Being a feminist can often result in a conflicted relationship with popular culture. That’s no surprise. But I am endlessly surprised by the things that qualify as “popular.” Some of them I find rather charming, but a whole lot of it is confusing, silly, boring, or even repellent to me. Like: what is it about that person, show, or phenomenon that has everyone slavering–and usually, spending?
For example: I never liked “Seinfeld.” I’m not a humorless person, but I, unlike everyone I knew, just didn’t find it funny. I watched it, repeatedly, trying to figure out a) what other people were seeing or b) what the hell was wrong with me that I didn’t see it, until I couldn’t stand it any more. Fuckit. You could explain it six ways from Sunday, but I just don’t like it.
So, today’s FFT is a chance to share your bafflement, incredulity, and/or revulsion for some of the poppiest, most ubiquitous cultural manifestations: fashion trends, personalities, television empires, whatever. Now, be nice. No bagging on people who DO like those things you hate, and, should someone announce her distaste for something you absolutely lurrrrrve, please don’t launch into spirited defense of that thing, whatever it is . Feel free to commiserate (politely!) if the occasion arises, without getting all ad hominem.
What leaves you scratching your head and thinking: “what am I missing?”
Sitcoms. Yes, any of them. Yes, even that new geeky one that as a geek I am supposed to love.
Most rom coms.
All bromances.
Lost.
Reality tv. (Except Survivorman, which is awesome.)
Twilight.
Bacon.
Low rise jeans.
G-strings.
Pop music.
Celebrity news.
IPods.
Cell phones. (What? You mean you actually want people to be able to contact you at any time? )
Coffee.
I could go on, but I’ll spare you the details.
Also I can’t believe I forgot this but actually the single biggest thing that’s popular and i don’t get is social networking.
I don’t want or have a facebook account or any other such thing
I do not twitter
I do not know what tumblr is really
I am even wary of professional social networking sites like linked in
But most of all i do not understand why people want to put their personal details and photos all over the damn internet.
Nor do I understand why people think I would be interested in their every 140 character thought.
I will now subside back to my grumpy self.
Ok, here’s another popular culture thing I hate: cursing. Random, constant, inappropriate cursing, especially around small kids. Now I love me a good f bomb just as much as the next woman, but do we really need to use it all the bloody time? In casual conversation? To discipline our kids? Because we all know it’s charming and hilarious when a 4 year old says fuck, right?
I suspect we’re in a linguistic transition when it comes to curse words. The ones that were taboo aren’t any more, but every culture needs something that is taboo enough that using it makes a big point. We haven’t figured out what the next ones are yet, I guess.
Argh! Why wasn’t I here earlier?
Anyway, I’ve never really been In The Loop and my past attempts to be that way were downright pathetic, so I have a lot.
-Alcohol, any and all kinds. I just don’t see the appeal at all—if I want to have my mood altered by a beverage, throw me a Coke. It really tastes god-awful to me, as does coffee.
-In a similar vein, the Greek system. Cornell, I believe, is second only to Ohio State in having the largest Greek system in the country. Participating in a bunch of antiquated and demeaning rituals and dressing like a fool so I could be someone’s “sister” (which would not be that pleasant for socially-anxious me)? No thanks.
-The Smiths and Radiohead. I can tolerate the former in certain songs in very small doses, can’t stand the latter at all, but both bands seem to have so many rabid fans that I’m seriously afraid of being eaten alive if I criticize them. But they make such boring, mediocre, headachey, pretentious music!
-Texting. The only time I could see this being useful is if I need to contact someone at a concert or other loud place where my voice can’t be heard. Otherwise, what a waste of energy!
-Rollercoasters. Granted, my best friend and I are going to Six Flags tomorrow, but only because I love her and she’s never been. I can go on free-fall rides just fine and I adore water parks (so I’ll be dragging her to Hurricane Harbor most of the time we’re there) but rollercoasters make it impossible for me to sleep the night after I ride one, they screw up my equilibrium so much.
-Almost EVERY mainstream heartthrob-dude. They just aren’t handsome to me. Pretty much the only actor I really think is hot is Colin Firth, largely due to him being Mr. Darcy. *blush*
I’ll add more if I think of more.
