As simple and curmudgeonly this sounds I think I get you.

After a certain point it starts to feel like the problem is the medium.

Film is like what literature would be if pencils cost a million dollars.

Paying cooks demanding a catering to a low denominator.

You know, Merit, just because the mainstream media can be weak sauce and outright wrong on occasion doesn't mean that you're wise for rejecting it on a kneejerk basis.

elph is so cool that I'm gonna freeze

What’s the acceptable typical disappointment to pleasant surprise ratio?

Whatever reality provides. Sticking to a quota just increases problems.

Get a hoodie, Trayvon.

What if my time here is finite?

Take away the music and it's just a lot of breathing and mouth noises.