Sometimes I feel like I am completely out of touch with the rest of the world, that I like things no one else seems to like, that I'm writing things no one else seems to want to read. And I don't know why that is. I grew up in a very conventional nuclear family in leafy suburbs and attended a decent public school and excellent colleges. It's not like I went to Hampshire or anything.
And yet, I'm not a fan of super-quirky things that get their own websites and booths at Comic-Con. Some of those totally off-the-wall books and movies and characters have really hardcore fans that post fanfic and dress in costume when they go out. And I can't say I have any interests in those kinds of things.
When I see a movie or read a book that everyone thinks is fantastic, I really want to like it too. I want to be a part of the general zeitgeist and expound on the virtues of Dan Brown and Tom Cruise. But much of the time, I don't get it. This is especially true of music, which I freely admit I know nothing about and probably won't ever. Why does Matchbox 20 get a bad rap? Why do people diss Alanis Morrissette? Is it wrong to like them? Why?
I guess my favorite sorts of things are not necessarily the under-liked but the underappreciated, those books and TV and movies that may eventually become popular but are easily dismissed among their contemporaries. I wonder if other people feel this way too.
