Sometimes i get frustrated at how people will talk about how life-changingly profound and meaningful the message of a piece of popular entertainment is, but if I look at what’s being discussed, the only thing identifiable as a “message” is something typically taught before the age of eight.

like “nobody’s perfect” or “we all have to grow up and change” or “listen to your friends and be honest with them” or “reach for your dreams but accept that you can’t always get what you want”

But… then I look at how many problems in the world are the results of people not having internalized messages like this from childhood

And I have to grudgingly accept that it is probably a good thing if people are now having life-changing profound moments learning these lessons from popular media and discussing the experience like it’s deep literary analysis. The alternative is probably much worse.