#im not catholic. i mightve got that stuff wrong

[softness-and-shattering]

Facing the fact that not judging someone based on their media preferences also applies to popular media like the MCU, or Taylor Swift, or Hamilton or [insert capitalist/propaganda/problematic TM creator here].

Like. Im gonna mentally side-eye anyone still into harry p*tter. And some media do seem to attract certain types of people.

I think its about, do we trust each other to be thinking critically, do we respect that ability to think critically, or do we assume everyone (which must include ourselves) needs our hands held.

Because sometimes Im by myself and I feel like I need to justify to an internal critic, an internal manifestation of discourse and peer pressure, why I should be allowed to enjoy something. And thats honestly infuriating. Stop telling me my fun is wrong. I can feel the triumph of this battle sequence while also knowing that war is objectively awful. Its fiction. Im engaging for emotions not for moral lessons. I can watch a movie without reminding myself every five seconds that this actor has hurt people. Everyone has hurt people. Some more publically or worse than others. Enjoying a story isnt endorsement of an actor. (Finances aside).

Theres conversations to be had for sure about separating art and artist, and financial support of people and institutions that are doing harm. And also, enjoyment does not need to be laced with guilt and suffering. No art and no artist, no human will ever achieve moral perfection. Famous people are not inherently good role models and maybe we need to stop expecting that. That doesnt mean all is above criticism, to the contrary. It just means we should enjoy art and stop getting so tied up in if we're allowed to like it or if we have to perform a bunch of hail marys or whatever so everyone knows we're good little suffering catholics and we aren't Gd forbid having too much fun ever.

Perhaps fun and critical thinking are separate things and we should stop trying to make them the same.