4.27.2009

Miley Cyrus is my Anti-Drug

I think it’s safe to say there is a part of me that will forever and always be a little kid. I don’t mean that in a creepy, Michael Jacksonesque “Hey little children, come to my amusement park slash house because we’re developmentally the same age and also I want to touch you in appropriately” kind of way. I mean that while a large part of me will become cynical and jaded and misanthropic over the years, there will still be, somewhere, a part of me that is blissfully ignorant and happy.

How can I be so sure? Well, let me paint you a little picture, a self-portrait of sorts. I am 23 years old, have a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Psychology, have held down a respectable job at a well-known institution for a year and a half. And I love the Disney channel, anything by Pixar, and pop music. To a reasonable degree (the fold out posters from Tiger Beat are only on one wall of my room), but nonetheless, I am unashamed of my life choices.

I can’t even tell you the number of times I’ve had to defend myself from holier-than-thou types who “grew up a long time ago” and know how to “act their age”. I don’t care that you don’t like the same stuff I do, and I’m sorry that you think because I don’t listen to Ladysmith Black Mambazo means that I’m uncultured. My tastes encompass plenty of other movies, music genres, television shows, etc., I just happen to also have the same taste as my little sister. I’ve come to realize that while some other people my age might choose to kill their brain cells via home cooked meth or other illicit substances, I get my high from Miley Cyrus and her ilk.

First, let’s take pop music. Um, hi, do you actually listen to the lyrics to any of those songs? They don’t make a lick of sense to begin with. You don’t listen to them because you want to relate to them. For instance, take this gem from the Jonas Brothers’ “S.O.S.”: Next time I see you/I’m giving you a high-five/cuz hugs are overrated/just FYI. Sure, the song is about a breakup, but has anyone ever high-fived their ex post-breakup in a breakup-related conversation? (“Hey, listen babe, I’m sorry it didn’t work out. Up top!”) And are high fives really less overrated than hugs? I’d be willing to venture that they are, in fact, more overrated. But back to my point, pop music is created to punch your brain into submission. You listen to it because it puts you in a good mood. That’s what it’s there for. If I wanted to listen to music that made me depressed, I’d get a fauxhawk, black eyeliner, and a Myspace page. There’s a time for that, but when it’s 10 PM and I’m getting ready to go out, Dashboard Confessional isn’t the best segue into the night. Britney gets the job done much better.

Secondly, children’s television shows. This is, once more, just a case of not wanting to be lulled into a foul mood. The format for any kid’s TV show is essentially the same thing: problem happens, problem is resolved positively, everyone learns lesson. Whether your watching Spongebob or Smurfs or the Suite Life (but why would you watch that garbage?), you’ll see the tried and true episode arc. I know that when that Cherie gets stuck in the fridge on Punky Brewster, she’s not going to end up dead. Clearly Punky will be able to save her with the CPR she had learned earlier in that episode, and Cherie will learn not to climb into abandoned appliances again, even if it is the best hiding spot ever. (So the Punky reference is a little dated, but you catch my drift.) But if the same thing happened on Law & Order: SVU, poor Henry is going to end up getting booked, because not only did Cherie end up dead because of his appliance but also that refrigerator is his creepy sex dungeon, or something equally as depressing. Who wants that? Not after a long day at work. No thank you, I’d rather watch The Wizards of Waverly Place than Hardball with Chris Matthews.

And finally, have you seen Wall-E? Did your heart not melt? Did you not fall irrationally in love with Wall-E because he is perfect and you sort of wish he were a human being that you could date? And also, yes, these movies are written with kids in mind, but keep in mind, the writers know that kids won’t be going to these movies without their parents. Go watch any of your favorite movies from when you were a kid right now and I guarantee you’ll pick up on things you never noticed before.

Let me reiterate my point: I like these things because they are dumb. They genuinely put me in a good mood. And unlike years of coke addiction, I can enjoy them for as long as I want with no ill side effects. So to everyone who is going to say “What a freak.” I say go fist yourself. If you don’t like to be put into a good mood, then you are a Communist. You do what makes you happy, and so I’ll do the same. So I’m going to continue rocking out to Aly & AJ (“Potential Breakup Song.” Download it. You’ll thank me later.) and being the oldest one in the theater without children for High School Musical 3. I don’t want to grow up; I’m a Toys-R-Us kid.

