Martin Scorsese tackles Gen Z slang–no cap!

Last Updated on October 9, 2023

Martin Scorsese may not be big on comic book movies, but that doesn’t mean he’s not hip. Don’t believe us? The man knows his slang! Well, some of it, at least. In a new TikTok video courtesy of his daughter Francesca, Scorsese makes a noble enough attempt at guessing what younger generations are even talking about.

Marked with “Dad Guesses Slang”, the five-minute video finds Francesca offering her 80-year-old father a series of modern slang that, really, no octogenarian should know. But he’s actually quite adept. For example, he knew what spilling the tea meant, that “ick” means “thoroughly repulsed” and that “hits different” brings a fresh perspective to something.

As for “slept on”, Scorsese isn’t necessarily wrong when he says it’s when you make a decision after giving it a good night’s sleep, but all the cool kids know it means something wasn’t appreciated at the time. On this, Francesca even cites 1983’s The King of Comedy as an example, triggering Scorsese to recall particularly nasty reviews from Entertainment Tonight, who called it “the flop of the year.” (Of course, we all know now that The King of Comedy ranks as one of the director’s finest works.) Man, Scorsese is big mad! We won’t spoil the rest of the “dad guesses”, but Scorsese does get a chance to tackle “ate”, “cap”, “ship”, and more. Although the annoying voice filter does detract a bit, the video is most definitely worth a watch – even if just to see the director start to lose his patience with the experiment. Slaaaaaay, King!

While Martin Scoresese may not be a fan of a lot of what’s going on in the world of modern cinema, he has still embraced some trends that would undoubtedly connect with younger audiences. Outside of his TikTok ventures (Francesca has made him TikTok famous numerous times before), Scorsese made a short film during the Covid-19 pandemic by turning the camera on himself, not unlike what the YouTube generation has made a daily habit.

Martin Scorsese’s next film, The Killers of the Flower Moon, hits theaters on October 20th.

Which slang from the younger generations can you still not wrap your head around? Let us know below!