Okay, this is a bit of an editorial about the use of the phrase, "Guilty Pleasure."
I hear it a lot when I say I love George Michael: "Oh, he's my guilty pleasure" as though, somehow, his music is less worthy of being liked than, say, Bob Dylan. Same thing with liking a comedy like You've Got Mail versus liking Atonement. But why is liking something happy or fun or popular less worthy than liking something down and depressing or complicated? Why should someone feel guilty for liking something optimistic but not for liking something "realistic" and "gritty?" No one ever says, "Oh, yes, I love watching Saving Private Ryan. It's my guilty pleasure." But tell someone you love Fred and Ginger movies and it's brushed off like fluff.
That could even be applied to fashion blogs and such - if you write a news blog, you're legitimate, but write a cheerful blog filled with beautiful fashion or photography and you're just a guilty pleasure. My favorite blogs to visit (well, the only blogs I visit!) make me feel more glad about the world after I leave them, encouraged that lovely things exist. And isn't that a worthy addition to the blogosphere?
I wish that happy, positive, optimistic art, music and film were appreciated as much (more, even) than the darker, heavier stuff.
What do you think?
