Editorials
10 Things You Can Discuss Over Thanksgiving Dinner to Avoid Politics
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, which means the family is going to gather around the table and eat a lot of food. Theoretically, it’s a time of tradition and love, when we all come together to celebrate all that we are thankful for. However, there’s also the very large possibility (read: certainty) that someone is going to bring up the election and dinner is going to devolve into one gigantic shit show of anger, yelling, cranberry sauce thrown at one another and someone is going to end up with a turkey on their head.
So why not go into that dinner with a plan of action? After all, if you prepare for seeming inevitability, you can either postpone it or do away with it altogether. That’s why I like to come up with good questions to bring to the Thanksgiving dinner table so as to avoid confrontation and fighting.
To help you out in case you’re in a similar boat, I’ve come up with 10 different topics that can be discussed over Thanksgiving dinner that’ll keep things lighthearted and fun. I’ve also added a bit on why I feel these would be good discussions to have, especially if they need to be started with a bit of care. Last thing to note: many of these questions are aimed at older generations but that doesn’t mean they can’t be adapted to those younger than yourself. It’s all about how you approach it!
No matter what happens tomorrow, Happy Thanksgiving to all and know that I and the rest of the BD crew are very thankful for each and every one of you!
“What is your first horror memory?”
This one is nice and simple. It doesn’t ask for something good or bad, it just asks for a memory. It can be a book cover that someone saw in the library. It could be a Cold War-era B-horror/sci-fi flick like Attack of the 50 Foot Woman or Invasion Of The Body Snatchers. Maybe it was seeing Bobby Pickett perform “The Monster Mash” on TV. Whatever the memory that surfaces, the point here is to feel nostalgia and cherish that first encounter with horror, no matter how simple or basic it might seem.
“What’s the first horror movie you remember seeing?”
Another trip down memory lane, this one is fun because then you can discuss the film itself, talking about its merits, its faults, but all with a fun and jovial attitude. Perhaps that film has been revisited since youth, which then sparks the discussion of seeing things with a different set of eyes, ones that are older, more mature, and wiser. It’s the type of discussion that can bring lots of laughter and appreciation.
“What’s the creepiest story you’ve ever read?
This allows the discussion to move away from movies and TV and venture into literature, which is often seen as more “worthy” or “valuable”. Whether or not that’s true is up to each person’s individual view of art, but that’s a different topic altogether. Here you get a chance to hear about stories you might not have ever heard of or authors you didn’t know existed. Or maybe you know it already and it’s a chance to gush over everything you love about the story, extolling its virtues.
“What frightened you the most as a child?”
This topic is a bit sensitive because a childhood fear might not be something related to horror but rather something more aligned with the real world. To help steer this conversation in the right direction, you can follow it up by adding, “Y’know, like spiders, the dark, the boogeyman, etc…” Don’t hesitate to start it off with your own fear and have some humility. Admitting our fears isn’t necessarily a bad thing and you all might even get some good laughs, especially if there are silly stories associated with your fear. I’m sure my parents have some good ones connected to my fear of spiders!
“What was Halloween like when you were a kid?”
Ah, Halloween. That magical time of year when everyone dresses up and our neighborhoods become a bit creepier. We all have great memories associated with the holiday, so why not ask for others to share their memories? Learn about Halloween through different generations. What did they wear? What kinds of candies were passed out? What were decorations like? All of these might not only be interesting to learn about but they might also spark your imagination for next year’s festivities!
“Who were the big horror icons when you were young?”
For many of us, when we think of horror we immediately think of Jason, Freddy, Michael, Chucky, etc… For those younger than ourselves, it’s Jigsaw, Toby (the demon from Paranormal Activity), Bughuul, the Firefly clan, and more like those. But what about from the generations who grew up before us? Who were the horror icons that stood out the most in their mind? The answer might surprise you, especially because personal taste can play a big role in deciding who stands out the most in a person’s mind. Just think how many of us argue over who is the bigger horror icon!
“What did people think of horror when you were younger?”
Horror is huge right now. It’s basically taken over TV and nearly every horror title that hits theaters is going to perform well. Yes, there are some exceptions but horror as a whole has always been rather profitable for Hollywood. With this surge in popularity, there has come a sense of acceptance that hasn’t always been here. It’s a wonderful feeling but I can’t help but wonder what people thought previously and what their reasoning was behind those thoughts. Do some digging and learn about societal views that have changed and evolved.
“What’s a scary story that happened to you in real life?”
Again, this one needs to be tackled carefully. We don’t want people to be Debbie Downer’s here, so make sure to address this as something like a car breaking down on the side of the road or being a roller coaster that got stuck. Y’know, something where things obviously came out fine but were scary as hell when they happened.
“What’s the scariest prank you’ve ever played on someone?”
Everyone loves a good prank. Maybe not when it’s done to them but they get a kick out of a good one done to someone else. You might get a lot of good laughs here as well as a few solid ideas to play on your friends!
“Tell me something you like about horror.”
So this one isn’t really a question but it still requires an answer. A lot of people will be happy to tell you all about the stuff they hate in the genre but let’s try to keep people positive here. Asking what people enjoy about something is far more exciting anyways. When you see someone talk about something they like and enjoy, especially if they do it with passion, well…it’s just a wonderful experience. Try to bring that out in the people around you.
