Guilty pleasance are often lifespan ’s biggest pleasures . There ’s something about enjoying the blaze out of something — but also feeling as though you ’re doing something abysmally wrong by enjoying it — that just makes everything so much sound .
In a perfect world , there would be no shamefaced joy , at least not in pop culture — because we ’d all realize that delectation is the purpose of amusement . And thus , “ guilty pleasure ” would be an oxymoron . But we live in an imperfect world , and pleasures come up with the apparition of judgement .
So what makes something a shamefaced joy for you ? And do you have to believe something is bad for it to be a shamefaced pleasure ?
Our novel shamed pleasure is the Canadian show Lost Girl ( pictured above ) , which is currently beam on Syfy . I have to accommodate I was scared of it for a while , due to the drug abuse of using episode claim carry horrible punning on the word “ fae ” like “ Ca n’t See the Fae - rest ” or “ Fae - tal Attraction . ” But it ’s actually a super - fun show — the adventures of a bisexual succuba detective in urban fantasy land , it ’s completely ridiculous and super habit-forming . ( chink out Maureen Ryan’sgreat spell - up about itover at HuffPo . )
If youGoogle the phrases “ lost girl ” and “ hangdog pleasure,”you get 122,000 hits .
But does that mean it ’s a bad show ? Of course not — it just means that citizenry sense shamed for watching it because it ’s cheesy , or because of the oft over - the - top fantasy ingredient and sexiness . ( Like the “ Fae - rest ” episode , in which Bo the succubus track down a snake charwoman who ’s turning her own skin into purses and boot and thing . ) It ’s a playfulness show that emphatically does not take itself seriously — it ’s like a much goofier Vampire Diaries , in fact . ( TVD being another show that many multitude key as a shamefaced joy . )
So do you have to conceive that something you love is objectively bad in decree for it to be a guilty pleasance ? ( “ Objectively bad , ” not harmonise to any fictional banner of objectivity , but accord to the voices in your head . ) Definitely not — you just have to believe that it ’s low culture , or that it ’s not serious enough , or that it miscarry some arbitrary trial of timbre . Cartoons are more probable to be hangdog delight than Shakespeare performances . Also , shows about women are more potential to be discover as guilty pleasures than shows about man — although I have a feeling NBC ’s attempt to bring up Knight Rider was a shamefaced joy for many , and so was The Cape .
On the other hand , can you bonk something and yet believe deep down that it is a terrible work of awful badness ? by all odds . Hence the whole “ so bad it ’s good ” phenomenon , which we regularly lionise through stuff like our “ found footage ” television .
What make something a guilty pleasure or else of just a remorseful pain ? There are sure as shooting plenty of things that make you cringe , either because they ’re bad or because they fail to hold up up to some remote standard — but they ’re not that much fun . Many 1950s and sixties TV show and movies precipitate into this family — dated or tinny , but too slow - go and ponderous to be adequately popcorny or candy - similar .
The other inquiry that occurs to me : Can something be a shamefaced pleasure without being made fun of ? Can you relish something in spite of your hang - ups — without then resorting to poke fun at it ? I suspect that the answer to this one depends rather a lot on whether you ’re watching ( or reading ) your guilty joy alone , or with your bonk ones . Or bad yet , roomy , who are like , “ Are you watching that show again ? ”
But what do you think ?
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