I spent a year or two through a dark phase and my outlook on life turned out, well... dark. This coincided with the very dark mid-2010s time era.
Now I'm getting back into comedy flicks, upbeat alternative/Eurodance music (mostly from the 90s) and I'm seeing the world through a fresh lens. And I'm lovin' it.
So why do pseudo-intellectuals frown down upon an upbeat culture?

Welcome to the club! That's what I've been doing since 2009 :D

I spent a year or two through a dark phase and my outlook on life turned out, well... dark. This coincided with the very dark mid-2010s time era.
Now I'm getting back into comedy flicks, upbeat alternative/Eurodance music (mostly from the 90s) and I'm seeing the world through a fresh lens. And I'm lovin' it.
So why do pseudo-intellectuals frown down upon an upbeat culture?


majority of 2010s it was cool to be dark and gritty,  ENOUGH Is ENOUGH

It's not a matter of 'happy', 'upbeat', or 'lighthearted'. It's not even a matter of 'edgy', 'dark', or 'cutting edge'.

To me, it's the way a TV show, movie, or book, is displayed. The energy that the product, imagery, and 'show', is like.

I feel like movie trailers show too much when they air, there's not much mystery when it shows.

They hate it because in this age of endless sensitivities, lighthearted, cheesy, bubble gummy media is considered either unhip or even ignorant, like it's subversively asking people to be in rude denial of all the problems of the world or something.

Look, I'm no stranger to depression, isolation, and social exclusion, but to be frank, all this cheesy silliness is exactly what I need to muster the optimism and peace of mind needed to bear through this aimless, apathetic, cutthroat era of popular culture. I never feel manipulated listening to my Y2K era teen/dance/bubblegum pop like Steps, Vanessa Amorosi, and S Club 7; if there's any song to put me in a more positive mood, it's definitely S Club 7's "Bring It All Back." I'm certainly not going to nourish my soul listening to Tegan & Sara's "Boyfriend," Demi Lovato's "Cool for the Summer," or whatever trash ends up on the OitNB soundtrack. Yeah, S Club 7 was incredibly studio-polished, written almost entirely by studio professionals and not the actual band members, and pretty much served as a precursor to High School Musical and Glee, but their stuff was also joyful, fantastical, colorful, and just all about wholesome positivity, not bitching and moaning about a world that I already know is crappy and broken.

They hate it because in this age of endless sensitivities, lighthearted, cheesy, bubble gummy media is considered either unhip or even ignorant, like it's subversively asking people to be in rude denial of all the problems of the world or something.

Look, I'm no stranger to depression, isolation, and social exclusion, but to be frank, all this cheesy silliness is exactly what I need to muster the optimism and peace of mind needed to bear through this aimless, apathetic, cutthroat era of popular culture. I never feel manipulated listening to my Y2K era teen/dance/bubblegum pop like Steps, Vanessa Amorosi, and S Club 7; if there's any song to put me in a more positive mood, it's definitely S Club 7's "Bring It All Back." I'm certainly not going to nourish my soul listening to Tegan & Sara's "Boyfriend," Demi Lovato's "Cool for the Summer," or whatever trash ends up on the OitNB soundtrack. Yeah, S Club 7 was incredibly studio-polished, written almost entirely by studio professionals and not the actual band members, and pretty much served as a precursor to High School Musical and Glee, but their stuff was also joyful, fantastical, colorful, and just all about wholesome positivity, not bitching and moaning about a world that I already know is crappy and broken.

I vaguely remember the TV show S Club 7 when I was in my teens and you know, it wasn't bad. The little I saw of it at odd times. Cheesy maybe, but then again it was a show aimed at preteens and teens, so yeah. I used to love comedy back then the most. That's what I found upbeat, anything that made me laugh.

With what the media shoves in our faces every day nobody could be in denial now about the world, but why should we have to think about it all the time and upset ourselves?

It can get annoying real quick. I feel like I can survive an upbeat time for only a bit before it gets annoying but a more hippy, raw, down to earth, raw time I can handle for a longer period of time and I prefer a lot more. It doesn't feel as fake and feels more authentic. Now I don't prefer really dark doom and gloom, that's really depressing, but I prefer a more introspective and serious time, and this aligns with my personality pretty well. But balance is important of course. Some fun cheesy stuff combined with more serious stuff would be perfect.

