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The Wheel of Time and Lord Varys (second attempt)


Lord Varys

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11 hours ago, Lord Varys said:

But as I said - I'm really at a loss how grown-up people can still defend or like this stuff. I mean, I get it that you might have formed a connection with the books in childhood and youth. We all do that. But anyone doing a reread of this in later life not realizing how bad it is - and this badness affecting their emotional connection with the material to a point - definitely doesn't live on my planet. At least not mentally...

You're baiting here.

I'll take the bait and make it simple: it's sometimes possible to enjoy something that you know is mediocre. Maybe there's something in the cheesiness that appeals to you (that you find funny or cute), maybe you want to switch your brain off, maybe there's something cool that offsets the bad... etc. We can call it a "guilty pleasure," "escapism," or just entertainment perhaps.
Or maybe it's just that sticking to Shakespeare, Joyce, Balzac... etc, gets old real fast, I dunno (fuck, do I hate Balzac btw).

Point is, if you switch your intellectual perspective on, most of the popular stuff out there is horrendous. Take StarWars, which we've discussed together a few times: quite honestly, every single major StarWars story is poorly written (yes, including the OT). The MCU is a prodigious waste of resources with no intellectual value whatsoever. Even modern Star Trek is a waste of time. ... etc.
If we want to talk about stuff that's well written, coherent, and intellectually stimulating... Well that's the exception far more than the norm. And sure, I guess ASOAIF was that, as is The Expanse... I'll add Attack on Titan, because youtube just reminded me of its existence... But again, those are all exceptions to the rule, and even these works are not entirely without flaws either.

Anyway, it's quite easy to hate-read or hate-watch stuff. But what's the point? I don't quite get why spend so much time on something once you decided it is garbage.
Once you've decided you don't like something, you finish the season or book, and you move on. It wasn't for you (the good didn't offset the bad), and that's that. I understand sharing one's thoughts about it (that's what forums are for)... But an entire 20-page thread? Man, ain't nobody got time for that, y'know?

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42 minutes ago, Rippounet said:

I don't quite get why spend so much time on something once you decided it is garbage.

That's become pretty clear as the thread has proceeded. This is way to make yourself feel smug and superior to the heathens who enjoy this series. 

The healthy ways to deal with a piece of art you don't appreciate, but many others do, is to say "I don't get it, but I guess everyone likes different things" and move on. Or you could constructively break down what you dislike, but keep yourself open to other perspectives.

Neither is going to happen, though, when you interpret the disconnect between your dislike for something and someone else's liking as a sign of your intellectual superiority. 

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