Ever since middle school, we have all been asked the most common get-to-know-you question: What is your favorite movie or TV show? And when I heard the responses, I would hear mention of two movies and one of them always had the term “guilty pleasure” added to it. Even now, in college, when you ask someone that question, they tend to do the same, which is something I never really understood. If you like a specific movie or TV show, why hide the fact that you enjoy watching it? What’s the harm in openly declaring that you like that specific media?
According to Dictionary.com, the term “guilty pleasure” is “an activity, habit, food, etc., that a person feels shame or guilt for enjoying, often because they feel they will be judged by others.” Unfortunately, like the definition mentioned above says, many answer with the phrase to avoid judgment from others or society. However, I honestly think that the phrase should be used less when we talk about the films or other media that we love dearly.
For example, “Hoodwinked” (2005) has been one of my favorite films since the first time I watched it. Sure, the film is a little cheesy at times, but it remains one of my favorite animated films, especially with how the fairytale characters are portrayed by their actors and the humor itself. Even as a twenty-year-old, I still watch this film and still enjoy the funny shenanigans like I did when I was a kid. While there are many movies that I enjoy that others would judge me for because they are more childish, I honestly do not care. If the film brings me and possibly others joy while watching it, why would anyone judge someone for enjoying any form of media that is there to invoke enjoyment simply because one's view is outside of the targeted audience?
However, some people will think that as we get older, our taste for films or any media matures, and we slowly grow out of the childlike films we used to watch and enjoy. And while for some people that is true, it is not the same across the board for everyone. Well, some people's tastes do mature, and they prefer more movies that are geared towards adults and older audiences. Sometimes the reverse happens, and honestly, there's nothing wrong with that.
My taste is a healthy mix of both media geared towards older audiences and audiences on the younger side. A lot of the stuff I grew up with was geared more toward younger audiences, and I still enjoy those today, especially if I want to have a little brain break from thinking about the current affairs of the world. This means that sometimes, I will go home and put on “Treasure Planet” (2002) or “Enchanted” (2007) and just enjoy the films.
In my family, a lot of the TV shows and movies we all watch together bounce between being some movie we all watched because my cousins and I grew up watching them, or our parents did. Regardless of where you stand when it comes to openly saying you like a childish film or hiding it behind the phrase, I think as a whole we need to stop hiding behind our "guilty pleasures.”
When you look at the world today, there is already so much discourse in our world about a multitude of topics; the biggest ones currently are more than likely politics, world affairs or stuff going on at the state level. I don't see why we need to add to the discourse, especially if it's about enjoying a film, TV show or any sort of media that brings you joy and entertains you.
If there is anything you take away from this article, it does not matter if you love a childish TV show you discovered a few years ago or a nostalgic kids' movie that takes your mind off the affairs of the world just for a couple of hours.
I say if you're going to watch a childish TV show, go forward and binge the whole thing and maybe invite a friend or two to show them that just because we're getting older, it doesn't mean we can't enjoy things and feel like kids whenever we need a break from being adults and thinking about the state of the world.
