Noticed that I am extremely tuned out of media discussions bc of Maoism-Autism 
, but that sometimes I need to engage products, because I can't be picky about the battlefields. Vidya was a maladaptive coping mechanism for [fun and exciting] childhood 
for me, so I view old stuff with a distorted perspective and new stuff, I neither have the money nor the time for anything RPG or timesink wise. Same for anime, shows, movies and other stuff.
Now I don't want to be left out of these convos (Read: Struggle sessions about the cultural meaning of thing X or Y) entirely but is there any way to get back up on what a cultural product was about, preferably in-depth and critically?
Why do you want to have vapid meaningless conversations about media you have no interest in? Talk with people about stuff you do have interest in. Going through the motions won't be as satisfying as you think.
Tell the person who wants to talk about it that you're not very familiar but it sounds interesting, would they explain? In my experience people love to go off about the piece of media on their mind, so just let them, listen, ask prompting questions. They will love it.
Would be a good idea, but I am a) a raging prideful asshole and more seriously, b) fans generally don't have the best understanding of their own stuff like try discussing why anime x is badwrong with a fan of anime x
fans generally don't have the best understanding of their own stuff
That's ok, your goal is to participate in conversation, not do media criticism.
I think I phrased it wrong. Sorry about that. I meant more for stuff like "making clear why things like Goblinslayer are not just A R T, but actual nazi propaganda-level drivel" without spending hours and braincells on these things than necessary, maybe for less arcane things, like Song of Ice and Fire as an example instead of sleazy weebshit
Ok, well if you do want to do media criticism, then you need to engage with the media directly. But you're just likely to annoy people by doing shit like that in casual conversation. When a group is chatting about a show they like and you butt in with "that show is Nazi propaganda", you will not be well received 95% of the time. The 5% is settings where a media critical lens is expected and appreciated, and there you either need to know your shit or be willing to be a good, active listener
I see. Most people around me have taken the grillpill about entertainment. I tried exposing myself to stuff I found was silly and wrong but it is a lot of effort, especially as a side hustle so I hoped somebody else did that for things already. And I of course know how to do struggle sessions without being too mean. Like I personally think people prefer when I say my honest opinion instead of keeping silent. I will not say "you are a nazi fo watching this", but I want to change people's minds and patiently waiting for me to land a position where I can do this perfectly is worse than telling them what I think (without being an ass)
If you think you can walk that line, go for it. As a fellow neorudivergent person who often gets too focused on being right, I've had to very consciously learn that I'm usually better off not starting shit on this front, because it's not actually being received the way I feel it should. I do make my opinions known - I'm an extremely vocal communist - but I don't press it in conversations where it isn't warranted. Part of bonding with people is putting up with their annoying interests that you find pointless, droll, or brainrot. My wife loves complete garbage reality TV. She knows I don't like it and think it's literally bad for her brain, but I don't go off every time it's on.
I am in a place where I could pick some friends who are understanding. They get the emotional effort. I generally feel most people who are not ND or trans will just hate my ass anyway, so I don't owe them more than not being mean. I guess I do have to pick things apart one by one. I just was looking for some ressources of angry culture nerds who already transcriped and organized every single line of Fallout 4 dialogue or something I guess, lol
just was looking for some ressources of angry culture nerds
I sensed a kindred spirit and thought an argument might be more productive than answering your question, unlike with normals
I am in angry space ngl. Not bc of you, more got reminded that people hated my guts and will continue to do so and it's on me to fix my issues
I've been there and it was the advice I'm giving you here (among other things) that helped me do just that. But you still have a right to your anger; just be healthy with it.
yeah, yeah. I think it boiled to some conviction that society will not accept me and adapting to them is rewarding them for their bullying, so I always prefered being able to humiliate and hurt opponents in arguments. Something this site is no stranger to.
Even most NT people are constantly twisting themselves into knots to be the person society expects them too, though their pretzel isn't as knotted. A little bit of that is healthy, really - prosocial behavior it's fundamentally about compromise. But it's easy, especially for ND people, to get way too twisted
I am not completely rejecting social stuff, but I do it on my terms. none of their cruel little social games anymore where it ends up in bullying somebody.
I hate that. To repudiate some shitty media you often have to actually expose yourself to that shitty media. : p
same goes for people disliking things. I would want to have more of something that has the plot points of the product nailed down, summarizes the characters, etc
It's basically Wikipedia for a summary, trailers/let's play to get a sense of the visual and audio aesthetics, and video essays/fandom communities for analysis. Most videogames and movies are so formulaic that you'll more or less get the gist of the game/movie without having to waste time with that shit.
For Goblin Slayer, it was basically:
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Read the Wikipedia article Damn, this sounds kinda fashy. Let's watch the first episode that all the weebs are creaming themselves over.
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Watches the first 10 minutes of the first episode Jesus Christ, this is the most fascist shit I've ever seen that's not open propaganda for some fascist party. Goddamn.
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Scans the various Breadtube videos about how Goblin Slayer is fascist propaganda Well, I guess the anime series continues to be fascist and it's weebs being reactionary shitheads again.
Unless you're an art critic, so basically a Breadtuber, you don't need to watch shit art to say that the art is indeed shit lol. And there are ways to shit on pop culture without coming off as some crank. The trick is to find hobbies that don't tap into pop culture (gardening, exercising, woodcarving, playing around with ham radios, and so on) and frame your criticism as "I would rather tend my garden than play this shitty game/watch this shitty movie."
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