peppermintTea

at this point you're just saying words but ok whatever

it’s a bit exhausting because I feel like you don’t understand a lot of the words Im saying. Also Im getting tired of all the straw man arguments. You’re (mostly) not actually responding to my points you just make new claims or argue against something I’ve never even said. For example I literally wrote down that the claims regarding the video games are not substantial at all. Also for the fifth time „not everything needs to be a life lesson“ no, it does not and I have never said that. can you understand the difference between something being possible but not necessary? that’s why I used the word „can“ as in „can have meaning“. I also didn’t say anything like „art should be sanitary“ or that the audience shouldn’t be shocked or offended. like yes, I totally agree with your statement but again that was never relevant in any of my arguments. or at least I don’t see where. tags are good? yeah I think so idk why that’s important to mention though. the only thing I think is very problematic is the statement that „Anything that entertains someone is a positive thing“, no, it objectively is not that easy. content can be harmful in a lot of ways that the person feeling entertained might not realise like for example it can manipulate you ideologically, it can influence the way we perceive ourselves (like because of unrealistic beauty standards) and making you feel uglier, it can make you lonelier because of unrealistic expectations, it can corrupt your way of thinking about certain issues etc.
last but not least taking something too seriously is something you could’ve just ignored. go on and enjoy what entertains you but stop telling people to avoid thinking. or at least be consistent and comment under every single review on this platform „omg stop I don’t want to think about that“. I’ve got a headache now and I will just ignore that winking emoji and the ride part.

I understand what the dark romance genre is. that wasn’t my question at any time. my questions are for example: why does that genre exists in the first place? what does it say about the audience? or about the entertainment industry? what kind of narratives play out and how do people receive them? why do some people enjoy it? what does that say about them? Just a side note I don’t think you can generalise „psychologists“ as one homogeneous group with one opinion. but sure everyone should be able to differentiate between fictional stories and characters and real life. I think thats a given. however that doesn’t mean themes, storylines, narratives shouldn’t be analysed or discussed. It also doesn’t mean that they don’t influence each other.
I never questioned the fact that people do enjoy „themes that aren’t tolerated in real life“. It seems like you enjoy the genre very much and you still, desperately try to convince me (or yourself) that nothing in this genre should be questioned, neither should it’s existence or origin, it’s content, it’s effects on real life, etc. even though those are very valid points that can be analysed in every piece of media. yes, also dark romance.
now to the weirdest part. „That's why I say all forms of entertainment are positive and should exist without being sanitized.“
I don’t even understand what you could possibly mean with that statement. how could every form of entertainment be positive? what do you mean by positive? which effects are positive to you? would you also say that (extreme example just to get my point across) third reich propaganda movies were just entertainment? media holds power. it’s never just one dimensional. what do you mean by „ sanitized“ Ive never even said something that was close to that? do you mean censorship? or do you actually think that criticism/conversation equals „sanitisation“?
and lastly the GTA thing. yes, it’s a game. yes, you can completely carefree play it and enjoy it. no, just because you steal a car for fun in GTA doesn’t make you a criminal. even though video games and film are two very different forms of entertainment but ok for the sake of the argument: do you remember the whole debate on whether shooter games have negative effects on teenagers and some politicians even went as far as saying they cause school shootings? (even though I don’t think that’s substantial at all) it just proves again and again that something fictional influences real life. and there should always be discussion on what is being portrayed and why, which content is harmful, why something is or isn’t harmful, which groups are effected etc.

ok so first of all I understand the argument that if you don’t like a genre you don’t have to watch it. agreed. unfortunately I watch a lot of shows with little to no context so I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. Also what I find so much more interesting is that a character who did evil things is still the good guy in the narrative and in the eyes of the audience (for some at least). that was the point why I was writing my original review. If I said „oh, damn this Voldemort character did bad things and therefore he’s unlikeable“ everyone would be like „well, yes because he’s the villain in the story“. but I found it interesting that people will defend a narrative like this one where a male character is corrupt, manipulative, egocentric and so on. Because the audience seems to accept characters like these under certain circumstances. but not only that. it’s not the same as liking a morally grey character because that’s what the narrative is giving you and maybe people are feeling conflicted about liking this character. but here it seems like the narrative just answers a longing of the audience for a bad person being framed as good. And now I would argue again that you could make conclusions about societal/patriarchal norms, values etc.

ironic because my point of view is the least rigid one there could be. Im saying there always *can* be meaning not that everyone should always analyse everything. if anything it’s very rigid to declare/decide that some works don’t have meaning/shouldn’t be analysed/judged. just because it’s a certain genre? or because you say so? where would you even draw the line between genres ? who would decide what is allowed to be judged? and under what aspects?
it’s completely fine if you just want to watch show and not think about all the things I’ve mentioned before like social norms/constructs, queer culture etc. But that’s only one way to consume media and not *the* only one. Something being fictional is only a premise not the deciding factor if it has meaning. Because (I’m kinda repeating myself here) media doesn’t exist in a vacuum, real life is the basis for fiction and fiction in return influences real life.
Also my problem with your first comment is this: when I judge a film or the plot of the film based on certain criteria and therefore have an opinion on it who are you to decide that the media shouldn’t be viewed in this way? If you just would’ve disagreed with my opinion like „oh, but I like the characters dynamic because I find it entertaining“ I wouldn’t have written all those paragraphs. Im not even sure you read all this and also Im not sure why Im putting so much effort into explaining myself to a stranger on the internet just because of a semi serious vent review of a chinese drama.

so you think art has inherently a purpose and can either be „meant for that“as in having meaning or not? I think thats a poor way to look at it because that should only be one aspect of the conversation. More important is the interpretation of the beholder therefore everything can have meaning. It’s not for the creator or you to decide which interpretation or meaning that is/ if there is any or how something should be consumed. Especially looking at social norms, constructs or how the patriarchy influences media there should be discussion. As for the second part of your comment I don’t understand the argument. I really don’t. I feel like if I explain further Im just repeating what I said before.

naturally I judge the content based on reality because film and art don’t exist in a vacuum. There is always the context in which it was created. Generally speaking that’s the whole point in analysing film because you can learn about the people, the culture, the society and the environment in which something was created. Because it’s created by people who in fact live in reality. So I don’t see the point in you commenting on this In the first place. And sure you are entitled to disagree with the content of my comment but then just say so. Don’t just invalidate the entirety of reviews and conversation about film with a „you know it’s not real?“ kinda response.

did you even read my review? also I‘m allowed to have an opinion on things even if they’re fictional. why would there even be a comment section if that wasn’t the whole point. furthermore this is the kind of mindset that kills critical thinking and media literacy