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Obviously, I can’t speak for anyone else, but it seems to me that one should not equate intellectual engagement with uncritical approval. There are many different ways to consume a media product, and not all of them fall along the lines of “like=will watch/dislike=won’t watch.” A bit of a false analogy, but lets take the news — another kind of media product. Just because I don’t like some of the things being reported on, or don’t like the particular political “spin” doesn’t mean I’m going to stop consuming the news. Or just because I find a text (broadly defined) problematic or offensive, doesn’t necessarily mean I will stop reading it — but I certainly don’t have to like it or feel the need to praise it.
This. This so much. I watch this show because i like discussing it. I like dissecting it. I like being critical of it. I like how it makes me think about what i want and expect out of my writing. It makes me think about character and how important i think that is, it makes me think about how important it is to show not tell because it does that so badly. This show being written this bad has improved my writing. It has made me think about the tropes that i don’t want to fall into. It has made me think about the structure and build of my arcs.
We have good critical discussions about character and plot because of this show. This, in my opinion, is a good discussion even if we disagree vastly on how we view the show. The discussion is of value, disagreeing peaceably is of value, so i continue to watch this show, so that i can continue to be part of the discussion.