'Popular' things you just don't get/understand

[DidelotM1]

There are a lot of things in popular culture and the geek/nerd/gamer/anime/sci-fi section of our culture that tends to be runaway popular, people may have heard of it or have it constantly referenced. Somehow however you just don't 'get it'. Here are the things I just don't get and probably never will. Note: this isn't stuff that is disliked so much as stuff you look at and scratch your head and wonder about.

Firefly - Yeah, I tried to watch this show when it first showed up on TV. I try to give most TV sci-fi shows a chance to hook me. But this one didn't, like, at all. There was nothing in the setting or the characters or theme that made me keep watching. This kinda goes with a majority of Whedon's stuff. I give it a chance to impress me, but somehow and someway I just can't get into it at all and it kinda surprises me it and he has the following he does. I don't get it.

Warhammer - I've been an RPGer of all types for a good long time, but this and to a lesser extent most other minitures games just make me scrunch up my face and shrug. Never got into the overall story, characters or whatnot even after giving it a chance when I was in my big 'RPG/minatures phase' back in high school. I don't get it.

Pokemon - Gotta catch 'em all! Err...why? I guess this one is to appeal to the obsessive collector types out there or something. I just don't get the appeal of a cross between an animal catcher, lion tamer, and animal fights game. I don't get it.

Twitter - THIS I really don't get. Why the hell would I want to know what people are doing every second of every day or why the hell would I want to inform them of what I'm doing every other second. Unless you have big news or something I'd not be bothered and I certainly don't want to be bombarded by pictures of your cat/dog/kid/houseplant every 5 minutes or so, nor am I terribly interested in what you pulled out of your teeth that morning or whatever. I don't get it.

[Tempest Kitsune]

I honestly don't get Twitter or Facebook. At least not when it comes to constantly updating accounts. Heck, I only use Facebook to play the games on there anymore.

Another thing I don't get is fantasy football. Why the heck would I want to put together an imaginary team, that will score non-existent points, for a fake league? Or sports video games. Seriously, if you want to play football or basketball? Go outside and play it!

[Farmer_10]

Temp ninja'd a lot of my examples. And I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with that opinion about Sports video games.

Greys Anatomy: saw a few episodes in its first season, but only because those preempted episodes of better shows me and my friends watched together. My general attitude towards it these days is 'THIS is popular?!'.

[ShonenHero]

Halo: I tried to get into Halo when I was younger, really I did, but after a friend of mine stole my very first copy of Halo I just gave up on it. It was really only until Halo 3 that I ever played a Halo game more then once, and only for multiplayer. Other then that, I could care less about the campaign or its characters.

Wrestling: Other then a couple wrestlers I liked as a kid, wrestlers and wrestling has just never been my bag. Plus, have you seen some of the plots for wrestling matches? Like soap operas! I can't watch one match without some unexplained rivalry or shouting match, with absolutely no context. Pass. :(

Oh, and throw my hand in for Warhammer as just one of things I never got into. It seemed kinda cool as a kid with all the figs, but the rulebooks and story just seem too grimdark and unwieldy for me to enjoy.

EDIT: I understand people's feelings on twitter. I was the same way. xD I only started tweeting once my friend mentioned, and 900 tweets later I think I've come to my own personal understanding of it. Twitter is like a massive, interconnected personal diary/IM system for me, where can drop a tidbit of your day and entire conversations sprout from it. I remember tweeting for nearly an hour with my twitter friends about Batman, it was awesome.

[ewuvi]

I like Facebook, it allows me to keep in touch with some friends that moved away, and also see pictures from fun things we did together. I don't really update my status, but I definitely use it to message people for planning parties and get togethers and such.

I dislike noserings. They disgust the hell out of me. Oh, and gauges too, you know, those things that stretch out peoples ears so you can see through them? Nasty.

[Zankaru Zelladonii]

This is a place where we respect each others opinions, but just know your a filthy heretic for not liking firefly!


Ditto tempest, I have to say watching sports. I don't mean only on the television either, I mean watching someone else play anything period. Maybe it is just me, but I get bored to tears.

Reality shows, the first example of television I ever saw that I truly believe is a cause of brain deterioration.

Naruto canon. I don't even know why I follow it anymore! If it was a fanfic it would have been dropped so quick I would not be able to remember the title.

[Random_fan]

Neon Genesis Evangelion, I just can not understand how a giant robot show that focuses on a whiny kid whining about how he has to fight giant aliens with a mech for a living managed to be hugely popular.

[Chuckg]

I personally find Eva infinitely depressing and unfun, but I can understand why it received the acclaim it did; it was one of the very first giant robot animes to have an emotional depth greater than a teaspoon's. I mean, have you ever watched Classic 80s Super Robot Anime? What I can remember from that decade makes Dragon Ball Z look sophisticated.

