Petrana Radulovic: Stop Apologizing for Enjoying Romantic Comedies

Across social media, many people are saying they liked the movie, then quickly clarifying that they know it’s dumb, silly, and not serious fare. And some critics have praised the movie while also trying to defend their fondness, saying they know Red, White & Royal Blue is “not a masterpiece,” or that liking it is “an embarrassing thing to admit.”

I fully endorse this line of thinking. I’m not a fan of people feeling like they need to hedge their enjoyment of art as “guilty pleasures” or saying things like, “I know it’s a bad movie, but I liked…”

No! If you enjoyed something, then it was good!

There’s this idea out there that there is some sort of objective measure of art that is “good” and “bad” but that’s not the case at all. Sure, award shows like The Oscars tend to recognize a certain type of film, but that’s not some sort of objective measurement. If a movie made you happy, made you think, or simply helped you escape reality and took you somewhere else you enjoyed, then be loud and proud about liking it!