open your eyes

A question I've been asking myself a lot lately: Why are we so afraid of lacking depth?

Now, I'm not saying it's a good thing to be shallow. Far from it. People who focus solely on exteriors (and thus, tend to verify the stereotypes created to excuse them) are one of my biggest annoyances. But it seems to me that my generation is terrified of being seen as anything other than a few thousand leagues deep at every given moment.

Think about it: we must have discerning tastes in music and books, or we look down on ourselves (and/or others). We must follow the news obsessively and be prepared to comment on the economics of any given country at a moment's notice. We must never praise our leaders, only point out their flaws. We must only watch serious movies--preferably those that are foreign and/or existential--and, when we watch funny movies, we must watch them ironically, and always have a reason prepared for liking them. I love how it comments on the hypocrisy of today's generation. Well, it does subvert the asinine morals of the day. I read somewhere the director was trying to take a postmodern approach. We're afraid to enjoy anything for what it is.

Don't get me wrong--depth is hardly a bad thing. I read the New York Times online as many times a week as I can, given my schedule; I overanalyze everything I read or watch (hazard of the English major, I suppose); and I take pride in my collection of music, especially when I have a good band not many people have heard of before. I'm guilty of the same things. I'm just as elitist as everyone else in my generation.

But holy idealistic expectations, Batman, it's exhausting.

Thus, I am waging a war on elitism--at least, in myself. Those CDs I commented on before, the ones from high school that I loved before I'd discovered the glories of postmodern-indie-rock and Icelandic post-rock? I'm going to listen to them, and I'm not going to keep the volume down. I'm going to watch The House Bunny instead of The Wrestler (though I desperately want to see that too) and I'm going to enjoy it.

I don't know where I'm going with this, but then, I rarely do. Suffice to say, I enjoy the Backstreet Boys and Sigur Ros equally, and I'm not concerned about who knows it.