Please pay attention to media

Have you ever cried watching a movie? Have you ever felt emotions you never thought you’d have, triggered simply by fictional characters on your screen? Well, I sure have.

Media is a powerful form of art. Whether it is an anime, a movie, or a game, all of them can give us unbelievable experiences. A great piece of media will send you into a spiral of thoughts for days about its themes and how they connect with you on a deep, personal level.

But some media is not about artistic vision; it’s about profit margins. I call this “slop media” - content produced with the lowest common denominator in mind, just to be watchable for anyone. These works barely have themes, artistic vision, or emotions to offer the viewer. They are simply slop fed to us so our minds can stay occupied for a while, letting us avoid thinking about our own problems.

This phenomenon has existed for a good while now, and it isn’t going away. But recently, I’ve been seeing a new problem related to it that annoys me even more: people approaching art with this “brainrot” mentality.

The best example that comes to mind is the anime Sousou no Frieren. There is no problem with you disliking the anime for any reason, but I’ve had people talk to me about it who were genuinely surprised that the theme of “the passage of time” was in it. Like, did we watch the same show?

Frieren’s BIGGEST theme is the passage of time and the connection between people. It is about valuing our time with others. It’s about how time can slip through our fingers and pass at an unbelievable speed. And this is just one of the many themes Frieren explores. Failing to see them not only means you aren’t paying attention to what you watch, but also that you are losing one of the best parts of the story.

Powerful media like Frieren is powerful not only because of amazing visuals, interesting characters, and good story arcs, but also because of those emotions and how they connect to us on a personal level. Those connections are the ones that remain long after you finish a story. These emotions make us experience art on so many different levels, and they are one of the most fun parts of discussing these works.

So, the next time you watch something, PAY MORE ATTENTION. Do it not only out of respect for the artists involved, but out of respect for your own time and experience. Burn it into your eyes, because once everything is gone, your experiences and emotions are the only things that will remain. As Frieren taught me, time is finite for us humans, so we should value it accordingly.

See ya,

Konan