Comments on: Entertainment guilt http://blog.spout.com/2006/07/14/entertainment-guilt/ Daily coverage of what is truly interesting in the film world Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:53:41 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Spoutblog: technology & web http://blog.spout.com/2006/07/14/entertainment-guilt/#comment-121 Spoutblog: technology & web Wed, 17 Jan 2007 00:15:14 +0000 http://blog.spoutblog.com/2006/07/14/entertainment-guilt/#comment-121 <strong>Digital rentals are here</strong> Watching what you want when you want it could be a very nice thing. Digital rentals are here

Watching what you want when you want it could be a very nice thing.

]]> By: Jaybriel http://blog.spout.com/2006/07/14/entertainment-guilt/#comment-120 Jaybriel Tue, 25 Jul 2006 03:25:20 +0000 http://blog.spoutblog.com/2006/07/14/entertainment-guilt/#comment-120 It seems like maybe Stone of _Newsweek_ was reaching a little in coining the term Netflix Guilt (tm), right? I mean, I see what he's getting at--I too have felt I really should be watching (listening to, reading, looking at, and so forth) something high-brow and edifying, when in fact I was consuming bubble-gum pop (or even just something not quite so worthy or whatever). But it's hardly the same feeling I have gotten from true, genuine transgressions over the years. It also seems decidedly juvenile. I remember carrying a copy of the Marx/Engels Reader around my whole Senior year of high school--how anyone ever put up with me I will never know--because I was sure I should be reading it. Of course, I never managed to get through more than a few sentences of _Capital_, and really never had the first idea what the "Manifesto" actually _meant_. I was reading, and for that matter, enjoying some fairly heavy books (Camus, Gide, Remarque that year), but still felt like I should be spending my time with "better" things. Same with movies, music, visual art, etc. I can't really remember when I decided I was done with that, but I'm sure it was after college. This was enabled at least in part by my contrarian streak--if those in power say that Britney Spears is crap, then by god I'm going to find a thing to like about her. It has had an enormous impact on my career as a musicologist, not surprisingly Anyway, long and short, I can imagine thinking, "I should really watch X, but instead I'm going for episodes of Deadwood or whatever" (a recent Korean movie about the Korean War whose title I can not remember is in this category); but I absolutely can not imagine feeling guilty about it. I agree with what you said about Netflix, though--I used to have it and it really didn't work for me. I just can't think a day or three ahead about what I want to watch. Until online movie rental becomes practicable I think it's the movie store for me. J It seems like maybe Stone of _Newsweek_ was reaching a little in coining the term Netflix Guilt ™, right? I mean, I see what he’s getting at–I too have felt I really should be watching (listening to, reading, looking at, and so forth) something high-brow and edifying, when in fact I was consuming bubble-gum pop (or even just something not quite so worthy or whatever). But it’s hardly the same feeling I have gotten from true, genuine transgressions over the years.

It also seems decidedly juvenile. I remember carrying a copy of the Marx/Engels Reader around my whole Senior year of high school–how anyone ever put up with me I will never know–because I was sure I should be reading it. Of course, I never managed to get through more than a few sentences of _Capital_, and really never had the first idea what the “Manifesto” actually _meant_. I was reading, and for that matter, enjoying some fairly heavy books (Camus, Gide, Remarque that year), but still felt like I should be spending my time with “better” things. Same with movies, music, visual art, etc. I can’t really remember when I decided I was done with that, but I’m sure it was after college. This was enabled at least in part by my contrarian streak–if those in power say that Britney Spears is crap, then by god I’m going to find a thing to like about her. It has had an enormous impact on my career as a musicologist, not surprisingly

Anyway, long and short, I can imagine thinking, “I should really watch X, but instead I’m going for episodes of Deadwood or whatever” (a recent Korean movie about the Korean War whose title I can not remember is in this category); but I absolutely can not imagine feeling guilty about it.

I agree with what you said about Netflix, though–I used to have it and it really didn’t work for me. I just can’t think a day or three ahead about what I want to watch. Until online movie rental becomes practicable I think it’s the movie store for me.

J

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