What’s something people take too seriously in life?
Dated references to old films aside, today’s title refers to something I commonly observe in society. We take our entertainment very seriously. Extremely seriously. As in “Do you find this even remotely relaxing or fulfilling anymore?” seriously.
Take sports, for instance. Theoretically, sports are a form of recreation that allow us to challenge ourselves and take pleasure in pushing our bodies and minds, or, if not an athlete, to enjoy watching our favorite teams compete and experience the thrill of victory and near-defeat. It’s supposed to be fun, right?
So, why do people scream and tear out their hair and beat up other people who don’t support their own team? Why do people riot and curse and weep over what their favorite player eats for breakfast? It’s … not just a game, anymore, is it?
In fact, a quick jaunt through the Youtube comments section (horrors of horrors …) on just about any subject that supposedly falls under the category of “entertainment” yields insight into a curious phenomenon: Nobody seems to hate any given activity, hobby or franchise more than its own fandom. Fans are very grumpy characters, seemingly more entranced by how [insert subject here] has been ruined forever than taking any sort of joy in it.
Entertainment must be a very fragile thing if it takes so little to destroy it. Perhaps we humans are entitled creatures, believing that a movie or video game or sports team or car brand is only “fun” when it conforms exactly and perfectly to our own specific expectations. On an individual basis. And when it doesn’t, well …
I get irked sometimes when a favorite franchise takes a turn I don’t like. I try not to take it too seriously, if only because I have a tendency to brood over the silliest details and really don’t need anything else competing for that brooding space in my head. Life’s short. Why not just … be entertained?
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Many thanks for visiting my blog. I post updates on my writing career, I muse over storytelling and fiction, and I reflect on the curious and wonderful things in life.
“Hermes is not having the best time. He walks a fine line, and his duty as messenger of Olympus weighs heavily on him. Being a god in the modern age means living in a world that no longer believes in gods. How much can one deity accomplish when no one respects him anymore? And why do his instincts tell him that he, the son of Zeus, is losing favor with his own family?
Tensions abound. The upstart Young Gods play dangerous games using entire cities as their boards. Formless monsters strike from the nighttime shadows, terrorizing hapless mortals. Agents of rival pantheons scheme to thwart Olympus’ designs. In the thick of it all, Hermes does what he does best: trick, lie, and cheat his way to victory.“
Jake W. Powell 