Guilty pleasures we shouldn’t feel guilty about
There are socially acceptable things that people can enjoy, such as video games and ice cream. And then there are the less socially acceptable things. Everyone has guilty pleasures, whether you’ll admit it or not. Guilty pleasures such as the Twilight series and superhero films have been normalized in our society because people aren’t ashamed of watching them. But there are a few guilty pleasures that aren’t so accepted — even still, we shouldn’t feel guilty about them. The following are some things that we shouldn’t hide our love for.
Pop music
There’s a common idea that if you listen to obscure indie music, you’re vastly superior to the sheep that listen to pop. These people call the genre manufactured, diluted and repetitive — but you have to admit that pop music gets too much hate. The goal of pop songs is having catchy choruses and melodies because it’s meant to be pop-ular. Listening only to underground music may actually restrict the variety of your music taste. Denying yourself from the bright, catchy tunes of pop won’t make you better than fans of the genre. When you truly learn to appreciate the art of the genre, you’ll be the biggest Dua Lipa and Ariana Grande fan in no time.
Reality TV
There are Emmy award-winning shows like “Game of Thrones” and “Breaking Bad,” which are considered the best series of all time. Then there is reality television, known for drama and catfights. Everyone knows that reality shows are manufactured by producers and don’t depict the actual lives of their casts. But it’s fun to turn off your brain and watch these larger-than-life personalities hash it out. Watching Beverly Hills socialites fighting over the pettiest reason isn’t the highest form of art, but it sure is entertaining. There are also reality TV competitions, where you can cheer on your favorite contestants. Although the contestants are trying to get to the top, they are also competing with who has the saddest backstories for the audience to love them.
Taco Bell
Fast food already has a bad reputation: cheap, processed and unhealthy. But people usually reserve the lowest tier of the fast food pyramid for Taco Bell. It’s not 5-star Michelin-rated cuisine, but the food is consistent. Whenever I eat Taco Bell, it always hits the spot and makes me want more. From the value menu to all the combos, it’s got no shortage of affordable foods. You can practically buy every menu item for under $20. The cherry on top is the variety of sauces, my favorite being the sweet mild sauce. We need to normalize liking Taco Bell so we don’t have to wear disguises when picking up our orders.
Celebrity gossip
Keeping up with the Kardashians and other famous people is considered frivolous and shallow. However, it’s like keeping tabs on sports or current events: another form of news. Celebrity gossip isn’t the highest form of journalism, thanks to tabloids. But like reality TV, it’s entertaining to look at which famous person is dating who and who is currently in a feud. It also leads to funny memes flooding the internet whenever a major event involving a celebrity occurs. Instead of looking at celebrity gossip as trivial, look at it from an anthropological perspective and study these famous people’s histories, relationships and behavior.
The items above are only a few examples of what we shouldn’t be guilty about. If a person likes something and it doesn’t hurt anybody, we shouldn’t judge others because we see it as worthless or lowly. Hopefully, this list shows that liking these things is normal and that we shouldn’t be hiding our interests from other people.
Contact Nicholas Clark at nclark@dailycal.org.