Today my dad pulled out a classic and painful series of comments as he turned on Community then proceeded to insult it. He’s been having a difficult year, so I can forgive him for being in a bad mood, but deciding to dump all over something he saw me get excited about and engage in slices at my tender underbelly.
I’m not even too bothered by a total lack of appreciation of one of the most glorious and hilarious episodes of television this season (“Regional Holiday Music”). Really. Okay, no, I am really bothered by it, but that’s not the point.
It hurts us when people insult and tear down things we love. It really hurts when they’re people who are close to you, but there’s a special kind of pain reserved for poor reviews and network hiatuses.
I tell people that I want to make things for people like me. People like me get emotionally attached to shows, situations, and characters. We search for structure in worlds ruled by conventions and tropes, worlds that are beautiful and touching because they follow the rules. Worlds capable of surprising us when they defy expectations. We grow attached to characters we see ourselves in and characters who are the types of people we want to be. We can find villains and heroes if we want to. We can find ways to approach others with media that we couldn’t any other time.
People like me want someone to understand them and we need people to write for us. We need people who really get how a movie can change your life.
It hurts when people seemingly refuse to understand. It sucks when you feel tiny because of an insult.
I know I’m not telling you anything new but I never promised some great insightful premise every entry. This time I was hurt and it’ll happen again. But the great thing about the internet is that for every terrible comment, there’s someone who understands you, somewhere. Try to stay strong when the negativity starts flying and don’t be afraid to reach out and enjoy things with whatever community you can find.
No comments:
Post a Comment