Opting Out of the Popular (1 Viewer)

[Jon_Are]

I don't brag about not bragging about what I don't brag about.

Got it?

Jon

 

[Rob Gillespie]

I'm not remotely interested in football (soccer), or any other sport for that matter. Consequently I don't yap on about it all day work or down the pub. For a Brit, that's rare, believe me. I think there's about 12 of us.

 

[MarkHastings]

Well, most of us are just mentioning (in a light hearted manner) the things we don't do, that are almost expected of you in today's world....

As opposed to being cynical or bragging, which would be like the following:
-I'm PROUD of the fact that I am not a mindless loser who watches X-Files.

Now THAT's what I call cynical.

 

[Dave Gorman]

I think the distinction being drawn is between disliking something because you actually dislike it, and disliking something ONLY because it is popular.

I dislike most reality shows I've seen because I just don't find them enjoyable. I don't dislike them merely because they are popular. I decide for myself what I like and dislike. Sometimes my likes/dislikes coincide with popularity, sometimes they don't. But they are my likes and dislikes that I have decided upon without caring whether or not they are popular.

 

[MichaelBA]

Somebody's "and why" could very well be that mass popularity itself is a vice, narrow as that viewpoint is.

 

[MarkHastings]

But can you truly hate something based ONLY on it's popularity? Don't you have to hate it first before the popularity can make you cynical?

For Example: I don't hate Beanie Baby's so the "craze" never really bothered me. But I've HATED those magnetic flags (that people put on their cars) from day one, and their popularity makes me hate them even more, to the point where I am a bit cynical about them.

So while my anger increased due to it's popularity, that's not the ONLY reason I hate them.

In other words, being cynical with something is to first hate it, then (once it gains popularity) to have an unhealthy hatred of it.

I guess I can see a popular craze where people get irked by the popularity of it all, but there still has to be an underlying hatred of the product first in order for the popularity to bother you that much.

 

[MichaelBA]

Quite reasonable.

On other hand, someone might opt out of ANY "craze" because what he or she actually hates is the phenomenon of popular mania itself.

Of course, that's not a strictly fair judgment of the cause of the "craze" -- although perhaps direct negative experience of other popular manias in the past can conceivably put one off all others in the future, even without any properly objective consideration of subject at the center of the mass popularity.

 

[Michael Martin]

I have never watched an entire episode of the Simpsons.

I never want to own a Mini-Coop.

Cindy Crawford and Rachel Hunter - canNOT understand their appeal. Neither one of them holds a candle to Kathy Ireland.

Ben Stiller's presence in a movie is a guarantee I will never watch it.

I will never wear paisley, no matter how many times it cycles in and out of fashion.

 

[Mike Frezon]

He's the only popular thing I can think of at the moment...that, and he's a bastard!

 

[Max Leung]

I didn't say why I never saw E.T. or Beetlejuice. I just never got around to it. And, well, I got better things to do like post on the HTF or tweak my HTPC.

(Oh yeah and watch tons of anime)

 

[andrew markworthy]

Never understood what the fuss over Star Wars was all about.

Never seen the point of ipods when a decent PDA will do the same and a lot more besides.

Never understood modern dance remixes.

Never understood how you guys can prefer rounders (sorry, I of course mean baseball) over cricket.

Never understood why Frasier wasn't cancelled after Season 1 (they'd done all four basic plots several times by then).

Never understood why Stephen Sondheim is considered a genius.

Never ever worked out why my fellow Brits over-react to the slightest change in the weather.

Never understood why until about ten years ago American actors had such difficulty doing Brit accents and now they're flawless.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

when i hear "you've never had a cup of coffee before, are you fucking serious??" on a monthly basis, it's nice to be able to say it without fear of backlash.

perhaps i should adopt will hunting's philosophy about coffee. everytime someone asks me if i want a cup, i'll just say i want some caramels instead.

CJ

 

[Al.Anderson]

Don't have cable TV - I don't need more channels of mindlessness; and if I'm going to watch a movie I plop in a DVD.

No reality TV (actually not much TV at all, but I aggressively avoid RTV)- because it seems to me to survive by degrading or humiliating someone, and I don't enjoy that.

On the other hand I'm absolutely in love with my iPod - because now I can have my entire CD collection at work.

 

[Garrett Lundy]

*I had, wrecked, and swore-off Harley-Davidsons before they became "must haves". Now I've got a Vulcan (Made in Lincoln Nebraska)
*On a related note: "Choppers" are godawful pieces of crap.
*Baseball has always sucked. Even as a kid I didn't collect the cards... comic books were my thing
*I played Dungeons & Dragons before ...... OK, it was never cool.
*I still buy CDs
*I was a fan of the RAMS when they played for L.A.
*IFC, Food Network and Cartoon network are the only channels I watch.
*I haven't listen to 'TOP 40' in years. Classic FM is the only thing on my radio pre-set
*"Reality TV" - does anyone like it anymore?
*I think women who smoke are sexier than the non-smokers

 

[MickeS]

Most of the stuff I choose not to do is because it just doesn't seem interesting to me, not because a lot of people do it. I don't really care how many people do or don't do something...

 

[MichaelBA]

Max Leung makes an interesting comment here, positing that a law of diminishing returns can operative.

I have personally opted-out of popular music, and for quite a long while. Probably the first song I heard on the radio was "Candida," back in 1971 or so. And I think I made up my little mind to ignore top 40 radio right then and there.

So, even though a third of a century has passed, and the styles of popular music as determined by the radio charts have radically changed, I've ignored them all by choice, even without listening to them first. The little I've heard over these 30 plus years has been enough to convince me that continuing to listen in the off chance that I might hear something I found good would be a massive waste of time.

I mean, the last #1 song that mean something to me was, what? "Another Brick In The Wall, Pt.2" -- I guess. And that's about 25 years ago!

 

[Eric Kahn]

I have dishnetwork and its built in dishplayer but have none of the "network" channels, no antenna either

never watched sienfeld, like his comedy but the show sucked

I drive a diesel car, I have never owned anything 4 wheel drive

I would like to have an old jeep CJ-7, before they started putting doors on them

I own the original star wars trilogy on laserdisk, but I do not know if my laserdisk player works

I no longer need to go to the casino, I have a fully functional bally slot machine in my house, the old electro-mechanical kind

 

[Kevin T]

i've never posted in this thread. oh wait! shit!!

kevin t

 

[Mike Frezon]

 

[Ryan Tsang]

I don't drink alcohol. At all.

I don't have cable.

I don't smoke.

No ipod, PDA, portable gaming for me.

I'm not religious.

I don't understand the appeal of Star Wars, new or old.