if one was tricky writer sort.

One might also note that the Story demands Bastian pass it on to another child if he wants his own memories back. Once he realizes he is not willing to give up his last memories of his father.

Passing to a new host once it has drained Bastian of what it wants and his defenses prevent it from gaining more, as it were.

A successful parasite is not one that kills its host, after all, it's one that spreads and grows.

And then it evolves and spreads to a new, American movie going population where that message isn't profitable so it just becomes a standard chosen one story.

[–] dellish@lemmy.world 2 points 12 hours ago

Honestly no I don't recall any of that, but to be fair I read the book around 30 years ago. Yes I'm old. Your points have intrigued me though and I'm going to have to find my old copy and read it again.

[–] Routhinator@startrek.website 21 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Yeah this was way more traumatizing than anything Signs had.

[–] dellish@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

And Signs had Mel Gibson, so that's really saying something.

[–] illi@piefed.social 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Hey, I caught both of these! Yay?

[–] edgemaster72@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

100% what I expected on the sign

[–] TehBamski@lemmy.world 16 points 1 day ago (7 children)

You're gonna have to fill me in here. I don't know this reference.

[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 55 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

The horse the audience has grown attached to becomes depressed, and allows himself to sink slowly beneath the mud. The boy understands what is happening and that the depression is going to kill his friend. He pleads and panics as the horse very graphically sinks out of sight with an incredibly disturbing practical effect that must have been real life animal cruelty. Then the boy is left alone in the swap. It's a fucking brutal scene that symbolizes suicide.

[–] AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

The Neverending Story. That's the scene where Artax the horse gives up and let's the bog of depression drown him

[–] Zachariah@lemmy.world 17 points 1 day ago (2 children)

The Never Ending Story (1984)

[–] Scubus@sh.itjust.works 2 points 16 hours ago

Seems like the horses story ended

[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 2 points 1 day ago

What a young movie!

[–] phdepressed@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Never ending story the horse is with the kid through thick and thin then gets stuck in a swamp and kid has to leave him behind.

[–] neukenindekeuken@sh.itjust.works 16 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Small clarification, he gets stuck in the swamp of despair basically. He only gets stuck and dies because he loses hope. Atreyu tries to cheer him up and give him hope, and it's that scene that's depressing AF. It's like something out of old yeller.

[–] RalphFurley@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

A scene from The Never Ending Story. They travel through the Swamp of Sadness.

https://youtu.be/k6NjDg-Od84

[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I know this one but not the one from the post. Is it slender man is something?

[–] d00phy@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago

I think the OP is from the movie Signs?

[–] Pulptastic@midwest.social 8 points 1 day ago

Good news bad news, I loved that movie as a kid and have zero recollection of that scene. I’m guessing I didn’t get the implication. “Oh he lost his horse”.

[–] jaemo@sh.itjust.works 1 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

indistinct yelling of mothers name

[–] Xraygoggles@lemmy.world 1 points 18 hours ago

How did a guy like that ever end up married to a lady named Moon Child?