I like a lot of things that people my age are "supposed" to grow out of, at least according to the killjoys of the world.
Disney movies and superheroes are meant for children. Video games are mindless wastes of time used by antisocial teenagers. The Harry Potter books are aimed at pre-teens. And, the biggest one, My Little Pony can only be enjoyed by four-year-old girls. All of that is, obviously, codswallop.
Some people seem to think that a form of entertainment being suitable or appropriate for children means that anyone who's older shouldn't or can't like it. I'm not sure why adults are expected to exclusively watch/read things that have profanity, gratuitous violence, a historical setting, or other things that make them unappealing to a younger audience. Sorry, but being a grown-up doesn't mean I've automatically stopped liking fun things and only want to watch Civil War documentaries. And if adults aren't supposed to be able to enjoy cartoons and silliness, why must parents suffer through so much torture to entertain their kids? (Some kiddie shows are genuinely awful to sit through, though. Looking at you, Caillou.)
Maybe it's just a Mormon (Latter-day Saint) thing, but I know a lot of people who love Disney movies. They're wholesome, promote good values, have fun music, and the animated ones are really pretty to look at. Why shouldn't a grown-up watch Moana or The Incredibles? The Incredicoaster is arguably the second most intense ride in Disneyland and California Adventure, with the Guardians of the Galaxy elevator of horror being the most intense. Clearly, Disney thinks that these movies are things adults should be able to like.
I genuinely don't understand people who think superheroes are just for little kids. Yeah, a lot of kids love Spider-Man and Batman, but it's not like the recent hero movies have been aimed at the kinds of humans who still get scared by the monster in their closet. The DC movies are pretty intense, and six-year-old me would not have been happy to watch any of those. Even Marvel movies have their scary parts. There was a little girl (maybe eight or so?) next to me in the theater when I saw Spider-Man: Homecoming who was obviously bored for most of the movie and seemed freaked out during the parts with the Vulture.
Jared and I went to see the Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. exhibit in Las Vegas in September. There's no way the average child would have the patience or desire to go through it as slowly as we did to read all the information. There were interactive parts that kids would've enjoyed, but I would've been pretty upset if I'd paid for my child to go through there only to have them glance at the informational screens, say the costumes looked cool, and then ask if we could leave and get McDonald's. The merchandise store had a handful of kid-sized shirts and a whole lot of shirts that would've fit Jared or me. All ages can appreciate superheroes!
Video games are assigned ratings to give parents a general idea of how old their child should be before playing it. Nowhere on any video game have I ever seen a maximum age. If anything, video games are easier to enjoy as an adult thanks to increased patience and puzzle-solving abilities.
A lot of games from the past are getting remastered or ported or otherwise becoming playable again. The teenagers willing to look past older graphics can enjoy those games, but the main audience for those are the adults who played those old games when they were younger. When it was announced that Final Fantasy IX was going to be released on the Switch, I was so happy that my face legitimately got uncomfortable from excessive smiling. I played that game as a kid, played it in college using an emulator, bought it on Steam (and my phone) when it got remastered, and will probably end up getting it again on the Switch next year.
The local Walmart has a decent selection of onesies at the moment for people who want to have a Halloween costume but also want to wear pajamas that day. I found a Pikachu onesie (in the boys' section) that fits me and, while I have no plans to wear it in public, I love that thing. If officially licensed Pokemon onesies can fit an adult woman, adult women are allowed to enjoy Pokemon. I don't make the rules.
My parents bought the first two Harry Potter books for me for Christmas when I was five years old. My mom read them out loud to me at night. I grew up loving Harry Potter and still love it as a 24-year-old adult.
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| This was taken in 2002, I think. A bookstore in the general vicinity of my house had some kind of "Read a book with Curious George" event. While we were waiting for the guy in the George costume, I wanted to take a picture next to the Harry Potter cutout. |
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| 2017 me in the Hermione costume my mom made when I was in high school. |
And now, the unicorn in the room. My Little Pony might be aimed at keeping young kids entertained, but it's also incredibly fun for adults to watch. There are tons of clever (but not gross) jokes and references written into the show that kids can't appreciate. Their advertisements have parodied things like the iPhone, the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Game of Thrones. The episodes themselves have very obvious allusions to shows and movies that came out before I was born, so there's no way they were included for the sake of toddlers.
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| This is a list of references made in one of the episodes from season seven. I don't think there are many little kids who have seen Say Anything or Flashdance. |
The old movies were dull and only existed to sell toys, but the TV show has characters with personality traits and hobbies beyond tea parties and brushing their manes. There are villains and problems and good friendship lessons that anyone can benefit from.
Adults can absolutely appreciate things that aren't necessarily targeted at them. Doing so doesn't make them immature. Don't get me wrong, I still watch a lot of crime shows and read murder mysteries. I'm just saying that I can love both Criminal Minds and My Little Pony. I have the six-hour Pride and Prejudice in my movie collection as well as Tangled. My age doesn't define what content I do or do not enjoy.
There's a difference between being childish and childlike. Personally, I think most of the grown-ups in the world could use a little more wholesome entertainment in their lives.
Love,
Lizzie
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