Paramount / Dreamworks
The genre of ‘people watching and reacting to things that are meaningful to me’ has quickly emerged as one of my favorite genres of Internet content in recent years. Seeing Gen Z experience movies or music that I care about a lot and their reactions to that universally beloved content somehow brings us closer together in the moment but it also shines a spotlight on just how far apart generational gaps are these days.
Case in point, this video from Cinema Reactions Hub which recently caught my attention. In the clip, Gen Z (born 1997-2012) and younger millennials (born 1981-1996) watch and react to the Omaha Beach D-Day scene from Saving Private Ryan for their first time.
There is a second video below where the same group watches the pivotal ‘Battle for Minas Tirith’ scene from Lord of the Rings for their first time. That clip is actually the one that convinced me I should share these on BroBible today because it straight-up blew my mind seeing them melt down over the orcs attacking… But first, can we acknowledge that the Normandy Landings/Omaha Beach are arguably *the most well-known* military operation not only of World War II but possibly in all of modern history, and somehow it seems like the people reacting have zero knowledge of history…
Saving Private Ryan was nominated for ‘Best Picture’ at the 1999 Academy Awards. Steven Spielberg won ‘Best Director’ while Tom Hanks was also nominated for ‘Best Actor in a Leading Role.’ Beyond my dismay that they appear to have little to know knowledge of how the Normandy Landings went, I’m astonished there are still people in this world who have not seen Saving Private Ryan.
Gen Z Reacts!
And that brings us to the second clip today, where Gen Z and younger millennials watch the ‘Battle for Minas Tirith’ from 2003’s Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King for the first time. I never read the books before those movies hit theaters and I was still completely swept up in the cultural phenomenon that was LOTR….Again, HOW are there people who haven’t seen these movies before? Are they never hungover on the couch flipping channels and hear that soothing elfin music?!
I could watch these videos all day… Which ‘Gen Z reacts’ video should I feature here next on BroBible? Let me know down in the Facebook comments.
Content shared from brobible.com.