Things I do not understand

[lesbiassparrow]

There are many things I do not understand, chief amongst which is science in any of its forms.  Which is sad, because I once did understand some science when I did it at school and stuff, but now even basic chemistry fills me with superstitious awe, much like a medieval peasant faced with the concept of soap. 

But one of the things I really don't get is why do people consistently watch things they obviously loathe?  I get hanging onto old stuff for a bit in the hope it gets better (this explains my watching of about half of Buffy season 6), but if it is clearly giving you such pain that it is as if the entire universe has not only betrayed you, but also kicked your pet, stole your favourite piece of clothing, burned down your house, danced on the ashes of its smouldering ruin and then used your DVDs as coasters while cackling evilly, then surely it is not worth it?  Because quite frequently it is clear that people's relationship with entertainment they are not enjoying  is not 'oh, I'll watch it and have fun mocking it light heartedly' but something that they are taking very much to heart and actually obsessing about.  Endlessly.

I know I've been guilty of watching things myself which I did not enjoy and posting about them afterwards (I am thinking shamefully of some McCoy Dr. Who episodes) and then going back for more, but not for month and months of time.  And it's not (I hope) as if I felt those things purposefully set out to offend me and my intelligence on a very personal level.  There are many things that I don't like that other people find excellent and I assume it is because my taste is different and not because I see things very deeply and they are sheep who but graze on the side of the television road and are frequently run over by sit-coms and the like.  I watch telly in my free time; I have to do/read/see enough stuff in my real life that I do not enjoy not to want to have to repeat that in my spare time.

(I apologise for the rant: I think I am excessively grumpy today because I have been putting together a syllabus on imperialism and if there is anything that depresses you it is reading stuff about ancient cruelties in the name of nations and ideals and power and realising that absolutely nothing has changed.) 

Comments

[jenavira.livejournal.com]

I have complained about this myself in the past, and yet at the moment I find myself watching both new Stargate Atlantis and past Star Trek Enterprise, both of which frequently make me feel as if my brain is being pulled out through my ears. I do not know why. The closest I can come is the sense that both of those shows ought to be better than they are, and if I could only get past the soul-crushing awfulness I might be able to improve upon them in fic.

And sometimes I just like having something to complain about. *shrug*

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

Oh I've watched things too where there's been things I liked and other things I hated, which I think of as different really from being absolutely in pain every second of a show and then posting madly about it every day. Which you dont: you post interesting things where you say what you enjoy and what you find frustrating. You don't take the writers' decisions as personal affronts.

And your senior project on SGA fandom was the most interesting thing I've read on fandom and a show. So you'd get a pass from me even if you do all the ranting!

[kalliopeia.livejournal.com]

Been reading over at TWoP, have you?

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

Hee! Sort of - actually, it was some mainly LJ communities. Quite clearly there are people out there who not only hate shows they spend inordinate amounts of time watching, but who are also very disturbed by the idea that other people might actually enjoy them.

[queenofthorns.livejournal.com]

who are also very disturbed by the idea that other people might actually enjoy them.

I think this is the part that really confuzzles me... I mean, it's one thing even to HAAAAAATE something but to go on a conversion rampage to make sure that everyone else you know or "know" also hates it is ... kind of a waste of time, IMO!

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

This is the smugness/I'm smarter than you factor. It is not enough to say 'look I don't enjoy this because of X'; you must go on to say that if you do like it it is clearly because you are not a Deep Thinker who has seen through the producers' tricks

You get extra bonus point if you also suggest any of the following about those who oppose your views:
a) They are all 12 years old
b) They are all single and do not understand love
c) They are all incapable of interrogating a text properly (this is only if you want to get all artsy and theoretical)
d) They do not understand Real Life which only comes in one model which is the one the person is posting about
e) etc. etc.

[bluekermit.livejournal.com]

That is one of the things that fascinates me in this corner of the Internet called fandom, that I discovered some two years ago. And I have nothing else to add on this matter, than my own wtf gaze.

Ancient cruelties and absolutely nothing has changed. I cling desperately to the idea that we can still make a difference, somehow.

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

I know! And what gets me is that so much of the dislike is not just dislike, but smug happiness about the dislike. And self-righteous to boot.