Local man and proud Gen X survivor Craig Dennington has confirmed that, despite nearly four decades of life experience, tax returns and two separate Clarkson-era Top Gear marathons, he remains deeply traumatised by the death of Artax the horse in the 1984 film The NeverEnding Story.
The scene, in which Artax sinks into the Swamp of Sadness while audiences everywhere received an early and unsolicited introduction to childhood grief, has continued to haunt Dennington, 48.
Dennington said the emotional wound remains so deep that he experiences random, uncontrollable flashbacks “that stalk me like an ICE agent.”
The wound reopened last week when his niece suggested rewatching the family classic.
“I had to excuse myself,” he said. “Told everyone I was checking the roast that didn’t exist. In reality, I was in the garage, ugly crying into a slab of Carlton Dry like a man reliving Vietnam.”
His wife, Melanie, confirmed the ongoing impact.
“We had to leave the Bendigo Cup early. We can’t even play Daryl Braithwaite’s ‘The Horses’ anymore,” she said. “Even glue sticks in Officeworks set him off.”
Experts say Dennington’s reaction is typical of Gen Xers who were traumatised by emotionally catastrophic children’s films shown by teachers who rolled out the TV trolley on a Friday afternoon and put on either The NeverEnding Story or Watership Down.
“Teachers didn't care if you cried as long as you were quiet,” said a child-psychologist-turned-nostalgia-blogger. “Kids today cry at Inside Out. Gen X cried at a horse being swallowed by depression.”
“I didn’t even cry when Nana died."
