Unpopular, But I Said What I Said

Everyone has an opinion about something. If you don’t believe me… hop over to Facebook or TikTok and you’ll see that firsthand while picking up a little trauma along the way.
As someone who loves reading and cinema, I have my fair share of opinions on both. And due to a DELIGHTFUL migraine, I’m keeping things shorter and more playful this week. So today, I’m sharing a few of my “unpopular” book and movie opinions.
Disclaimer… no feelings were hurt in the making of this blog post.

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HOT BOOK TAKES

 HATE the book 1984.
I understand that it’s wildly relevant to the world we live in, but oh my gosh. I hated reading it in high school. I am permanently traumatized by the ancient prostitute the main character goes to visit. And the worst part? I reference this book almost every year in my welcome-back-to-school staff introduction, calling myself “Big Brother.” The irony is not lost on me.

​Romantasy is overhyped… AND unfairly dismissed. Let me explain.
I LOVE romantasy. It’s dominating publishing sales and is one of the fastest-growing fiction categories right now. I’ve read some incredibly immersive series: Throne of Glass, A Court of Thorns and Roses, Fourth Wing, Quicksilver… the list goes on.
But from the “serious literature” crowd, I often get the sense that romantasy is dismissed as nothing more than fairy smut. And don’t get me wrong… yes. There is a lot of that.
Then you have cleaner, beautifully written series like Snow Like Ashes, An Ember in the Ashes, The Kiss of Deception, Once Upon a Broken Heart. Because of the mass flooding of fairy smut into the genre, these genuinely well-written romantasies get overlooked. That doesn’t make them any less great.
This is also what I mean by overhyped. When a genre explodes, not everything in it is excellent. Looking back at some of my initial reviews, for example Quicksilver, I didn’t love the writing style, the character arcs, or the development. It felt like the love child of several other popular series. Just because something is trending doesn’t automatically make it strong.

Which leads me to my next “unpopular opinion”…
Spicy content is overused.
Spice has become so common that it almost feels obligatory. And that’s where I struggle. When an author isn’t sure how to move a scene forward or add dimension to a relationship, spice starts to feel like filler instead of substance. I love Feyre and Rhysand, but there were times when I felt certain scenes pulled away from their development instead of strengthening it. A good story shouldn’t need that kind of patchwork.

​And this one gets me…
SHADOW DADDIES ARE COPY-PASTE.
I loved Rhysand, the original shadow daddy. Then I found Xaden, whom I also love, but who felt familiar. Then Kingfisher. Everywhere I turn in romantasy, there’s another brooding, morally gray, shadow-wielding male lead who feels like someone cloned Rhysand and tweaked a detail or two.
I think this ties into something bigger. Morally gray characters are wildly popular right now. Heroes who are upright, steady, and morally sound don’t get the same cultural love. That feels societal to me. But it’s okay to have a morally upright character. I wish we saw more of them.

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MOVIE & TV HOT TAKES

​I’ll start gently.
I HATE Pretty Woman.
I don’t find it romantic. I think it romanticizes a very toxic relationship. I love Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, but I much prefer them in Runaway Bride. In Pretty Woman, he doesn’t really grow so much as he adjusts just enough to keep her from walking away. That doesn’t feel like transformation to me. I would rather watch its predecessor, My Fair Lady, every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

​Another overrated movie? Titanic.
When I saw it as a kid, I was fascinated, but mostly by the historical event itself. As I got older and learned more about the actual tragedy, I realized the movie feels more sensationalized than necessary.
And as a completely separate and unnecessary side note… learning about Leonardo DiCaprio’s dating life did not exactly help the rewatch experience.
And I don’t care what you say. “Draw me like one of your French girls” was completely unnecessary. They just needed another wow factor.
Side side note. I do love Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet’s friendship over the decades. That part is elite.

​I know a number of people who love The Office, specifically the American version. Before I say this, I want to reestablish that I love you.
But I hate The Office.
I didn’t watch it when it originally aired. As an adult, I tried. I really tried. I just can’t get into it. I love dry humor, but I didn’t find most of the jokes funny. I think I struggle most with the shaky, hand-cam filming style. The documentary-style interviews have been done brilliantly elsewhere. But I think because I didn’t connect with the characters, the format didn’t add anything for me.

​At the end of the day, these opinions live in two fields that are deeply personal and subjective. Even the ones I feel strongly about aren’t hills I’m willing to die on.
But in a world constantly shouting about heavier “unpopular opinions,” I think it’s refreshing to disagree about books and movies instead.
Sometimes the lighter debates make for the best conversations.