I was into polls before they were cool . . .

[albionmoonlight]

So, I was into A Christmas Story when it was still underground. I saw it as a kid, and have loved it ever since. It was "my" movie. My quirky Christmas movie that most people had not heard of or knew about but did not realize how awesome it was.

Now, of course, it is the Christmas movie. Stations still refer to it as a "cult classic" as they show it 837 times between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but when the cult includes my Grandma making "shoot your eye out" jokes, I think that we can safely assume that the movie has reached the mainstream.

And this kind of bums me out. That was my movie. I didn't want to share. And I find that kind of strange because normally I dislike when someone is all like "I was into that band when they were just playing in dive bars and selling CDs out of the trunk of their car. Now that they are popular, I hate them and I hate all the pseudo-fans who just like them because they are popular." I mean, I really dislike people like that. Like you are better than me because you happened to find out about something first? And you begrudge a band that you enjoy finding some success just because it means you have to be like other people? You would rather they continue to struggle? That's stupid.

And, apparently, I am stupid because that is how I feel about A Christmas Story.

Anyway, seems like a decent enough poll for a Wednesday.

[Spider-Man]

I liked A Christmas Story before you did.

Wanker.

[Mustang]

I like what I like and pretty much don't pay attention to if it is mainstream or not. I want it to be at least popular enough so that whatever it is, they keep doing it.

I think most people are just into obscure entertainment just because it gives them some feeling to act special and it is the 'in' thing to do to disdain mainstream entertainment.

"you've NEVER heard of the Atomic Gargling Nut Honey Trio?" *eye roll* "Oh, let me guess, you listen to Nickleback right?"

[Big Fo]

I want the shows/bands/games I like to do well enough commercially so there'll be new seasons/albums/sequels. Even if it does feel kind of cool to be able to say "I liked _____ before he/she/they/it was big" it doesn't bother me to see whatever it is become more mainstream.

*pours one out for Arrested Development*

[Subby]

I try and stay away from stuff either Kurt Loder or NoMyths recommends. That puts me firmly in the mainstream.

[NoMyths]

I try and stay away from stuff either Kurt Loder or NoMyths recommends. That puts me firmly in the mainstream.

Come on...don't you remember how much you loved finding out about the Atomic Gargling Nut Honey Trio?

[MrDNA]

*pours one out for Arrested Development*

Sigh.

[Lathum]

I fall somewhere between 2 and 3. I want the bands I like to make money and do well, but I also want to be able to continue seeing them in smaller venues.

[GrantDawg]

Sigh.


Yall are going to make me pull out my dvd's again. :(

[cuervo72]

I need to convince Ryan to create a thread "I was into Poles before they were cool..."

[fantom1979]

I feel that way about The Daily Show. I watched it from the beginning (with Craig Kilborn) and now I hear people talk about it all the time.

[kcchief19]

I don't know how to classify A Christmas Story. It's not a Rocky Horror Picture Show that is a horrible movie with an oddly devoted and disproportionate fan base. It's not a Shawshank Redemption that was critically acclaimed but no one saw until it aired on a cable a few million times. The girls living across the street from me turned me onto A Christmas Story in 1985 and 1986 because they thought it was the greatest movie of all time. When I was in college in the early '90s, we all loved the movie and would watch it at Christmastime. But at the same time, it wasn't something you admitted -- it was a guilty pleasure.

I think we're all wired a bit differently about how we feel about the things we like being mainstream or not. Some people want the idividuality of feeling they like something no one else does, while others seek out the validation of liking things other people like.

I'll admit that I get a bit of a thrill when something or someone I like breaks out and other people appreciate it. I watched David Letterman going back to The Morning Show days in 1980 and when he went to CBS and set ratings records in late night, I took almost as much joy it as if he were a friend of mine.