Before I dive into a full weekend of studying for my exams, I might as well get another opinion piece out (long time since I did one). So, recently (past 5 or so years) some individuals have expressed concern that adults are becoming enamored with stuff designed primarily for children. Perhaps the one in most recent memory was Ruth Graham, whose piece in Slate "Against YA" stated, in an example of Slate's very high standard of journalism (okay, to be fair, they have Phil Plait, so that's one thing worth reading on that website), that adults should be "ashamed" if they read YA novels, because of their general lack of sophistication compared to adult literature. Later, New York Times film critic AO Scott used Graham's article, and echoed such sentiments in his article "The Death of Adulthood in American Culture", but extending it to general culture, stating that adults being interested in things meant for younger audiences is an indication of the decline of adulthood in America. Finally, Alan Moore (who, for full disclosure, is one of my all-time favorite writers, and whose influence on the comic medium matches those of Eisner and Kirby) said, as he continues to shun society in general, that the current fixation on superheroes shows that culture has stagnated, and he fears that society will not produce any more culture, because people are more obsessed with recreating their childhoods. Through my readings of these statements, I have ruminated on the subject, and came to a conclusion, that in hindsight, I should've had at the very beginning: You should not judged for your tastes in anything, and the civilization is not going to come to an end just because people happen to enjoy children's stuff.
Now that I've stated my thesis, I want to go into this idea of "intellectually stunting" and why no one should care. To be fair, both Smith and Graham did constantly state that people should be allowed to read what they want. However, Graham went on to say that adults should "know better," and implored adults to read more sophisticated literature. I'm not objecting to her saying adults shouldn't read YA books, because that's not what she's arguing. No, she's arguing that people shouldn't only read YA novels, because that would intellectual stunt their development. I could go on an eloquent rant, filled with multi-syllable words and the like, but I'll just put it bluntly: 1.) Reading or consuming any one genre is stunting growth. Part of the idea of intellectual growth is expanding your horizon. One could argue that reading only high literature is a form of intellectual stunting, because you can't get the perspective of more popular forms of media. The whole point of "intellectualism", however nebulous a term that may be, is going and learning many different disciplines of knowledge. But, and this is my main point. If a person decides to only read YA novel, what business is it of hers? If you only want to read a certain genre (the idea of "young adult" as a genre is up for debate, but that's neither here or now), you should not be judged. You should be allowed to like whatever you want. And that's not to say, at time, I too bemoan the fact that the endless slew of indistinguishable "Hunger Games" rip-offs seem to dominate cinematic trends at the moment. But, I don't actively judge people for not going to see more interesting movie (feel free to point out instances where I do, because my fickle-mindedness goes hand and hand with poor short-term memory.) I am also saying read what you'd like. However, I'm adding the caveat "and you shouldn't be judged." People should generally be allowed to have their own taste, and enjoy their own preferences without being mocked. It is none of my business what you like to read, or watch. Like what you like, I might not like it, but I'm not going to disparage your love of something. I enjoy many childish things, and there is old adage about people in greenhouses and stones.
I'm certainly not going to imply that liking something will lead to Armageddon. Yeah, they don't say, but that's the logical extension of it. Especially Smith's piece. It implies that adulthood as defined.... in some arbitrary way he never bothers to explain, is on the decline, and that people might go into a "perpetual childhood." Moore's statement is also an example, stating that people are no longer interested in making new culture, and cultural decay was a major theme in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen volume III (whose promise was squandered by incomprehensible episodes involving drugs and occultism, by the way). xkcd did a good job with this: https://xkcd.com/603/ . And it's right. This sort of moralizing is similar to people who complain about certain societal attitudes leading to societal decline. Ladies and gentlemen, The Epic of Gilgamesh, the earliest recorded piece of literature, dates back to 2100 BC. The fact that the Avengers is one of the highest grossing films, is not going to cause culture to stagnate or decline or become less sophisticated. Human culture is too fickle for that. We still have original, mature being produced, and still getting some attention, if not most of it. We are not, nor never (unless nuclear war breaks out, or a meteor hits) going to be in societal decline anytime soon.
The best encapsulation of adults liking childhood things is by CS Lewis:
"
Now that I've stated my thesis, I want to go into this idea of "intellectually stunting" and why no one should care. To be fair, both Smith and Graham did constantly state that people should be allowed to read what they want. However, Graham went on to say that adults should "know better," and implored adults to read more sophisticated literature. I'm not objecting to her saying adults shouldn't read YA books, because that's not what she's arguing. No, she's arguing that people shouldn't only read YA novels, because that would intellectual stunt their development. I could go on an eloquent rant, filled with multi-syllable words and the like, but I'll just put it bluntly: 1.) Reading or consuming any one genre is stunting growth. Part of the idea of intellectual growth is expanding your horizon. One could argue that reading only high literature is a form of intellectual stunting, because you can't get the perspective of more popular forms of media. The whole point of "intellectualism", however nebulous a term that may be, is going and learning many different disciplines of knowledge. But, and this is my main point. If a person decides to only read YA novel, what business is it of hers? If you only want to read a certain genre (the idea of "young adult" as a genre is up for debate, but that's neither here or now), you should not be judged. You should be allowed to like whatever you want. And that's not to say, at time, I too bemoan the fact that the endless slew of indistinguishable "Hunger Games" rip-offs seem to dominate cinematic trends at the moment. But, I don't actively judge people for not going to see more interesting movie (feel free to point out instances where I do, because my fickle-mindedness goes hand and hand with poor short-term memory.) I am also saying read what you'd like. However, I'm adding the caveat "and you shouldn't be judged." People should generally be allowed to have their own taste, and enjoy their own preferences without being mocked. It is none of my business what you like to read, or watch. Like what you like, I might not like it, but I'm not going to disparage your love of something. I enjoy many childish things, and there is old adage about people in greenhouses and stones.
I'm certainly not going to imply that liking something will lead to Armageddon. Yeah, they don't say, but that's the logical extension of it. Especially Smith's piece. It implies that adulthood as defined.... in some arbitrary way he never bothers to explain, is on the decline, and that people might go into a "perpetual childhood." Moore's statement is also an example, stating that people are no longer interested in making new culture, and cultural decay was a major theme in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen volume III (whose promise was squandered by incomprehensible episodes involving drugs and occultism, by the way). xkcd did a good job with this: https://xkcd.com/603/ . And it's right. This sort of moralizing is similar to people who complain about certain societal attitudes leading to societal decline. Ladies and gentlemen, The Epic of Gilgamesh, the earliest recorded piece of literature, dates back to 2100 BC. The fact that the Avengers is one of the highest grossing films, is not going to cause culture to stagnate or decline or become less sophisticated. Human culture is too fickle for that. We still have original, mature being produced, and still getting some attention, if not most of it. We are not, nor never (unless nuclear war breaks out, or a meteor hits) going to be in societal decline anytime soon.
The best encapsulation of adults liking childhood things is by CS Lewis:
"
Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”
Whilst I don't agree with Lewis on a number of issues, I can agree with this sentiment. Adulthood means that you have reached the point in your development, where you are generally rational enough from experience or learning to make your own decisions about what you want out of life and what you enjoy. Yes, you have a number of responsibilities, indisputably, but you are at the point in live where what you like is what you like. And you shouldn't be ashamed of liking stuff meant for kids, if you enjoy it as well.
Live Long, and Prosper. (I know this has nothing to do with Star Trek. I just needed a good closer)
