I really dislike the idea of a "guilty pleasure." What is a guilty pleasure, anyway? Something you like, but are ashamed of liking. It doesn't make any sense to me. Why be ashamed of something you like? Why should something that makes you happy be a source of guilt or awkwardness?
There are a few things, I suppose, that could legitimately be called guilty pleasures--killing people, for example, that's probably something you should be a little guilty about enjoying. I am sure, though, that you could probably wrangle that into some sort of career if you really wanted to.
Less extremely I guess maybe eating unhealthy food might be a guilty pleasure in that you know eating a gallon of ice cream while you sit on your ass and watch shitty television is not something you should be doing. I would argue, though, that eating that gallon of icecream is okay as long as you do it moderately.
Did you notice up there how I called The Voice shitty television? That was totally bullshit for me to do; I've never seen an episode of The Voice in my life. I have only the vaguest idea whatsoever what that show is about, I make an instant judgment about it being bad with no knowledge of what it actually is. This is the source of guilty pleasure. It's not something that you really feel guilty about because it's bad for you or hurts people--you have that guilt because someone else says that what you like is shitty.
I think there are two problems with that outlook on things. First there's the person saying something is shitty. I am guilty of this, probably the most guilty of all the people I know. The internet has made this problem about a quadrillion times worse than it was when I was a kid. There's a whole goddamn culture of dismissiveness and elitism and arrogance about what to like and what not to like that staggers the mind in it's vehemence and venom. People get together and enjoy talking about how much they hate things that, honestly, don't matter one fucking bit--television shows, videogames, presidential elections. They brutally tear down whatever thing they don't like and treat the people who do like it like utter shit.
It's a terrible way to be. As I get older I realize this more and more. I struggle with my habits to sneer at things I don't like or understand--and it is a habit, an automatic reaction to belittle and insult. It is not easy to overcome. When I was younger I often had to deal with shit from other kids because I was an unmitigated loser, so I became sarcastic, dry, and quick to disregard anything that I didn't like. I still do it, much more often than I would like and more often than is even funny. I'm sure my friends would agree--but I've realized that life is much more fun when you're enjoying things that you like rather than trying to enjoy hating things you don't.
The second problem here, and the more severe one I think (or maybe just the one I think we can fix more easily) is people giving a shit that people mock them for what they like. As I write this I'm listening to a song about Liu Kang. Is it a goofy song? Sure, it was made a really long time ago, the only things even known about Liu Kang then were his name, his nationality, and that he could throw fireballs and The Immortals made it into an awesome song. Some people might feel that listening to that song should be considered a guilty pleasure, but I don't. I'm not ashamed to say that I really, seriously like the Mortal Kombat album, I really like Mortal Kombat and I think the music on that album is totally inappropriate for the game but still really kickass, fun music you can dance to.
My point is that if you like something, you should like it. You don't have to run around throwing it in people's faces, that can be annoying, but if someone doesn't like what you like, if people say that you shouldn't like Nickelback even if you think How You Remind Me is a cool song (which I do) well, fuck those people. If you really like something then it shouldn't matter what people think about it. If they talk down to you or make fun of you for something you genuinely like then those people are shitty people.
I'm referencing a lot of music here because when I write I listen to music, but this applies to pretty much everything out there. If you're way into football or tennis or lumberjacking then get the fuck into it. Personally I enjoy nothing so much as someone who not only has something they enjoy, but gets into it and can tell you all the sorts of things that only a true aficionado can. It's harder to find people like this in a time when you can become an expert on something with half an hour and an internet connection, but there's a difference between the Google crammer and a real fan of something--be that the Legacy of Kain series or sixteenth century architecture.
I've wondered lately if maybe some attributes of guilty pleasures have led to this recent trend of liking things "ironically." I absolutely despise this trend or fad or whatever the fuck it is. I really don't understand why you'd waste time claiming to like something that you actually think is stupid or whatever, just as a joke or something? It's god damn maddening to even try to consider for me. Why waste your time? I seriously can't get it.
I suppose it means I'm just getting older. Maybe liking things ironically is a younger man's game? I don't know. Just don't say you like things you don't like. Just like them, and like them in spite of people saying you shouldn't like them. And don't like things just because people say you should like them, if you don't like Star Wars then that's fine, don't like it. But don't like it because you think it's dumb--not because lots of people do like it and you want to be super cool and not like the popular thing.
Basically what I'm saying is you should endeavor to find things in your life that you like based on the enjoyment you get out of liking them and not base it on anything anyone else has to say about it. Life is vanishingly short--don't waste it not liking things.