[Random_fan]

I haven't watched any giant robot shows but if I did those sound awesome, I wouldn't watch a giant robot anime for a story, especially not one that was depressing, I would watch it to see giant robots fighting, if does anything else good that would be a bonus.

[Chuckg]

I recommend 'Tengen Toppen Gurren Lagann', where you can get the best of both worlds. Don't be fooled; it starts slow, and there's a hiccup in the fourth episode, but after that it just takes off like insanely. :)

Back on-topic... hrm. I think the authors of the 'Miracle of Science' webcomic said it better than I did, re: the popularity and overuse of a certain trope that I just do not freaking like at all.

Spoiler: show

What, you thought maybe sinister men in black, reporting to about thirty-three levels above the President, scooped it up and hid it in a military base out in the Nevada desert for absolutely no good reason? Come on, it's not like this comic is, well, every other piece of entertainment created in the last ten years, after all. Give us some credit.

Spoiler: show

I do want to clarify what I wrote in this space last time. Some readers might have gotten the impression that I was heaping abuse on writers who use the whole Enormous Government Conspiracy shtick, accusing them of being unimaginative dullards who deludedly believe they're being subversive and clever when they're really just repeating clichés that were already tired ten years ago. I want to emphasize that that was indeed exactly what I was doing. Seriously, anybody who's been paying the slightest bit of attention at any time in the past fifty years should have realized by now that the United States Government couldn't cover up a cupcake with vanilla frosting. Unless you either a) are having fun with the idea or b) are Warren Ellis, then please, just cut it out and try to come up with something more original. Future generations will thank you.

[Random_fan]

Gurren Lagann is currently on my to watch this, though considering how much I have on that list and how slow I get through I won't be watching it anytime soon.

[MEKristian]

I personally find Eva infinitely depressing and unfun, but I can understand why it received the acclaim it did; it was one of the very first giant robot animes to have an emotional depth greater than a teaspoon's. I mean, have you ever watched Classic 80s Super Robot Anime? What I can remember from that decade makes Dragon Ball Z look sophisticated.

Yoshiyuki Tomino would like to have a word with you, me thinks.

[gman391]

Nobody Dies,
There I said it. I do not get the appeal of that fic. Just throwing that out there.
Other things that I don't get the appeal of
WoW, 40K, TTGL And pretty much any recent Iteration of the Call of Duty series
Thank you that is all.

[Lthayer3]

One thing I can think of at the moment:

Avatar (the cartoon, not the movie with blue people). I just don't understand why people over the age of 10 or so like it. To me, it doesn't seem very good, and I think it proves that American animators need to stick to kiddy cartoons and leave anime to the Japanese.

[ShonenHero]

Nobody Dies,
There I said it. I do not get the appeal of that fic. Just throwing that out there.
Other things that I don't get the appeal of
WoW, 40K, TTGL And pretty much any recent Iteration of the Call of Duty series
Thank you that is all.

xD Unfortunately, I agree. Nobody Dies was an alright read, but I just don't understand all the love for it. It might have something to do with wackyRei, but I'm not sure.

[jgkitarel]

For the Nobody Dies crowd, I'm with you. I think it's because I've read one of Gregg's other epic fics, a Breath of Fire fic which was very well done. It's entertaining, admittedly, but I will get to reading it through when I feel like it.

Hmm, I saw a comment on Wrestling and comparing it to a soap opera. Guess what? You nailed it on the head. I still don't get why it is popular, though it is something to watch in a bar when you're drunk off your ass, I guess.

Fantasy Football, I get all too well. It's D&D for wannabe jocks, jocks, and so on. I doesn't have to make sense.

As for WoW (or MMOs in general), some people like them, and some can't wrap their minds around why people take them so seriously. I play WoW, admittedly, and even I can't figure out why some think that it is the most important thing in life out there. It's fun and addictive as hell, but come on!

Now for some of the things I don't get.

The popularity of Twilight. Having been forced to read a few of the novels, I can admit that they can be entertaining, but they are complete and utter crap with little literary value save for getting teens to read. Much like Harry Potter in that respect, and I've read the whole series and still enjoy it. It;s a matter of taste and whether you like it.

A lot of teen fashions. Why kids think it's fashionable to look like a cheap whore, a Marilyn Manson wannabe (or Crow wannabe for that matter), or someone involved in some illicit activities is beyond me. Then again, does it have to make sense.

Marvel and DC comics. I used to read them religiously as a kid, but dropped them when the damn storylines kept changing and all the ret-cons that were put in place started confusing me.

[FeatherBlade]

I never understood the appeal of "Lost"... especially not after they killed the polar bear in the first(?) episode and failed to drag it back to the camp to eat.

And I'm with ewuvi on the gauges. Those are just weird.

[doc.exe]

Oh, there are a lot of things that I get where the appeal is: Twitter, Facebook (and any social network for that matter), wrestling, watching sports on TV, Joss Whedon, Soap Operas, Twilight, Lost, Star Trek, Halo, WoW, Reggaeton, etc.