Cat, I am so with you on texting. I do it for little things, but if I’m going to have a whole conversation, I’ll do it on the phone, that way it’s done quicker.
And I don’t get the Greek system either, not having to deal with that is a great benefit of European higher ed. There were drinking societies where I went to university, but they didn’t monopolize the whole social scene – since drinking is legal for over-18s there was no need to rely on them to supply booze.
But mischiefmanager, I have to defend cursing. As a half-Scot I was exposed to it from a very young age – the Scots use their swear words a bit like the Germans use their modal particles, just as a way of filling in the blanks. It doesn’t have to be a sign of aggression, and sometimes can be used to good creative effect in telling a story, for example.
That being said I don’t actually swear much myself (I don’t have the right accent for it) and would never swear AT anyone unless they were doing something really terrible, and wouldn’t swear at a kid at all…
Going to movies as a group activity.
Granted, cinemas trigger my migraines, so I have an anti cinema bias to begin with, but I’ve never seen the point of getting a big group together to go to a place where you can’t really interact with each other. If I’m going to spend time with people, I want to come out of it feeling like I’ve actually spent time with them. Similarly, I don’t understand the fear of going to a movie alone.
Watching sports. I can understand the appeal of playing them (although I don’t really enjoy that either) but I have never understood caring about which team wins, or wanting to watch them do it.
In fashion:
Thongs (ouch)
Low rise jeans (muffin tops for all!)
Bras with padded cups for women size C and up (why??)
In pop culture:
Lost
Secret Life of the American Teenager
American Idol
Twilight
Seinfeld
Food:
Pinkberry (too sour)
Bacon
Politics:
The Tea Baggers
Ok this is late but driving home I thought of another one. Batman: The Dark Knight. Hated it. The BF felt the same way so at least I didn’t feel TOO crazy.
Clothes with “PINK” (or anything else)emblazoned across the backside. WHAT about that seems like a good idea????
I have a pretty full c-cup and I wear lined bras so my nipples aren’t popping out all over the place. That makes me really self-concious.
Things that, imo, are nonsensically popular:
Family Guy (It’s not clever, novel, or funny at all.)
Dave Matthews
Guinness beer
Jager bombs (could we combine two more disgusting ingredients?)
toy-sized dogs (you should be able to properly play with both toys and dogs)
Vampires* and coffee.
* Excluding Dracula.
Cat! I thought I was the only person on the planet who thought Radiohead was overrated! So nice to know I’m not. I own boatloads of music, and music of every stripe, from teen pop to baroque to country to pretentious indie stuff. And I do own most of the Radiohead catalog, but only because failure to own Radiohead somehow automatically disqualifies you from identifying yourself as a Music Person.
* Metal – the one genre of music I don’t listen to. It kind of frightens me.
* Skinny/tapered jeans – too reminiscent of a childhood spent stuffed into Guess jeans with zippers at the ankles.
* Boy shorts – they give me a worse wedgie than actual thongs or g-strings, to be honest.
* Beer – sorry friends, I tried REALLY hard to like beer. I drank good beer. I drank bad beer. I drank dark beer and light beer and beers in between. They all taste like bitter dishwater. You will pry my wine, and my irritatingly detailed knowledge of same, from my cold dead hands.
“Two and a Half Men”. Ugh!
@ Cat- Texing- don’t mind getting a text- but can’t stand having to reply…what a bore.
Penny Esq – I too loathe and fail to see the point of Radiohead, and yet own a wide variety of music, it has always annoyed me that I’m supposed to like a bunch of boring prog rock obsessed public school boys in order to be a ‘real music fan’.
I can understand that, ARachel. But why is it always one thing or another? Why is it so tough to find unlined bras these days?
chatspeak. all ranting aside that stuff just hurts.
scrumby: wut r u tlkg abt? LOL! …sorry. It’s so horrible, I have to mock it.
oddwoman: WORD on words on the butt. The letters say p-i-n-k or j-u-i-c-y, but it clearly says “dumb.”
Texting is good for short stuff, like “running late, stuck on Q train,” but that’s about it. The relentless back and forth texting I see my students doing is weeeeeird.
And even if I weren’t a vegetarian, I’d agree with the votes for bacon. Yes yes, it’s tasty, sure. That doesn’t mean “incorporate it into every possible recipe, and then invent 1000 more dishes to flavor, stud, or wrap with it.”
