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Guilty Pleasures?
On an not-unrelated subject to my last post I have been thinking about the term “Guilty Pleasures” and have decided that there’s something about the term which really annoys me.
The thing is, every time I’ve seen it of late it’s been always used in terms of identifying items of popular culture that you like but for some reason feel you shouldn’t. That said, though, I’m not convinced that any examples I’ve seen are really anything to feel guilty about. As I see it, if it’s something you enjoy and it gives you pleasure, why should you feel guilty about it?
Now, admittedly you can take this logic a step too far. I’m sure Peter Sutcliffe enjoyed stoving in the heads of the various ladies he killed, and Jeffrey Dahmer I’m sure likewise got pleasure from killing, dismembering and storing the bodies of young men.
But you know… These are acts where a guilty feeling would genuinely and justly apply. I’m not sure that finding a song, or a TV programme or a magazine which makes you laugh, smile or feel in some way euphoric is really in the same league, somehow.
Really, in these cases the use of a label such as “guilty pleasure” is all about deflecting possible criticism from those who attempt to be arbiters of cool. But, as far as I’m concerned, these people’s pronouncements are not worth anything. They always smack of over-compensation, really; covering up a personal lack of depth with a veneer of cultural snobbery.
So no, I don’t feel guilty about any of the things I enjoy and I don’t see why I should. As far as I’m concerned anyone who has any real depth will have the confidence to freely and joyfully paddle about in the shallows as well as have a proper serious plunge.
Both are good, both are valuable, and in combination will balance you out as a person. And that’s not something to be guilty about at all, in fact it’s something to aspire to.
So ner.
Posted on January 11, 2008 | Filed Under The World we Live In
Comments
Response left by Pandemonia on January 11th, 2008
Strangely, I really don’t feel guilt then either.
I’ll just starve myself for a few days afterwards.
Response left by Rob on January 12th, 2008
That is not healthy. All that wine on an empty stomach!
Response left by Pandemonia on January 14th, 2008
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Seconded! Though watching your expression when I’m serving a pudding does make me feel you feel guilty about eating it with your six-pack ambition!