I watched The Uncle on Talking Pictures TV the other day and it reminded me of something I associate with old British movies which is a particular way that adults talk to children, this mixture of kindly, amused and ironic. I feel like you don't see adults talk to kids this way often in modern movies or tv (or possibly real life? idk, I don't encounter children very often these days) - there seem to be fewer conversations between adults and children in movies generally (maybe there are fewer child actors these days, or at least more restrictions involved in using them?), but when they do appear the adults are more likely to be either trying to address the kid 'on their level', or in a polite but disinterested way, either way it lacks this slightly elliptical, mocking quality. I feel like I remember from my own childhood that adults would talk to you in this way that you see in old movies, this sense that they were all in on some private joke that seemed obscure to you?
― soref, Saturday, 2 March 2024 17:56 (two months ago) link