I just don't plainly like them.

That's really the thing with me: Certain things may be popular but they just don't appeal to my personal tastes. I think is the same with most people really.

There are only two things that I just don't get:

- The so called "Música Norteña". I mean, every freaking song uses exactly the same freaking melody. The lyrics are completely interchangeable. You have heard one song, you have heard everyone. Not to mention it get's quite monotonous and unbearable after a while. Yet, this kind of music is incredibly popular where I live (to my chagrin).

- Reality TV. Outside of fascination for the bile and morbid , I just don't get how there can be people that actually enjoy these kind of shows. Specially considering how fake they actually are. Things like this actually make you lost respect for some of your peers.

[FeatherBlade]

I think reality TV is the modern equivalent of Roman Gladiatorial games.

The entire purpose is for the audience to enjoy the suffering engendered by the actions of the people on the show, without having to suffer the consequences themselves. This not only gives the audience the feeling that they have taken part in something dangerous and exciting, but also allows them to congratulate themselves on not having as sucky a life as the people on the show.

It's the lowest and most socially- and emotionally-stunting of all forms of entertainment, because it encourages a lack of empathy in the audience and legitimises the enjoyment of other people's misfortune, which, if I am not mistaken, are sociopathic behaviors.

[Farmer_10]

Remember when reality TV-shows were only competitions so there was at least a justification for people to act like massive tools?

[Psalm Of Fire]

Speaking of sociopathy, let's mention pride. "At least I'm not as crazy as those people," or "this people are terrible, and so much better than them," no doubt plays a role.

The genre shares several less distressing attractants, though: connecting to a person, and rooting for them to win. It's a form of empathy,though some shows are much better at engaging this than others. It's also part social experiment, which is a draw I felt from a few shows.

Most of my dabbling has been disappointing, with the shows focusing more on the slap fights. But the first season of "The Mole" was more interesting that way, blending in mind games. It almost became social chess. I like to imagine myself the scenarios, seeing if I could see the mole, or how I would play the mole. That was part of the show's appeal, the audience didn't know who the mole was, so it was like you're playing along with the contestants.

Though, that kind of "reality series" seems to be the exception. I currently haven't the time or the patience to try to find another exception. Sturgeon's law, fellow forumite, Sturgeon's law.

Then you have shows like Fear Factor, an appeal which I understand, but doesn't attract me. Probably would have more when I was a kid eating worms. Still, I can't turn my nose up at someone monetizing the "gross out" appeal almost every young boy displays: that's just good sense.

As for the amount of them, reality shows are easier on the production budget. No special effects, no expensive writers or actors. It's kind of like how modern comedies don't have to do well in the box office to make money because they're just shot so cheaply.

I think one of the best examples of what I don't like about reality series comes from Iron Chef. No one is having fun on that show, it's all drama. They blare dramatic music, the judges scowl a lot, and exaggerate their criticisms. if you're going to create such a negative atmosphere, you're going to have to get me quite invested in a person/character in order to want to walk through it. But I have almost no reason to care who wins. I feel it cookoff show could be so much fun, but the decision-makers have made a thorough work of removing any hint.

(non-sequitur of the day: Go Alton Brown! Now he brings the fun.)

What specific reality series get on your nerves, everybody? Or maybe you found one with a bit of genius?

[gman391]

Words can not express my loathing for the Idol franchise

[Tempest Kitsune]

Agreed, two or three seasons were alright. Ten? It's on life support. I'm surprised that it didn't shudder to a halt once Simon left though, the man was the only entertaining part of the entire ordeal. And while not a reality show, I really wish that they'd just let the Simpsons DIE already. There's not enough funny stuff going on to mock anymore. Same for Family Guy and American Dad.

[Lthayer3]

Reality television was ok when it was really setting off a decade ago. Survivor seasons 1 and 2 were new, different, and mildly interesting. Amazing Race was good for a couple seasons. The Apprentice was good for its first season. I'd even say that American Idol was decent for a while. Up until the point that Fantasia won. At that point, I threw up my hands in disgust and haven't watched it since. I liked The Mole quite a bit, though I suppose it is good that it didn't get to degenerate like the rest. Now, some of food shows are the only reality programming that I'll occasionally watch (Top Chef, mostly).

Ones I just can't stand at all? Any of them that aren't either a game show or talent competition thing. How anyone can watch the trash that is called "The Bachelor", for instance, is completely beyond me. Myself, I'd rather watch a soap opera, and that's really saying something.


I have to agree on not getting Lost, too. It all seemed rather stupid to me, and I stopped bothering with it halfway through the second season. My brother eventually turned into one of the crazy Lost fanatics, trying to decipher all the retarded "clues" in the show or online, but he's always been a bid odd...

[jgkitarel]

Reality TV: Where people's schadenfreude is the target market. It makes perfect sense. I still despise it.