Extra Pulp OJ: December 2016

Extra Pulp OJ turns one year old this month, which is very convenient. I could not for the life of me think of a title for this piece, which includes a variety of ideas that hopefully form a coherent thought.

Also, we're going with Futurama pictures, apparently.
Season 2, Episode 5: I Second That Emotion

For Starters

I think it's really unfortunate how difficult it is to find people who share your tastes. Typically, the more appealing conversations to have are ones over mutual interests, but again, there's only so many things that two people can share opinions on, it seems.

I had a question brought to me around a month ago about what it is exactly that I look for in friendships, and like any new, insightful question I'm presented with, I proceeded to overthink it. Initially, I think we all agree that we look for mutual interests, because again, friendships start with a conversation.

I promise I made this point
before I picked out the picture,
but Futurama is infinitely relatable.
Season 2, Episode 7: A Head in the Polls

Now, I say "mutual interests," but I mean that in a way that encompasses shared distaste as well. For example, between two otherwise identical people, you may find yourself gravitating more toward the one who shares your desire to avoid political banter.
In reality, I think it all comes down to our desire to be validated -- that surrounding ourselves with people who share our hobbies and worldviews is comforting and an escape from hostility, so of course that's what we'd pursue. The more I look at that, however, the less it correlates with the people with which I end up associating.

The answer I eventually came up with was along the lines of my friendships being the product of circumstance. In school, I was friends with people I took classes with, and very few of those classes were interest-driven electives. After graduating, I enjoyed the company of coworkers, and then friends of friends after people branched out. As I've intertwined myself in online communities, so have my closest friendships similarly migrated.
From here, my train of thought detoured to a similar question I was asked in college by an old high school friend:

"Do you think if we met for the first time now that we would end up as good of friends as we currently are?"

I think when I was asked that question, my friend who asked already knew the answer, and perhaps she was looking for a pleasant lie -- one that I've never been able to stomach telling. So instead, I decided to work through it with her.

I'm glad my mind went on this tangent.

My answer was a pretty obvious "no" -- we were two surprisingly different people. But I forced what I think is an interesting dialogue from this; we talked about whether or not that even mattered, and why we became friends in the first place. Would the fact that we probably wouldn't be friends now invalidate our friendship moving forward? Do we still get along like we did when we first met?
I think I was really fortunate to have had this conversation before, and to now be revisiting it. The thing is, mutual interests and hobbies are just one (or two) factor(s) of a relationship. Again, I found our friendship to be almost entirely a product of chaotic circumstance, but there was real substance despite it. We had assurance that we could rely on each other, and even when it became obvious that we were far from identical, we enjoyed each other's company regardless.

I think friendships and relationships in general are kind of nonsensical. I realize now that there were a lot of things I was passionate about -- the Final Fantasy series and music theory for example -- that she had no desire to learn about. The same could be said vice-versa. Among the conversations and moments we shared where we were both particularly interested, there were just as many moments of one person just coming along for the ride. In fact, I remember her sitting through a thematic video-review of Final Fantasy X with me, and then us trying out a workout video (I hate working out) in the same day --

A convenient crossover, Futurama x Final Fantasy X

What I'm getting at is something really similar to what I've said here in the past: I don't think it necessarily matters whether or not you can validate something with technical merit. The fact that it means something to you at all is reason enough. Of course, personal relationships are much more intricate than things I've talked about with this point in the past, but I think it's a point that's no less valid.

Anyway, in the words of Digibro, "I hope that's interesting."

Why That's a Problem

You know how sometimes I make an incredibly obvious point and call it insight? That might be what happens here.
The problem is obvious; we get frustrated when we want to talk about something specific with someone specific but they aren't interested. Even worse*, when they simply assume that they won't like the topic.
*I'm going to contradict myself in a little bit.

Except for me, apparently.

Again, just because we're friends with someone doesn't mean that we enjoy the same things. Unfortunately, this reigns true when you get down to specifics, as well. In my case: big surprise! I'm talking about anime.
A sort of running joke I have with myself is that I have terrible taste in anime. Obviously, I don't believe that, but there are an impressive number of instances where I don't like a show that seemingly every other respectable person agrees is great -- even objectively. It leaves me scratching my head sometimes and wishing I could change a set of opinions so that I could like what everyone else does.

I was able to have a conversation with a friend the other day, and I mentioned to him that I was probably going to start seeing a bunch of RWBY (pronounced "ruby") stuff everywhere again soon, and that it'd already started on a Discord server I'm a part of. We joked about it for a minute, and he said "...but really, I think you should give RWBY a chance."

Let me say this now: I'll probably never watch RWBY or even "give it a chance." You're allowed to think I'm being closed minded, but I'm also allowed to understand -- even without seeing it -- that I'm not interested.

I'll Justifiably Probably Never Watch RWBY

I think a lot of people take this personally, and though I understand why you feel that way, you shouldn't. I understand that there's a degree of vulnerability you allow when you offer a suggestion of anything in entertainment -- mostly fear of being invalidated or ignored -- and it seems like I'm disregarding that vulnerability by shutting down the recommendation, but it honestly has nothing to do with the person who offers it. In this specific instance, I think it's important to understand why I know I won't enjoy RWBY (and to what extent) because I believe it's something different from what people imagine.

