Thursday, January 22, 2009

Bull headed

I have a personality characteristic that I guess would be pure stubbornness. 

The more people tell me that I HAVE to read, watch, view something the less likely I am to do it.

Dirty Dancing came out in my senior year in high school. It wasn't something I was very interested in from the get go, but after EVERY frigging girl in school told me, squealing, that I HAD TO SEE THIS I made the decision to never sit though it ever, even on pain of death.

It's been 20 years. I still haven't seen it. And I never will.

This applies to TV shows and books as well. I thank the gods that I discovered Harry Potter prior to the hysteria, because otherwise I never would have read them, and I would have missed out on something great. In 1999 a friend of mine I had worked with in a book store in NJ sent me an email and said, "There's this book called Harry Potter. Read it." And I did. If she had told me that 2 years later I would have dug in my heels and never read them.

There's this little book called The Bridges of Madison County. Never read it. Never saw the film either.

I read a book called The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks because he was a "local author." It exploded. He became the patron saint of male written romance. And I never touched another one of his books ever. I also haven't seen THOSE films.

This happened with The Sopranos and Sex and the City as well. I really had no interest in either anyway, but after the rabidness started there was no way in HELL I would ever watch either. I have walked in on parts of The Sopranos and walked right out again. I have NEVER seen an episode of SATC and I never ever will. Ever. Even if I'm tortured.

This doesn't mean that I won't enjoy things that are popular. I couldn't wait for The Dark Knight to come out, and when it hit DVD I was bouncing up and down waiting for my copy from Amazon. And I'm a pop culture junkie. I watch 24, I watch Idol. I really don't have highbrow tastes.

However, enough people have now informed me that I MUST see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button that they have guaranteed that I will never in my life sit through it.

If only I had listened to my instincts for Titanic and Cast Away.




7 comments:

jennyquarx said...

I agree with a lot of what you wrote there. I did watch Dirty Dancing. A lot. But I think I was a freshman or sophomore (1987) and it was good for what it was then.

But the Sopranos??? Oh Julie... That is worth ignoring your instincts for.

Betsy said...

I saw Benjamin Button. Hated it. Thought it was interminable boring drivel. Wish I had trusted my gut and just said "no".

Anonymous said...

de-lurking to say, do NOT watch the bridges of madison county.
Read it.
seriously. ohmy.

Dagny said...

HA.

I have never seen Titanic.

:D

I'm the same with SATC and the Sopranos...I just can't.....

Dagny said...

and also...

Fuck Benjamin Button. Not going to see that either.

LizLSB said...

I hear you on some of these, but I agree with Jmac. The Sopranos is an amazing series!

Cyn said...

Dirty Dancing, if you have seen a commercial for it you pretty much know the story. However I have heard it is on Broadway now, lol.

The movie The Notebook is good. Have not read the book yet.

The rest you mentioned have not interested me much. Well except HP. I get kind of stubborn about some things too. Did not read Bridget Jones' Diary until long after it came out. Turns out the book is actually funny. The movie is eh. However it does score points for having Collin Firth in it.