Chris and Nostalgia

  • ⚙️ Performance issue identified and being addressed.
  • Want to keep track of this thread?
    Accounts can bookmark posts, watch threads for updates, and jump back to where you stopped reading.
    Create account
Status
Not open for further replies.
exball said:
He's just retarded.
Click to expand...

This could be the answer to just about anything that Chris does though. And, to be fair, there are plenty of retarded people who are smarter and better off then Chris. Some of whom are even married and/or have children.

NavierStoked said:
Speaking of Chris reminiscing about high school. I wonder if his high school had a reunion and Chris just didn't know about. He really wanted to go to that. It would be great. Just imagine: Chris all dolled up in his best Tomgirl attire and pretty much the most famous person there.
Click to expand...

Ha. I could see that. I'm pretty sure nobody in his class would want him to be there, and its entirely possible that Barb (fearing further embarrassment or just another plot from them dang dirty trolls) might just throw away any invitations and not tell her little Chrissun. Now that would be funny.

Satan said:
Chris is nostalgic for the days were the American educational system forced him to enter a place where people threw pennies at him and some nice girls pitied his poor autistic self enough to actually not get sassy with him.

Clearly, those were the days.
Click to expand...

Well, for Chris they were. It was the most social interaction he's ever had in his life. Being autistic he's not very good at reading people or understanding what's inappropriate, so he never viewed himself as being bullied. For him, bullying was only something he saw on kids TV shows or cartoons, and since he was never (say) shoved in a locker, he never saw himself as an outsider. Furthermore, Chris doesn't have a job or friends or really any reason to leave the house anymore. In high school, people were forced to interact with him, even if it was nothing more than tolerating his presence in a classroom or at lunch. Maybe (if they were really unlucky) having to work a group project with him. And finally, don't forget that his parents were freaking old. Bob and especially Barb weren't exactly social to begin with and likely couldn't relate to Chris or anything he might have been interested in. At least in high school, Chris was around people his own age, and (theoretically) responsible, non-hoarder adults to supervise him. He SHOULD have learned more about social interactions, both with his peers and authority figures. Clearly he didn't.
 
Satan said:
Chris is nostalgic for the days were the American educational system forced him to enter a place where people threw pennies at him and some nice girls pitied his poor autistic self enough to actually not get sassy with him.

Clearly, those were the days.

474px-0002-BabyChristopher.jpg


Oh and even as a babby he looked like Dr. Evil. That should tell you something.
Click to expand...


even in his 20's and 30's he had that baby blanket on his bed
 
Marvin said:
Heh, really, like, Chris thinks he could've bagged all the ladies, if only he had known about sex when he was younger. So when we talk about this, I think "well, what if we could magically send him back in time, just to kill that view of his. maybe give him a little bit of humility".

But if you could do that, he'd come back, and have new excuses about why he didn't get laid. His new excuses would be "if only I had approached more girls, quick, send me back again! I'll get it right this time!"

He'll just be dredging up new excuses about why it's not his fault, or if only blah blah blah, he'd be a total ladies man. Ad infinitum.
Click to expand...
This, totally this -- but ONLY if we get to involve Kitty Pryde and Wolverine. And then we can watch him tard rage as Logan bags all the ladies.
 
People are suggesting that Chris's problems might be due to greater mental disabilities than just autism making it so that he doesn't process the passing of time.

I don't think this is true. I have a mentally disabled relative, and I've interacted with plenty of mentally disabled people in my time. I don't believe that a single one of them could think on the level of complexity that's needed to sign up for a credit card when money is gone, post comics online with the intent to monetize them eventually, or sell things on ebay without someone specifically telling them when and how to do it in great detail. They lack the ability to think several steps ahead like that.

Just as an example, Chris managed to plan and complete a trip to Ohio and back, finding an address that he was directed to. When my relative suddenly decided that he wanted to move back to a town that he used to live in, do you know what he did? He started walking until he was eventually picked up by the police.

That's the difference between Chris and someone lacking in the mental capacity to process his situation.

Chris knows that he's a 32 year old man and a massive underachiever. He knows that an age where many people would start to consider you old (40) is just over the horizon. It's a source of frustration for him. He's just stuck in this cycle of daily escapism with time slipping through his fingers, with his massive ego and aversion to Stress preventing him from properly attributing the blame to himself and then fixing it.
 
Lego, Sonic, Pokemon, and others are far from being dead franchises. Chris consumes children's media in adulthood as he did when he was a child.

I think the fact this question is being talked about raises a better question would be: "does Chris make us nostalgic."

For me, yes.
 
Chris is the living embodiment of the old phrase, "the memory cheats." He's nostalgic for a time that only ever existed in his mind after the fact. But when every single day of your current life involves almost complete isolation, and a sickly mother who doesn't seem to like you very much, yeah, you put on the rose tinted glasses.
 
