Guilty Pleasures

Q: Do you think there's any value in defining something as a guilty pleasure? If so, what's your comic guilty pleasure? — @ykwilpodcast A: On the one hand, no, I don't. The concept of a "guilty pleasure" has always struck me as a weird way to shield yourself from the knowledge that you like something that's not very good, and that's reductive to both your own tastes and the media that you're consuming. There's very little media in this world that's completely without value, and even when I can judge something to be completely and utterly worthless, that judgment comes from a context and a set of experiences and comparisons that are completely unique to me. Dismissing it as a guilty pleasure isn't just disingenuous, it ignores the idea that art can resonate with you despite its failing. On the other hand, well, it's been 20 years and I still kinda love Gen 13.