For this post I will be responding to question #4 at the end of chapter one in my textbook for this class. The question essentially asks if I have a form of media that is a guilty pleasure of mine, and what my embarrassment of the media tells about how certain subcultures evaluate media.

I’m pretty comfortable talking about the things I’m passionate about. For example, you ask me my opinions on my favorite book series or OU football, and I’ll talk to you about it for hours. However, there is a form of media that I love that I always hesitate to bring up, and that is the media of animation. I’m talking shows like Avatar: The Last Airbender and Haikyuu and movies such as Howl’s Moving Castle and The Wind Rises. I absolutely adore those shows and movies but when asked to talk about my favorite’s in those categories, I freeze and wonder if I should be honest, especially as I get older. If we’re being completely honest, my embarrassment probably stems from middle school when everyone was more concerned with trying to look cool than actually enjoy the things they genuinely loved. But why do I still feel that hint of embarrassment now that I’m no longer a scared middle school girl? Here’s the conclusion I’ve come to: People don’t take animation seriously in the media. Furthermore, people don’t think animated mediums can be serious. Too many people hear “animation” and think of shows like Sponge Bob or Fairly Odd Parents, which are both definitely focused more on humor than telling a story. These are considered kids shows, so more serious shows like Cowboy Bebop or movies like Princess Mononoke, both of which deal with serious heavy topics, get roped in. Animation is seen by certain people as not serious so fans of the genre are embarrassed to bring it up in serious conversations. I think that this is something that needs to change as we as a society advance forward. We need to accept that animation can do just as well, if not better at times, at telling a story and handling serious and intense topics.