17 comments:

Wiggs (The Beholder) said...

Okay, a couple of things:
1) I own all of my favorite Disney movies and watch them on such a regular basis that I have every single word memorized. If you said GO, I could recite Beauty and the Beast from start to finish right now.
2) High-fives ARE overrated, which is why I've made it my mission to force them into awesomeness again. My fiance and I actually had our first pre-hookup conversation about how good we each were at giving high-fives. The next day I had callouses on my right hand. I'll let you put two and two together on that one.
3) I heart you guys too.

Anonymous said...

Me and you are totally twins seperated at birth. I love Suite Life (yay me!) and wizards of waverly place and Arthur and Hannah Montana (I like Miley more, but same dif.) Britney is amazing! I love that when I'm confused by the plot of the show (I thought London and Mr. Mosely were related,) I can text my 12 year old brother and he can explain it.

Little kids are happy, I want to be happy, thus I act like a little kid.

Abbie said...

Arthur on PBS is my favorite show. Ever. I'm frustrated that I'm not home at 3:30 anymore to watch it in the afternoons. I've taken to getting up at 7:30 so I can watch it then. Best thing about Arthur is that it puts me in an awesome mood, but it also doesn't have the same soporific effect some of the other Disney franchise stuff does. DW is the smartest 4-year-old I've ever encountered.

~Jamie said...

Yes! Why don't more people understand this? It's why I choose to write young adult novels with super villains and cooky love interests instead of serious fiction about cancer survivors. I just want to laugh and be happy, and know at the end of the show I won't be a sad panda thinking about the disturbing things I just watched.

Although.... I remember that Punky episode vividly... I think it was pretty disturbing now that I think about it.

Chloe's Mom said...

Ha! I completely remember that Punky episode! I am 32 now, and although I have my 6 year old as a valid excuse, I have no issue watching Disney Channel exclusively and would like to have Miley Cyrus' life for a day. Those shows are adorable and I also have the guilty pleasure of Olsen Twin movies (you know the ones BEFORE the ousted eating disorders and attempt at college..ah the good years.) I wholeheartedly agree that (with 3 degrees) I do not lack the mental capacity to watch the Oscar nominated films, I just choose not to be reminded of the screwed up world we live in and instead choose Hatching Pete.

jen toppe said...

im confused!! is this post by meg or chris?? cause i was reading it and i was like hmm... meg majored in bio and psych? and has a younger sister i don't know about? which makes me think it must be a chris blog? my life is a lie and im not good at following color coordinated directions (cause you blog in different colors right?)

i should go back to college.

2b1b: The sardonic voice of 20-somethings everywhere, Monday through Friday. said...

HAH! Jen <3

Yes that was a Chris post, as it is in green. Meg posts are red. Be not afraid!

Anonymous said...

my friend sent me a link to this blog and asked me if i'm secretly writing it.

seriously, the annotated awkwardness and cover letter story could be from my own non-existent journal.

this post takes the cake, i'm calling police on your ass because this is definitely identity theft.

Laurie said...

I used to LOVE Punky Brewster when I was little and I totally remember that episode.
I love Disney and Pixar movies. They're the best. :)

yellaphant said...

I have an array of Disney soundtracks on my ipod, and you can bet to holy hell that I break that shit out at every party. And you know what, nothing gets a room jumping like a 30-person rendition of A Whole New World.

Also, one of my favorite movies of all time is Fivel: An American Tale. It still makes me cry.

Anonymous said...

OH I LOVE THAT MOVIE. I was Fival for Halloween for three years in a row. AND I wore my costume to school for the whole week of Halloween. Although I guess "costume" was really just mouse ears, a hat and a red shirt. Oh and this was when I was 7, not like, last week.

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All4Phones said...

Cool post! 😉 I can't relate to Miley Cyrus personally because she's constantly involved in scandals, but she really has some great songs that I really enjoy listening to.

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