Reason 1
If we go way back to when I first watched anime purposefully, roughly around middle school, you would note that I didn't enjoy anime hardly at all. Much like my sentiment above, I really felt as if I was unable to enjoy these shows because I simply didn't understand what made them good, and it was my ignorance that was to blame for my lack of enjoyment. This is another point I've talked about before; it wasn't anything more than my failure to recognize what I liked. During this period of my life, I watched a lot of series and played a lot of games that according to my logic at the time, I should have loved. Instead what I got was a bunch of experiences that reaffirmed that I didn't like this medium, and I was going to keep experiencing that until I recognized the real culprit (which didn't happen for years). This relates to RWBY in a unique way, and is tied to a seemingly separate criticism the show tends to receive.

Futurama, mimicking (parodying) the same style.
Season 6, Episode 26: Reincarnation

One of the more polarizing aspects of RWBY is its animation. Though it mimics a traditional Japanese anime style, it's considered by most to not be anime. This perception and classification is tied to animation methods it uses and its place of origin among other factors that I won't be getting into. Despite that, it is in fact mimicking that style.
It's important to note that the decision to do was not one made based on personal preference; the creators chose that art direction for a purpose. Again, the types of anime that used that style AND found popularity outside of Japan -- specifically in predominantly English-speaking countries, and where RWBY is created -- are the same shows I spent my early years with anime watching. It's a style that:

Had already proven its effectiveness executing specific elements to a specific demographic.
Could communicate very strongly who its intended audience is, and what type of show it is thematically.

To clarify, it's probably justifiable to say that it's wrong to judge RWBY's art and animation style if you haven't properly experienced it, which is the defense I'm usually met with. However, I can't disregard what I've already inferred from that art style, and that's not the same information that most people assume it is.

Reason 2

This one's simpler to explain. Rooster Teeth [1] is the production company behind RWBY, and I'm very aware of who they are.
What's important to understand is the reason we continue to come back to companies we've grown fond of. For example, I continue to support and obsess over SquareEnix because they've proven throughout my life that they produce services and products that I thoroughly enjoy. Their stories, mechanics, presentation -- All of the things that make up the media I consume from them create an observable personality. Rooster Teeth has its own personality, and I'm very aware of what it is, too.

When I was younger, I watched -- and loved -- Red vs. Blue. That unfortunately is the exception rather than the rule. I've seen any number of different Rooster Teeth productions, from The Patch to Achievement Hunter to The Slow Mo Guys, and yet the only thing that I can honestly say has a place in my media-consuming life is The Know. Even that isn't necessarily something I enjoy, however; it's comes a lot from my own personal habit to overcome bias by not get my news from a singular source. And though each of these different projects involve different people, they find their personalities compliment the identity of Rooster Teeth; they are compatible with this personality.
I am not compatible with this personality. I don't find most of Rooster Teeth's comedy funny, and I don't think its products are particularly interesting. Based on the reception from people I know who do enjoy Rooster Teeth's productions along with those who don't coupled with my understanding that I don't like Rooster Teeth, I can tell you without any further knowledge of what the show is that I won't like it.

Disclaimer: Morbo the Annihilator of Entertainment and Earth Invasion Tonite
should not be your sole source of news. RIP Jim, Channel √2 News
Season 6, Episode 4: Proposition Infinity

If I'm being completely honest, I am almost positive that there would be moments in RWBY I would really like and genuinely find praise-worthy, but again, I know me, and I know that those moments will be the exception, and won't justify the experience. I've had this with plenty of shows, like One Punch Man and Konosuba. There are moments in both series that I really liked, but the experience overall was generally lackluster, and it felt like a waste of time. In the end, I wish I would have listened to myself instead of the deafening screams of praise the shows were getting.

A Conclusion of Sorts

I honestly don't know if I can properly sum this piece up, because it's a little difficult to see how these two points are particularly related if you don't see it initially.

This is something that we all have to experience in our lives. The relationships we build seem to be so randomly produced, so when one of these people in our lives is coincidentally someone we have a lot in common with, we hold them in a special light. These concepts we subconsciously create of best friends and groups of friends is so against this lack of causality that our relationships are born from that when they inevitably show their imperfection, we're left scratching our heads, wondering why this person (or possibly ourselves) is randomly different. When we let emotions run with even these types of should-be-insignificant feelings of unease, we blow things out of proportion.

Yeah, it's a bummer when people can't relate to your sentiment -- when people don't share your passion, but it's important to not let that affect what you already know. This person who doesn't agree with you in an instance is not less of your friend. In fact, I would argue they are more-so because they enjoy you in spite of that difference.
So please don't take it personally when I say don't want to watch RWBY, just enjoy this OJ with me.

What do you mean you don't like pulp? We're through!

Extra Pulp OJ

Thursday, December 8, 2016

The (Untitled) One Year Anniversary Piece