Don't forget Hush. You want to see a master of his craft at work, watch Hush. Then tell me Buffy sucks. You realise of course that's a pun, yes?

Is it?

No.

TIL the fastest way to blow up a thread is to dis the vampire slayer.

Thanks, TH. I understand that many viewers enjoy escaping into the melodrama of fantastical tales; (I did enjoy the comically dramatic Greta Garbo in The Grand Hotel). But my particular brand of escapism from the stressors and sorrows of the world usually involves losing myself in something meditative and pastoral, (like ambient music), something abstract, or otherwise cerebrally engaging. I've had more than enough drama in my real life, thank you.

Perhaps if there were a Buffy version of Koyaanisqatsi...

Exploring something new is pretty engaging for the cereb though, isn't it? If anything you can use it as an opportunity to think up ways to tell Ori and Bat that they have gaping blind spots in their taste.

Do I understand correctly that you're encouraging me to watch something we know to be awful purely for the sake of chiding the source of the recommendation?

Because I might be on board with that.

I think I've just realized what is so appealing about all the -qatsi films - high on conceptualism, brilliantly minimalist scores, no characters, no dialog, no plot, no linearity... right there you have everything I desire from my entertainment.

We? You've never seen Buffy, Mr. Pretentious Pants.

I'm actually encouraging you to watch things that you expect to be awful before you determine that they are. Giving people **** is just the gift you get for wasting your time.

You don't think that entertainment can fulfill a multitude of purposes? I think that restricting yourself to one lane in any medium is the exact opposite of mentally challenging yourself. While I'm not bent on you watching Buffy, I think you could benefit from at least becoming informed on things outside of your comfort zone.

Yeah. Vampires? Suck? Think about it. There's even a spoof movie with that title.

For what it's worth, while I can't say how other people experienced it, Buffy was the opposite of escapism for me. I mean, yeah, it's got drama, horror, comedy, and cheese, but it also helped me to recognize and confront a hell of a lot of personal problems. Helped get me through some of the shittiest times of my life.

I don't know. Maybe someone who isn't a depressed high schooler that grew up in a literal shithole would find it awful. But I rec it all the same.

Edit: Although now that I think about it, I just remembered that you mentioned to me before how fucked up your high school years were. So hey, who knows, maybe you'll have an affinity to the angst after all.