Chandler Cats said:
Goddamn, that is seriously good writing. I want to go shoot myself right now.
Click to expand...
Probably my favorite scene in the show.

Hamm actually did a great parody of it too on SNL but they've yanked the clip.
 
Last edited:
Wakaranai said:
People are suggesting that Chris's problems might be due to greater mental disabilities than just autism making it so that he doesn't process the passing of time.

I don't think this is true. I have a mentally disabled relative, and I've interacted with plenty of mentally disabled people in my time. I don't believe that a single one of them could think on the level of complexity that's needed to sign up for a credit card when money is gone, post comics online with the intent to monetize them eventually, or sell things on ebay without someone specifically telling them when and how to do it in great detail. They lack the ability to think several steps ahead like that.

Just as an example, Chris managed to plan and complete a trip to Ohio and back, finding an address that he was directed to. When my relative suddenly decided that he wanted to move back to a town that he used to live in, do you know what he did? He started walking until he was eventually picked up by the police.

That's the difference between Chris and someone lacking in the mental capacity to process his situation.

Chris knows that he's a 32 year old man and a massive underachiever. He knows that an age where many people would start to consider you old (40) is just over the horizon. It's a source of frustration for him. He's just stuck in this cycle of daily escapism with time slipping through his fingers, with his massive ego and aversion to Stress preventing him from properly attributing the blame to himself and then fixing it.
Click to expand...


No, I didn't mean that his fucked up perception of time is entirely because of mental disabilities. If that's what people are understanding, I clearly did not express myself correctly. My theory is that his perception of time is fucked up because of a lack of mental challenge and stimulation, compounded by lazy enabling parents, lazyness and on a very minor scale, his autism.

I really don't understand the need to compare Chris's disability to your relative's. The source of 99% of Chris's problems is Chris himself and his poor attitude, not his disability.

Does Chris really know he's an underachiever? I think not. Chris has proven time and time again that he firmly believes he's always right. As I mentioned before, he lacks the capacity for introspection. He can't have a massive ego and consider himself an underachiever at the same time.
 
Misto said:
No, I didn't mean that his fucked up perception of time is entirely because of mental disabilities. If that's what people are understanding, I clearly did not express myself correctly. My theory is that his perception of time is fucked up because of a lack of mental challenge and stimulation, compounded by lazy enabling parents, lazyness and on a very minor scale, his autism.

I really don't understand the need to compare Chris's disability to your relative's. The source of 99% of Chris's problems is Chris himself and his poor attitude, not his disability.

Does Chris really know he's an underachiever? I think not. Chris has proven time and time again that he firmly believes he's always right. As I mentioned before, he lacks the capacity for introspection. He can't have a massive ego and consider himself an underachiever at the same time.
Click to expand...
The fuck he cant. Hes the greatest underachiever that ever graced this earth with the imprint of his ass under a shade tree.

But seriously... While i doubt he has any sense of his problems being his fault, im sure he could and very well might see himself as the perfect example of success in the face of adversity. He knows he could have or should have reached whatever stage or goal in his life, but due to his crippling disorder and the whole of society crushing down on him to keep him from being happy, look how far he has come. He is a plucky, determined go get em kinda girl, and aint nothin gonna hold her down!
 
Misto said:
I think there's also another factor that needs to be considered: his perception of time is fucked up relative to others. So mentally he doesn't believe that much time has passed since he was a kid.

Remember when you were a kid how time seemed to go by so much slower? Half an hour in the car seemed like an eternity. Now you probably don't notice as much because your brain is constantly occupied with many thoughts at a time - what you need to finish at work, who you need to call in the morning, whether you need to stop for gas and groceries, the latest family drama or friend happenings, plans for the weekend, etc. All this while paying attention to the road and listening to the radio. It makes time fly. Same for work, family life, etc.

Chris's brain can only be occupied with two or three things at a time. Typically, a) Sonichu b) the quest for love (china) c) legos d) dang dirty trolls. Hell his entire brain operates much slower (listen to the Father call and pay attention to how long it takes him to formulate a thought). So naturally he can't understand how everyone else around him has evolved much faster than he has. I'd be willing to bet that he considers playing with legos and little ponies as a normal, youthful thing that every 32 year old does. Because he has nothing else occupying his time and thoughts and he has no real frame of reference. His parents were ancient and slow and retired for most of his life, it's not like he got to see his dad super busy with work all the time.

Every day for Chris is a repeat of the last for the most part, so they all tend to blend together and have since he was a kid. So it's not so much nostalgia as a lack of evolution.

I think this is also the reason he still considers himself a "young adult" or even a "teenager".
Click to expand...
Also, there's no demarcation from day-to-day, or even from hour-to-hour. There's no difference between a Friday night and a Monday morning to Chris. It all just blends together because he has nothing to do.

Tubular Monkey said:
Chris is a mixture of nostalgia and schizophrenia.
Click to expand...
With a dose of homosexuality.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom