There are some people who like everything, as long as it's popular culture. Every movie, television show, band, whatever. As long as it's presented to them, they swallow it whole. One thing I really notice whenever you get into a discussion with these people is that they seem to think that, by not liking every new dance movie or dramatic series about renegade cops/doctors/crime scene investigators, you're being picky or, even worse, Pretentious.
I think the problem a lot of these people have is they confuse pretension with another, somewhat similar word: discretion. This is an important distinction, but it's also a difficult one to make. The former is choosing whether to like something based on how important it makes you seem; the latter is choosing whether to like something based on whether or not it is any good.
Some examples will likely aid in this process:
Pretension: Not liking something because it's popular, or liking an artist until they become popular.
Discretion: Not liking something because it's popular and you're aware that most of what's popular is awful.
Neither: Liking something because it is being marketed to you/ you like the pretty sounds/images attached to the idea of it.
Pretension: Listening to Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Discretion: Listening to Death Cab for Cutie
Neither: Listening to Billy Talent
Pretension: Reading reviews before you decide whether you like something.
Discretion: Reading reviews before you decide whether a band/movie/show is worth checking out.
Neither: Reading reviews and dismissing them immediately because the author is clearly a fool for not having liked P.S. I Love You.
The last example brings me to the somewhat controversial subject of critics. While I don't generally trust one critic, critical consensus is a pretty good measure. The website Rotten Tomatoes is great for this. For example, it gave Transformers 57% (And Transformers 2 a 19%) and it gave Up 97%. Certainly, it is an inexact science and it does not account for taste (I know some people who thought Transformers was an 80%. Personally, I would've given Transformers approximately 0.5%. But nobody thought Transformers 2 was good.) Overall, it's a pretty good way to decide which movies are worth consideration, and which are definitely not.
I know it may seem like a pretty minute part of our daily lives and my concern over this may seem overblown. But it isn't.
The second we stop saying "this is good entertainment and this is bad entertainment" or "I'm going to exert my time watching this, but not watching that" is the second bad entertainment rules every facet of our lives--simply because bad entertainment is easier and cheaper to make. When we stop seeking out bands whose music has genuine feeling, those bands stop making that music. When we stop demanding more out of our movies, our movies cease to demand anything from us. It all becomes meaningless, vacuous entertainment.
So if you want a world where shows like Two and Half Men and According to Jim rule the television and Nickelback and Black Eyed Peas rule the airway, then fine. But I, for one, am going to ask for more from my entertainment providers.
