Saturday, July 6, 2019

My not-so-guilty pleasures


A guilty pleasure is defined as something that one enjoys despite knowing that he or she might be ridiculed for their enjoyment. Sometimes it is something that people might think someone shouldn’t like it because its 1) so bad it isn’t worth it or 2) someone is “too old” for it or it’s considered for children. In the words of British actor Tom Hiddleston, “What’s my guilty pleasure? The thing is I never feel guilty for my pleasures.” I don’t like calling a few of my pleasures guilty ones because I don’t feel guilty enjoying them. However, the following TV shows, music, movies, and books would probably fall into this category in which I have chosen three.



TV shows can be the most popular within the guilty pleasure category. First, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and it’s spin off, The Equestria Girls. I started watching this program with my, then 3-year-old, daughter, and now I enjoy watching it as much as she does, sometimes more. It’s fun and engaging with life lessons about embracing our differences as the spice of life and being friends. It is currently in its ninth and final season. Second, Catfish (2012-present) is a MTV show based on the 2010 documentary of the same name. The show follows hosts, Nev Schulman and Max Joseph, as they help individuals confront others who catfished them. Catfishing is when a person creates a fake personal profile on social media sites, usually using fake pictures and false biographical information. The intention for the catfisher is usually to trick an unsuspecting person into falling love or have some form of online relationship with no physical contact. I usually don’t watch a lot of reality tv, but this show captured my attention and I couldn’t help but watch. I was always interested in how people were fooled, what tipped them off that something wasn’t right and how they end up confronting the individual in real life. Viewers can usually learn what not to do when it comes to online contact and signs to be weary of. Third, I love the TLC reality shows, Say Yes to the Dress and Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta. The drama surrounding weddings is inevitable and its fun to see who causes what. And they usually have a tear-jerking, heart tugging, survival against all odds stories too.


When most people think of guilty pleasures, I think they think of music. Sometimes we like music we probably feel we should not be listening to or even like because it is beyond our age demographic or it isn’t our usual genres. However, a great song is still a great song. First, I love listening to Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball (2013). Disturbing video aside, the song is quite catchy and relates to a relationship falling apart. Even though the song specifically references a romantic relationship, I think that the deterioration of some friendships can relate to the song. Two lyrics stand out to me, “Don’t you even say I just walked away” and “I never meant to start a war.” Second, Eminem’s Lose Yourself from the 2002 movie, 8 Mile. The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2003 and it’s the first (and possibly only) rap song to do so. While I’m not a big rap fan, and I’ve read online that some people don’t even consider this song rap, I enjoy the rhythms of the song. As well as its message of never giving up, never letting an opportunity to follow your dream pass by. Third, Wake Me Up Before you Go Go by Wham! Was a hit in 1984. Although I was only 4 years old when the song was released, it is one of my favorite 80s songs. I will always crank it up and sing along when it comes on the radio, which is quite often considering the stations I listen to in the car. I never get tired of hearing it.



Movies are often a common guilty pleasure too. Movies usually so bad that most people wouldn’t give it another thought. First, I love the Fantastic Four (2005) and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007). I love Chris Evans as Johnny Storm. He was funny, sarcastic and the banter between Johnny and Ben Grimm (played by Michael Chiklis) is great. While the movies themselves are campy and overall poorly done, I have a special place in my heart for Rise of the Silver Surfer as it was the movie my husband and I saw on our first date. Second, Never Been Kissed (1999) is one of my favorite Drew Barrymore movies. I could relate to her character, Josie, although I wasn’t as socially awkward as she was, I can relate to being smart and not really a part of the popular crowd. And I didn’t receive my first kiss until I was in my late 20s (and it was special that I wouldn’t want it any other way. I love the song, The Beach Boys’ 1964 Don’t Worry Baby, which plays as Josie receives her first kiss on the baseball diamond. Third, Nacho Libre (2006) is a corny comedy which my husband introduced me too when we were dating. Jack Black plays Ignacio aka Nacho, a man who was orphaned as a boy and becomes a monk at the orphanage. He gets the idea to wrestle as a masked luchador in order to buy better food and other provisions for the orphans. It is a fun nonsense movie to watch for pure entertainment. It has mild rude humor with wrestling action/violence but there is no excessive cussing, if there is cussing at all. 



Normally books are not a guilty pleasure for me. However, there is one series that is so outside of the usual books I read that its fun to call it a guilty pleasure and a little forbidden. It is the Highland Series by Karen Marie Moning. It is a series of 8 books, although I have only read 7 of them. I stopped reading the series after the 7th book when I felt the quality of the author’s writing had fallen. The books are a mixture of modern, historical, and mythological. It figures time travel, magic, dangerous fairies and, of course, erotic love scenes. The characters are typical for romance novels. The handsome hunky hero and the sassy heroine who resists the hero’s advances until she can’t anymore. The Scottish Highlands has become a very popular setting for romance novels. Some authors use the setting well and others use it because it’s popular. Ms. Moning using the Highlands mystic and the Celtic culture and imagery to her advantage and does it well. This series remains one of my favorites. Books that I can keep up for a fast read to kill time or just to get a fix of the fantastical.



In conclusion, I enjoy all the TV shows, music, movies and books without any real guilty. They are a fun way to sit back and be entertained. Honestly, we shouldn’t feel guilty for the things we enjoy. I don’t like watching TV shows or movies or listen to music or read a book similar because it’s popular. Sometimes the hidden gems are in the ones that most people would reject. We never too old to enjoy children’s tv or movies. If we are entertained by TV shows, movies, music and even books, who’s to say we must feel guilty? What are some your “guilty pleasures”?

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