Anything Twilight, as has been mentioned.
Family Guy and American Dad.
Any television show or movie that uses unplanned pregnancy as a plot device and abortion is either not mentioned at all or only used to separate the “virtuous” from teh dirty ebil sluts.
The Tea Party.
Designer handbags.
So called Chick Lit.
Certain male authors who only include female characters so that their male “heroes” can get laid by beautiful laydees who have no personality or agency other than to get screwed by the “hero.”. (old dudebro who wrote The Witches of Eastwick comes to mind but not his name).
CGI abdominal and other muscle groups ostensibly to make teh laydeezs screamz!!1eleventy!
People who write utter crap having it marketed to the world as a “good” story when it’s actually paternalistic, abysmal garbage. (coughMeyerscough).
Any little kid clothing that tries to look too adult. Like putting JUICY across a little girl’s butt. That is just too creepy and weirdly predatory for me. Or putting a sexy bikini on a toddler. Especially since I live in Arizona – hello, too much sun exposure?? Throw a t-shirt, hat and long shorts on that kid, quickly!
Though I gotta say, I love the lumberjack shirts on my little boys.
I also don’t get having your pants hang so far down that your big old boxers are your de-facto pants. It just looks dumb to me.
Oh, and creationism. And disbelief in climate science. I really, really don’t get this huge cultural reactionism against science. WTF?
If we’re going the drug route…although I have never tried them, I at least understand the appeal of weed, opiates, hallucinogens, uppers, etc. But I simply don’t get smoking. I don’t understand how people start smoking in this day and age. And yet, I knew people who started smoking cigarettes in undergrad (whence I just graduated). Why? Just…why?
TV/movies
Friends
Seinfeld
Avatar
etc
snuggies
Twitter
“Clocks” by Cold Play
Miley Cyrus
Abercombie + Fitch
Family Guy
Organized religion
Twilight
The whole vampire trend, come to think of it
Meat
Baseball
Football
UFC
Televised sports other than hockey or soccer
Watching TV at social gatherings
Twitter
Actually, social networking in general
Seriously, what is a tumblr, by the way?
Tiny dogs
MDMA
Boring electronic music (I am ok with good electronic music)
Metalcore (just listen to real metal)
Mainstream pop/rock
Peppy, intentionally “quirky” indie music (makes me feel stabby)
To defend low rise jeans… I have a short torso. High-waisted pants make me look freakish. Seriously. I don’t like really low jeans where there is no way of sitting without your ass hanging out, but I am glad there are options. My legs are too long to wear high-waisted pants. Or even regular-waisted pants. Has to be a little low (but not TOO low).
Oh. I don’t get gambling or skydiving either. Perhaps I am too logical/predictable/neurotic. I don’t gamble because I KNOW I will quite likely lose, so why not just keep my money? And skydiving… why would I want to jump out of a plane? Being on the ground is dangerous enough for me.
Co-sign on so many of these! Love the folks who didn’t get/like Seinfeld “coming out” here! So funny…
Fashion: 3/4 length sleeves, especially on coats. I know that style of coat is supposed to be worn with long gloves, but the wind and cold funnel up the sleeves, defeating the whole purpose of wearing a coat in the first place.
Pop culture: “Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me” on NPR. The bad puns! The forced, heavy-handed innuendo! The throaty “sexy” laughs! Aaaarggh!! My blood pressure rises just thinking about it…
One more thing, having just come from Jezebel: The phrase, “That’s what she said!” It’s just never funny to me. Is that the point? That it’s kind of meaningless? So often there seems to be no innuendo to even “get.”
Oooo harpies – I feel like this trully is my second home. I don’t get Seinfeld and most sitcoms either! And Twilight – does not compute at all (movies or books).
I also don’t get why some people would want to spend a whole lot cash to purchase a handbag with someone else’s initials emblazened on the outside material.
I also do not get why when going out with a group of people there are the couple of people who seem to be constantly and continually texting/talking on their mobile phones. It’s like they are waiting for a better offer and/or they find the current company boring..
