What does /co/ think counts as actually dark, and not edgy?
I've never really understood the difference here, but that might just be me.
>>81114425
Dark: overarching themes such as death and the paranormal, macabre imagery, psychological horror, folklore, and general visual darkness
See: Hellboy and The Maxx
Edgy: apathetic characters, needless gore, swearing, rape, racism, necrophilia, child murder, animal cruelty, etc. Most of it is usually supposed to be played for laughs.
See: pic related
>>81114425
>>81114744
Dark: Dark Souls
Edgy: Shadow the Hedgehog
>>81114744
Would the mask comic count as edgy?
>>81115070
It saves itself in my opinion because of the comedy and meta-humor. Plus it'sfun
"Dark" often refers to a mature exploration of the darker side of humanity. Cruel people are cruel, but they're explicitly painted as horrible people for what they do.
"Edgy" often means shit like >>81114744 where the "darker side of humanity" stuff is played for laughs or even straight-up glorified. Cruelty isn't demonized; it's celebrated.
>>81115070
Its not edgy because it dosent take itself seriously and the mask is more of a villian than a protagonist.
The series also gets less violent as it goes on.
>>81115191
Where would black humor be placed then?
>>81115246
I'd put it on the thin line between dark and edgy. Depends on the context and delivery.
>>81114425
what
>>81114744
said.
the general rule of thumb is that Dark has a point to make, while edgy is confrontation/anti-social for the sole sake of shocking people.
>>81115303
>Dark has a point to make, while edgy is confrontation/anti-social for the sole sake of shocking people
This.
>>81114425
If something is Dark and i like it...its dark
If something is dark but i find i dont like it...than its edgy.
>>81115314
OP here
That's pretty much how it seems most of the time to be honest, I wanted to start this thread to clear it up
Honestly the manner in which people use the word 'edgy' has rendered it essentially meaningless in my eyes.
For one it is not synonymous with only the negative aspects which means as a method of describing something it no longer serves any purpose because it comes with so much fucking bias.
I put it in the same category with shit like overrated, memes, sjw, pandering, and overhyped as terms that make me almost immediately stop giving a shit about the criticism the person using them is providing.
Because theyre mostly an out. There are uses of some of them that make sense in context. but I just avoid em altogether and describe shit in another manner because most often they amount to 'i dont personally like that but wish to say it is objectively bad so i will insert one of these patented dismissal words'
>>81115420
>For one it is not synonymous with only the negative aspects
Meant to say "for one it is NOW synonymous with only the negative aspects"
>>81115191
What a childish view.
>>81115439
Well, yeah, that's the whole point of something being described as "edgy": it's done simply for the sake of doing it.
Hypothetical example time! You want to tell the story of a brutal murderer. Now, if you want to go "dark" with it, you could make it an examination of the psychology behind his decision to start killing. But if all you want to do is show the guy killing people over and over without any overarching theme or narrative thrust, you've stumbled into what could be called Edgelord Territory.
>>81115070
Yes and no. The Mask is not entirely edgy, but has moments where the black comedy overstays its joke and edges into edgy territory.
Edgy and dark is alright if you back it up with some substance (TDKR, Miller's Daredevil, actually quite a few daredevil stories including the show, Punisher MAX, Nolan Bats, Burton Bats) or if its a parody like Punisher 2099.
Where it gets shit is where it fumbles and pretends to have substance but is hollow and just uses that shit for shock value. See BvS, the particularly bad episodes of GoT (though i love GoT), and the extreme 90s comics.
>>81114425
Style vs substance.
Dark has substance, edgy has the trappings of darkness, and that's it, it's mono-dimensional.
Everybody is a hero in his own story, you know? When that (weak and pusillanimous as he might be) hero's hand is forced all the way to 'necessary' cruelty, that's dark and twisted.
When it's gratuitous, forced, and the consequences aren't realistic (it should only happen in war-torn zones, and then we open a mental health/PTSD can of worms, in the civilized world consequences would be severe to say the least) it's just edgy bullshit.
>>81115420
This.
>>81114425
It's a matter of taste and sensibilities. "Edgy" refers to something that is supposed to sit on the "edge" between acceptable and unacceptable, tasteful and tasteless; something which pushes the moral envelope. This was seen as a positive feature at one point, which is when we started seeing edgy-for-the-sake-of-edgy.
The latter is what is meant these days when talking about edgy.
It's not purely subjective, since "edginess" is supposed to be confirmed against societal standards and not individual ones, but it basically is.
Dark just describes the mood/tone of a work, as the opposite of "light"; a work that shows minimal sense of hope or happiness.
