I like difficult stories – whether that is for reading, TV shows, radio listening, or movies. Ones that make me have to think, figure out who is the bad person, or even better, the dilemmas when morals aren’t absolute, are well worth spending time reading or watching or listening. I feel as if I’m not wasting time in front of a screen. But lately, I’m becoming overwhelmed. That’s because everything I’m watching or reading seems to be about people abusing power, whether it is the police, teachers, doctors, or Mr Bates’ damn British Post Office. Throw in the occasional billionaire or alien. Last year’s Booker Prize Winner, Prophet Song, has the whole Irish government turning power mad. People falsely accused abound, and I feel for them deeply. That is one of my worst nightmares. (I think it stems from seeing something when I was a child about a woman thrown into an asylum, when she was sane, but no-one believed her!) Even without all the specific power abuse, there’s everyday sexism or racism that drives me crazy. I go to entertainment to take me away from the horrors of world politics, and then my entertainment becomes too much for me!
So I take refuge in exercise, in nature, in cooking for friends, in music, in projects, in travel planning. Or I put the “worthy” book aside for a while, and deliberately read something short and light and frivolous. If I’m watching something tough, I want to read something lighter, and vice versa. But sometimes I just need some comfort reading/watching too – something that makes me feel good, or cry (in a good way), or makes me laugh, or is just mindless entertainment that takes me away from stressful things. My comfort watches include reruns of Friends, Bridgerton, The Good Place, the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice from the 1990s, and The Extraordinary Attorney Woo. That and UK medical soaps, and Midsomer Murders (which is on permanent repeat on our cable TV)! I need to find some new ones though. Comfort reads include Terry Pratchett, some sci-fi or fantasy series, Outlander, or just lighter or interesting reads that aren’t about power or horrible people. I’m currently listening to Hannah Gadsby read Ten Steps to Nanette on audiobook. She’s confronting at times, talking about the realities of life in small town Tasmania, but she’s wonderful too.
I still enjoy these difficult works of art/forms of entertainment. I like things that make me think. But right now I need a break. Do you find this too? And what are your escapes?