High heels, and those really pointy ones that some women got foot surgery so they could fit into those shoes. Why?
iPhones/blackberries/communications devices that bring together email, internet, calling and texting capabilities – I really don’t need work to be able to contact me 24/7. (I do have a personal mobile phone, and if I don’t answer, there’s voice mail.)
Frank Sinatra. Just don’t get it. And for any Brits reading, The Mighty Boosh. I just don’t get it at all!
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The Office. I srsly don’t get it, but everyone who works in my office thinks it’s hilarious. All I see in the show are a bunch of awkward social situations, which are not things I find humorous…. as I probably have too many in my own life.
I second many of these:
Frank Sinatra
The Office
Reality TV
Gambling
clothing with anything emblazoned on the butt
thongs
3/4 length sleeves
Tea Baggers
Creationists
People who put a picture of their child or pet as their profile picture on Facebook
Video games
Vampire lit
I could go on and on but it will stop now.
Seconding bacon. I mean, it’s ok, but WHYYYYY?
I have a lot of these, but what really just confounds me is, if I hate the Tudors (or some other morally debatable TV show similar to it), then WHY do I keep watching it!? It’s like a car wreck, and I can’t stop staring.
Oh, definitely Radiohead, too – and Coldplay, while we’re being blasphemous. To me these outpourings of musical genius just sound like a couple of guys whining – but Coldplay especially seems to be everyone and their cat’s favorite background music.
Shit, hit “submit” too quickly
Phrases like “That’s what she said!” and “Your mom this or that” really get my goat too.
On the other hand, I am absolutely mad for 3/4 sleeves!
I’m a little tardy to the party, but here’s my list:
-Coldplay (they bore me)
-skateboarding (although I love almost all other extreme sports)
-”Brokeback Mountain” (I thought it was boring and ultimately went nowhere and made no point)
-designer purses/clothes/etc. (it’s way too expensive and not that much cuter than things you get at Target)
Sensitive singer-songwriters. Just, all of them. If you can imagine and compose expressive music and lyrics … but you can’t sing, for crisesakes just let someone else sing!
Beer. I can’t help it — I can’t get past the smell. Beer to me smells like something rotting.
“Friends”. In fact, the entire subgenre of humor based on adults bickering like four-year-olds.
All reality TV shows except It’s Me or the Dog.
Nthing text messages.
Professional wrestling.
Fanfiction based on professional wrestling.
Fanfiction that transforms canon characters into something they’re not. I’m thinking here of an entire category of Harry Potter fics in which Hermione turns up for fourth/fifth/sixth/seventh year with her hair straightened and her teeth fixed, dressed in tight black jeans and (always, inevitably) a “blood red” halter top, having just realized that boys-and-clothes-and-shopping are MUCH MUCH more important than silly trivial things like books or study, and very eager to be re-sorted into Slytherin so she can date Draco.
Hot chilies.
Bacon chocolate.
The humor of “screamer” videos (for various reasons I have an exaggerated startle reflex, one of those is likely to leave me shaking and upset for an hour or more).
First person shooters.
Torture porn.
“Oh, definitely Radiohead, too – and Coldplay, while we’re being blasphemous. To me these outpourings of musical genius just sound like a couple of guys whining – but Coldplay especially seems to be everyone and their cat’s favorite background music.”
Really? I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who actually likes Coldplay… like, ever.
Mind you I am pretty out of touch with mainstream music, haha.
–Seth MacFarlane and his works; Liberal White Dude Who thinks he’s ‘Edgy.’
–Twilight
–Big Bang Theory (tv show) Sorry, but nothing turns me off more as a geek girl than when something geeky excludes the female half of the geek population. I think there was even an episode where the main geek characters state that female geeks are automatically unattractive, therefore ‘as low as you can get socially.’ They actually did have one female geek as a character on the show, played brilliantly by Sara Gilbert, but, and the writers openly admit this, when the writers tried to include her in the main cast, they realized they didn’t know how to write a female character like her beyond a few guest spots. I’m sorry, if that’s how limited the writing is concerning women other than the ‘hot ones’, I will move on and find the writing that isn’t.
–Friends (tv show) I knew there was something wrong the show when I realized I wanted ALL the characters to die already.
–romantic-comedies
–Taylor Swift. It seems like she’s really trying to write every song about high school boys and/or fairy tales. Gag.