In this day and age, the word “troll” is often used to describe various online nuisances. Yet as abundant and irksome as the modern troll can be, they aren’t usually as fearsome as their mythological counterparts. I’m not talking about the small and gentler versions that have become more common to see in media. No, there are much bigger and scarier trolls out there—and André Øvredal’s movie Troll Hunter is one of the best places to find them.
It doesn’t take long for Troll Hunter (or Trolljegeren) to dump the Blair Witch Project-esque setup and aim for something a lot fresher. The trajectory of the story is augmented by Otto Jespersen’s character Hans, the titular Troll Hunter. The second he comes barreling out of the deep, dark woods and shouts “troll” at the camera, this movie takes a turn into what feels like uncharted territory. Not only subject-wise, but also conceptually.
For fantastical and made-up subject matter in cinema, found footage is a fast way to add a guise of believability. After all, what we accept to be the most crucial aspect of documentaries—the truth—rubs off on pseudo-documentaries, despite our understanding of the pretense involved. That is what Øvredal delivered with Troll Hunter: a movie so convincing that some viewers wondered if trolls really do exist. So, had this been straightforwardly made, it likely wouldn’t have been as effective. Conventional narratives would be more inclined to treat something like trolls as flat out unreal, and never try to convince the audience to think otherwise.
Hans petrifies the three-headed Tusseladd troll.
The viewers, like the characters trailing Hans, are quickly thrown into the deeper end of that extraordinary story. They have to process all this new information while staying on the go. So, although there is no significant amount of meandering, narratively or physically, there is still a good amount of atmosphere, not to mention tension building. It’s never anything frightful, but then again, Troll Hunter isn’t your standard offering of horror; it’s more on the low end of the dark fantasy spectrum. We aren’t ever spirited away to a faraway world—we stay in rather familiar surroundings, as well as dip into those less so. The outcome is a movie where you’re constantly more in awe than in terror.
As fantasy fiction might do, Troll Hunter prefers not to deal with incredulity. There is no time to waste on doubt, as interviewer Thomas (Glenn Erland Tosterud), soundperson Johanna (Johanna Mørck), and cameraman Kalle (Tomas Alf Larsen) all follow Hans around, recording whatever this character is willing to reveal about his bizarre job. Of course, the Troll Hunter himself is not an open book; in that respect, the diegetic documentary fails to fully capture and unpack the more interesting of its two subjects. Yes, all those giant, monstrous trolls are indeed incredible, but understandably, your mind wanders to their pursuer. What kind of person signs up for this gig and then chooses to stick with it for so long?
Reviews have called out Troll Hunter for its lack of character development. In regard to Thomas and his fellow documentarians, that criticism is valid, but bear in mind, they aren’t the focus of the story, either. Meanwhile, Hans is a well-crafted character. At least better than first realized. Before he was introduced, Hans had already grown tired of the troll grind. Fed up with that low compensation for his services, resentful of the bureaucracy, and wanting to expose his employer on a large scale, Hans’ discontent is glaring.
Then there are those finer details about the Troll Hunter, such as that indifference to both the natural splendor of his everyday surroundings and the affections of an obviously smitten colleague, that also suggest some level of despondency. So it is fair to say this movie doesn’t feature any sizable growth for its characters; however, the namesake isn’t underwritten. No doubt, putting a real-life character like Otto Jespersen in that role is partly why Hans is so fascinating—maybe even relatable.
Otto Jespersen as Hans the Troll Hunter.
There is always a small risk whenever using the term “mockumentary” to describe a found-footage movie, as the word could imply humor where there is none. In the case of Troll Hunter, the term’s usage is appropriate. Some folks have claimed the English-dubbed version has the more comedic tone, however, the Norwegian cut isn’t exactly humorless. Apart from the trolls’ absurd appearances, this is a movie where the characters nearly choke on the monsters’ farts, and Christians are like walking targets. Hans’ complete apathy towards everything is another cause of laughter. Overall, the comedy is intentionally dry and inconsistent. Unfunny, though? Absolutely not.
In a movie where endemic creatures are maltreated, as well as disavowed from living freely and peacefully, it’s hard not to notice the ecological message buried beneath the story. In addition to that is the unmistakable political satire. There is this whole business about intrusive and unsightly power lines—like trolls, they’re big blemishes on the land—that leads to what is perhaps the movie’s funniest moment. The scene in question is that one where certain electric lines, the ones secretly being used to keep the trolls at bay, go in a loop and don’t actually send power to any residents. Yet the monitors of said lines don’t find this at all weird. So it stands to reason that Øvredal was having a go at those who accept the government’s doings without question.
Looking past the fact that trolls aren’t actually real, this movie is an enlightening source of information. And not just for international audiences; Norwegians, too, get schooled about their homeland’s own mythology. It’s also evident from everything on screen that Øvredal and his crew were enthusiastic about the topic. The creature designs are the most indicative of that zeal; those imaginative yet myth-accurate manifestations are equally amusing and grotesque. One second you’re laughing at their phallic noses, the next you’re white-knuckling during a hairy sequence. Most surprisingly is how well the trolls’ visual effects hold up after fifteen years. It’s not all spotless, but on the whole, they remain impressive.
Vouching for a mockumentary about trolls isn’t easy, but those who do come around and give it a shot will more than likely be grateful for the recommendation. For Troll Hunter is a real find in that vast and varied genre we call “found footage“.
A bridge troll reaches up for food and finds Hans decked out in armor.
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