Generational Regime Change Needs To Come For Alcohol Next
The original backroom image from an old 4chan post
My wife and I went to see Obsession and Backrooms yesterday as part of a back-to-back early morning double feature.
Both films are getting a ton of buzz due to their huge opening weekends and the incredibly young ages of their directors (Curry Barker is 26, while Kane Parsons is only 20). Both films are a breath of fresh air for horror fans like myself who are tired of the same hackneyed tropes and big budget bullshit that most studios throw out today. Both films also represent a new generation’s take on what entertainment should look like, and how Hollywood can inspire modern audiences moving forward.
I was utterly captivated by each film and would highly recommend seeing them with as little knowledge as possible going in; the less you know, the more they deliver. But what I especially took from each film, beyond just the entertainment, was a keen understanding of psychology and meaning when it comes to art. These films have a lot to say about modern society beyond the simple creativity of their plot lines. I wish the alcohol industry understood just how much a similar revolution is needed on its end.
For me personally, the major American and Scottish distillery releases are our version of comic book movies: there’s a lot of expensive slop being jammed into a gigantic marketing budgets that feel like they were generated for the sake of money, rather than the satisfaction of the consumer. These companies prey on our loyalty and nostalgia, knowing that we’ll fork over another $100 for our favorite brands, even if the quality isn’t even a fraction of what it once was.
I stopped caring about most of these labels years ago, just like I stopped going to the movies for the most part after COVID. Yesterday’s experiences, however, reinvigorated something in me and reminded me how inspiring art can be when it’s crafted by a fresh perspective. A handful of small American distillers and wineries have tapped into this same energy (Madson in Santa Cruz, for example, and Veso Aperitifs as well), bringing new ideas into familiar traditions, but we need more fresh perspective from younger generations in order to survive.
-David Driscoll