Have we become too clever?

I recently managed to re-watch an old movie that I greatly enjoyed in the 80’s and found myself enjoying just as much now, but only after I turned off my loudmouthed inner critic. 

I’ve unashamedly stated I am a romantic, I read romances, I write romances, I ship everything and my favorite parts of any show, book, film is watching the characters moving from one emotional tangle to the next. Which I always imagined is why I enjoyed Bollywood films so much, but after watching this old film I’ve come to realize that while the romance remains the main reason I enjoy them, the fact that I know my inner critic exists and how to turn him off is also a great part of it. 

It also got me wondering, have we become too clever to enjoy a good story? 

Today’s films and TV shows are all about keeping it real, keeping it  precise and keeping the story itself firmly within the realms of science and possibility, even the fantasies are rigorously researched and corrected. But at what cost? How many good stories and tales are being tossed aside because it’s not believable or this medical procedure is impossible or that machine could not function? Whatever happened to just suspending belief for the brief moments of enjoyment a good tale can give you? 

Is a film really worthy of ridicule simply because there is a dance number in every scene? Or that despite whatever the story line, the romance is just as important? I think it restricts our ability to unquestioningly enjoy things, naive and cringeworthy as some scene’s or story lines may be it’s depressing to think that we can’t turn reality off for a tiny moment and just go back to loosing ourselves in a grandly adventurous tale filled with tears and laughter, dance and romance.

I’ll continue to watch my Bollywood’s, and ship my TV shows and read my romances and make sure every single moment that I never become so jaded as to think myself above the sheer joy of all things sappy. 

And for those who would ask… yes the Musical episode on Buffy was one of my favorites!