The People Who Shun Super-Popular Pop Culture

I kind of have this, and part of this I think is just cognitive load. When something first comes out. There’s this like added mental pressure to like it, to think about how everyone else responds to it. I watched the Pitt because I already had language for it. I loved ER, and it’s basically a spiritual sequel to the 90’s show. I tried Severance, I don’t know if I would like it a few years from now but I think it would be easier to like without the feeling I was supposed to.

This is a bit overstated but I’m analyzing something mildly subconscious, not like a conscious anxiety - it just feels like a lot of work to engage. A few years later the pressure is off, there’s no expectations. You can choose what to engage with in peace.

There’s also in some cases the obvious - if you don’t like Sinners society implies you’re probably close minded and maybe even a little bit racist. And even if I don’t 100% reject that sentiment, I don’t want to consume art in that context, and I doubt the artist would want me to either(I mean aside from wanting the ticket sales) Better to wait a few years and consume it on your own terms. Have some space to look at the landscape and determine what you might really enjoy in the strength of the idea itself. Most of my favorite shows and movies I consumed in that context.

Gift link: https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026/03/pop-culture-hype...

Rather than centering on a "what it's like to be me" look at individual pop culture shunners, I'd focus larger-scale, and longer-term.

Over time, society as a whole benefits if some fraction of its members are adverse to putting their eggs in the same basket as everybody else is.