I feel like the word "middlebrow" is the culprit here I find that in real life "middlebrow" is basically an insult, and in fact a really cutting one, while "highbrow" and "lowbrow" are in fact both used positively It's an attitude I really dislikehttps://twitter.com/charlesthomas/status/1366244411303165956 …
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"I watch the Coen Brothers, I watch experimental indie dramas, I watch foreign films from the French and Italian New Wave OR I watch wrestling, cartoons, porn, dank memes But don't catch me stanning something *trying* to be deep in the damn MCU, foh"
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This is, of course, a transparently insecure, adolescent mindset It's obvious terror of being caught in your feels in any kind of public way that's legible to the normies
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Your feels are either really deep and really dark and complicated, about shit dummies like your MOM are too basic to understand Or they're just raw animal reactions to pure dumb fun, stuff that's too immature and schlocky for your MOM to tolerate
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But that "middlebrow" aspiration to portray and communicate difficult emotional states in a broadly accessible way To be in a big crowd of people ALL feeling their feels TOGETHER, including people like your MOM That's intolerable No thanks I'll be in my room, stompstompslam
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Anyway I personally just find this shit really transparent This is who I was in my 20s and that... Fucking sucked You think that the "paradox" of being ultra highbrow/lowbrow and only hating on the "middlebrow" stuff makes you deep and nuanced but in its own way it's ultrabasic
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There is nothing at all invalid about the preferences of someone who really likes the Olive Garden as a special treat that actually is better than McDonald's while being convenient and to their tastes in a way the authentic hole in the wall you like is not Olive Garden is fine
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Wandavision is very clear about being what it is - it is a stirring and challenging exploration of grief while also being in the comforting, easy-to-digest format of a big cultural juggernaut like the MCU That's fine That is a perfectly valid reason to like it
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The fact that it's so heavily marketed and advertised so everyone is watching it at the same time and everyone is talking about grief and coping at once IS GOOD It is a GENUINELY POSITIVE THING ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE
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There are obviously many negatives to the existence of the Disney+ juggernaut But if WandaVision were the "genuinely Lynchian" weird surreal indie drama some people want it to be, I could not enjoy it in the same way that I enjoy this show Which would be genuinely disappointing
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I get the feeling that a lot of hipster douches actively *dislike* that "middlebrow" shows get everyone talking about artistic shit "Ugh I don't wanna hear Basic Becky talking about coping and grief about some shit she saw streaming on Disney+"
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"This is something I should be discussing with my COOL friends about an off-Broadway play or an Elliot Perlman novel at our book club" Okay well fuck you too man
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Big "Jonathan Franzen complaining he doesn't want The Corrections on Oprah's book club" energy
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End of conversation
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