–Kaley Cuoco. Now I’m sure she’s a sweet girl, but, really, while some of the personalities differed, she overall played the role of the Hot Girl in many works.
–Charmed (tv series)
–Saved by the Bell (tv series) ; again, I wanted to kill all the characters, and, surprisingly, Screech was the least annoying to me.
–arm hair waxing. You’d be surprised how much of it is done in the area I live. Is it really necessary?
–waxing all of the pubic hair off. Now it’s your body, your choice, but to me, that’s really too much….
–Will and Grace
Ack, this thread breaks my little heart! As someone with a deep, abiding love for Seinfeld and thongs (and social networking sites, and things with vampires), I’m feeling a little like an outsider!
That said, here’s mine:
-the band Genesis, and anything Phil Collins ever did (this probably dates me a bit)
-Everybody Loves Raymond (omg, they definitely do NOT)
-Scary movies (it’s like people got together and were like “hey, what can we produce that’s the OPPOSITE of fun???”)
For me, Seinfeld definitely.
Beer I have to include as well and I really do want to like it!
Also The Office, well basically every show or movie based around people being in awkward social situations. Why watch it when it happens way to often in real life?
This thread has really made me realise how easily swayed I am by the opinions of the people I hold in esteem.
Don’t be sad, Mary; I’ll watch Seinfeld with you!
p.s. I’m a Coldplay fan.
Going to see a band in concert that I’ve never heard before. Or one that I barely know. Just to say I did it.
I don’t want to pay money to stand in a dark, crowded room for several hours trying to make out the words to songs I can’t sing along to because a.) I’ve never heard them and b.) the acoustics in the room suck.
I have too many hipster friends and they brag all the time about what random obscure band they saw at That One Festival In That Unexpected Location.
I’m starting to think there’s something seriously wrong with me.
Why anyone would want to be an apprentice to learn how to be like Donald Trump;
Why “reality shows” are called “reality shows”;
Why anyone would buy into the idea that hair grease makes a guy look sexy or makes women want to run their fingers through his hair;
Why actors put up with scripts requiring them to act like its normal for everyone to be sitting around smoking or why anyone would not think there was tobacco company money involved at some level;
Movies where actors are cast to play a character of an obviously different race or age than the actor is when there are perfectly good actors around who fit the character’s description in the script.
Dining al fresco.
Everyone acts like we live on a planet where it’s illegal to eat outside but they’re finally getting a brief opportunity to do this wild thing of actually *eating outside*.
And you must be some kind of uptight Puritan if you don’t want to enjoy your lunch or dinner amidst car exhaust, blinding sun, and street noise.
Also chocolate chip cookies. People act like chocolate’s illegal, and omg, we get to actually eat a cookie with some bits of chocolate in it! Quick before we get caught!
Like people who think clowns are funny, it seems to me a kind of mentality for someone without their own ideas – eating al fresco and chocolate chip cookies somehow signify official fun.
-this should be very familiar to poeple from England: young women (most often students) in super-mini dresses and super high heels (when every step is a challenge)on a Friday nigh out. why do they want to get so exposed? does it help to feel seexy when 85% of their bodies is showing and drunk 45+ males are giving them dirty looks?
-clubbing. wtf? I tried and found it painfully pointless. sweaty, crowded, too loud to talk.
-harry potter. cheap shit.
-celebrity gossip. gives me cold shivers. why on earth would anyone care?
-English magazines like Ok or Hello or Heat and freakish stories like ” I’m in love with my husband’s dead brother’s ghost and all I want is to have his baby”
-religion
-pop music or dance music, it just doesn’t have any music in it, it’s tinny and flat and gives me headaches
-jeans with glitter or butterflies
it’s good fun making such lists
and oh! I must mention diet-talk, like “I’m so naughty, I shouldn’t eat this chocolate but hey”[followed by idiotic giggling]
I just thought of another:
Any Adult Swim-type animated shows. Neighbors from Hell, etc. And American Dad, Family Guy, and all those spin-offs. They make my head hurt and make me think I have nothing in common with the general public’s sense of humor. Which I typically don’t.
Sorry I’m late, but sexting! Sending naked pictures of yourself to guys you KNOW are going to pass them on? WHY? WHY?