In college when I discovered my passion for movies and TV, I was big on seeing all the movies nominated for the Oscars and watching Emmy nominated TV shows. I felt like I had to be prepared for "award season"and became the movie guru in my circle of friends. I remember arguing with family members about what movies to go see on holidays because I wanted to see potential award nominees and they wanted to see "feel-good" movies. I would say, "Not all good movies will make you feel good when they're over." And that's true.
However, in the past few months, the tables have turned. The stress of every day life such as the responsibility of being on my own, work, and other big changes in my life have led to my movie/TV tastes changing. Instead of adding award nominees or past winners to my Netflix queue or blockbuster pile, I find myself wanting to catch up on past seasons of The Hills and The Office or watching Teen Mom, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, or Jersey Shore. Hugh deals with Keeping Up with the Kardashians and Girls Next Door since he knows they make me happy. On the other hand, recently I rented The Hurt Locker and only watched half of it and never even opened the case for District 9 (both Oscar nominees this year).
For instance, today and then tonight. Today... Katie and I happily watched THS: The Kardashians instead of finding something more "appropriate" to watch. Tonight...Taryn is coming over, and I have rented The Stepfather, Coco Before Chanel, and A Serious Man. Of course, Taryn and I are going to watch the "critically-acclaimed" horror film, The Stepfather starring Penn Badgley and Dylan Walsh. I realize this is a remake and will probably not be stellar. However, I'm looking forward to escaping from real life for a few hours in my basement and enjoying time with a best friend.
Instead of worrying so much about what people expect from me to know, or what I should have seen because it's a "classic," I'm just watching what makes me feel good...what makes me unwind. Isn't that one of the reasons why movies and TV were created?
So, for right now, I'm an escapist.
