Driving back to Ferris after an eventful weekend, a few young men tire of conversation and turn to the radio. Turning up the volume dial, a certain someone greets them.
Miley.
An audible sigh rolls through the car, coming unbidden from every young man – except for one. He actually recognizes “Wrecking Ball” for the great song it is. He can’t listen, though. He’s been stifled by his angsty bros, and why? They’re “sick and tired of Miley.”
We all understand that pop culture’s biggest and best (at earning money) are, to put it crudely, shoved down our throats every day. The radio plays many of the same songs and the biggest news outlets all talk about the same people.
We get it. You’re tired. Shut up about it, if you don’t mind.
Everyone’s a critic, a comedian and a jaded consumer – and that’s okay. How it’s handled is the key part.
It’s fun to talk about things we deem as terrible or tiring, but the humor becomes unintentional when we won’t shut up about how nobody else will shut up about Lady Gaga. When we do that, Lady Gaga wins, and everyone else loses.
Now, I personally don’t mind if Lady Gaga wins, but why should her fans – at least the rational ones who don’t make death threats – lose? By droning on and on about how dumb the latest pop or reality star is, you feed the flames that fuel their career, waste your own time, anger yourself and punish others. It’s a losing proposition.
Now, that’s not to say we shouldn’t have fun with it. Comedians would be without a job, and Saturday Night Live would cease to be. The thing is, they’re having fun with these things, mostly. It’s about laughing, not cursing. Also, and this is key, they’re actually funny.
Chill out. Laugh it off. Don’t let the flood of information turn you into a terrible person. If you can’t ignore it, have fun with it. Let others love the things that annoy you – it’s their time and effort they’re wasting.