The Perks of Fluffy Media
And why you shouldn’t feel bad for consuming it.
As I’ve talked about, I’m pretty stressed out right now. Work is hectic, the pandemic is raging, and I’m just a bit burnt out.
So, when life gets like this, I tend to turn to fluffy things.
No, I don’t mean my cats, although they’re nice to pet and help relieve some of my stress just by being around. Rather, I’m talking about “fluffy” media. You know what I’m talking about: the feel-good shows with wacky characters; the trashy, guilty pleasure romance novel; the colorful slice-of-life video game. All the sorts of media where nothing bad happens.
These are the shows and books and games that we consume over and over because they give us that happy feeling, even if just for a little bit. They don’t have to be particularly good — not that entertaining media has to be good in the first place. Sometimes, the thing that makes it good for us is how bad it is.
My partner, several of my friends, and a whole bunch of other people enjoy reading trashy romance novels. They’re not particularly good most of the time, but they’re fun, easy reads, and tend to end well for all the good guys. These books aren’t necessarily deep, complex, or particularly good, but that’s not the point.
Lots of people like watching “B movies,” which often fall into the “so bad it’s good” camp. They’re dumb, poorly written, and badly acted, but their camp is kinda zen in a lot of ways.
Many people go back to their Animal Crossing island day after day to harvest fruit, fish, catch bugs, and perform menial tasks for their villagers. I’ve played almost daily for a year and a half at this point, and while sometimes it gets a bit boring, the repetition and slow pace help me relax.
There is a psychological basis for this — the repetition of watching an old show or movie for the 20th time helps calm us because we know what’s going to happen. The predictability is relaxing — because it doesn’t take much energy to think about, it feels good. Plus, there’s often a nostalgia factor that plays into watching some show or movie from 30 years ago.
As much as I enjoy my fluff, it’s important to remember that not everyone’s fluff is the same. I enjoy light, easygoing things. When it comes to anime, I will binge Ouran High School Host Club any day, and I enjoy some slightly heavier fluff like Aggretsuko or Toradora. I also enjoy some of the deeper animated stuff, like Steven Universe and Avatar: The Last Airbender in western media and just about any Ghibli film in the anime category.
That said, other people’s fluff could be horror movies and slasher flicks. Much as I don’t enjoy the gratuitous violence when I’m feeling down, many people get catharsis from watching a masked killer disembowel coeds.
I think for me, there are two important things about fluff. First off, understand that your fluff and my fluff are probably different. I enjoy anime and western animated stuff, but other people might like Seinfeld or Friends, two shows I don’t care for.
Second, don’t judge other people’s fluff. If your concept of fluff is watching The Room every year, don’t give me crap for liking Owl House. Similarly, if your idea of fluff is the 1980s He-Man, please don’t hate on people who enjoy the most recent outings like 2018’s She Ra or the recent Masters of the Universe. They can both be good for different reasons — just let people like the things they like.
We are living through a horrible time, so a lot of us are turning to fluff. Whether you’re turning to old episodes of Power Rangers, booting up your copy of Paper Mario, or settling in for a week-long MCU marathon, enjoy your fluff. We could all use it.
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