I vaguely remember the TV show S Club 7 when I was in my teens and you know, it wasn't bad. The little I saw of it at odd times. Cheesy maybe, but then again it was a show aimed at preteens and teens, so yeah. I used to love comedy back then the most. That's what I found upbeat, anything that made me laugh.

Technically speaking, the show is not well-written and is full of corny jokes and bizarre writing choices, but there's something fascinatingly charming to me about a television show focusing on a British pop band trying to become famous in the United States and then coming across all sorts of weird adventures. When you're as accepting of their music as I am, it's almost like a fan fiction brought to life. There was even more than one instance of les yaying between Rachel and Hannah, which somebody on an S Club 7 fan site recently compiled with a set of .gif's. The whole series, plus its made-for-tv movies, don't take themselves seriously at all, but they certainly encapsulate the type of lighthearted wackiness not present in media today. It's a complete an utter contrast to Orange Is the New Black, which has great writing but is thoroughly unpleasant for me to watch due to its dour tone, claustrophobic environment, abrasive characters, and lack of fun.

It can get annoying real quick. I feel like I can survive an upbeat time for only a bit before it gets annoying but a more hippy, raw, down to earth, raw time I can handle for a longer period of time and I prefer a lot more. It doesn't feel as fake and feels more authentic. Now I don't prefer really dark doom and gloom, that's really depressing, but I prefer a more introspective and serious time, and this aligns with my personality pretty well. But balance is important of course. Some fun cheesy stuff combined with more serious stuff would be perfect.


That's how I feel as well and it's partly the reason why I like/identify with Grunge as much as I do. Whilst we currently may not be living in an upbeat time, the current pop culture is too inauthentic for my liking and it has been for quite some time, in my opinion. The 90s were the perfect mix between cheesy, upbeat pop-culture and raw/authentic pop-culture.

Thinking about it a lot lately, I don't mind dark and gritty if it's sincere, and sincerity is what I feel is missing in culture today. In fact a lot of my favorite TV, movies, video games etc. are on the serious and introspective side. Yet I also like ironically detached goofiness and cheesiness, so a variety would be nice.

I don't think there was ever a time period that was ever only upbeat/light hearted.  ??? Last era that was somewhat upbeat was the early 2010s, but even that had its fair share of more pessimistic/cynical views. There is nothing wrong with being upbeat, but i'd happily take upbeat culture over all the dark tone that we have today as it's just too the point where it's overly dark for the sake of just not being upbeat and "silly looking" at this point.

People in this world need to lighten up.

I don't think there was ever a time period that was ever only upbeat/light hearted.  ??? Last era that was somewhat upbeat was the early 2010s, but even that had its fair share of more pessimistic/cynical views. There is nothing wrong with being upbeat, but i'd happily take upbeat culture over all the dark tone that we have today as it's just too the point where it's overly dark for the sake of just not being upbeat and "silly looking" at this point.

People in this world need to lighten up.


I think "soulless" is the perfect term to describe just about everything about popular culture today. Nothing has any humor, cynicism runs amuck, everyday folk are twisted and deceitful 2 faced people, and a great deal of entertainment is dull as rocks.

I think "soulless" is the perfect term to describe just about everything about popular culture today. Nothing has any humor, cynicism runs amuck, everyday folk are twisted and deceitful 2 faced people, and a great deal of entertainment is dull as rocks.


Soulless, dull, and cynical are things I'd also use to describe today's culture.  Now I don't exactly want a overly upbeat time period that ignores the serious topics and aspects within this world, but in the end I just want people a somewhat more silly/cheerful time. Right now I'm putting my bets on  economic expansion. I've noticed that a ton of upbeat periods tend to have noticeable economic growth. The 1920s, 1960s, 1980s, and 1990s to name a few examples. Lot of articles I'm reading make predictions of the 2020s being good economically as the slow yet consistent growth means that the a potential economic decline/bust may not happen as fast and as of now the we're in the 3rd longest economical growth period. From the end of 2009 to today we've past 95 months in economical growth only being beaten by the 1960s and 1990s (both at 106 and 120 months).

Now an pop culture revolves on more than just economic status, but the health of the economy is one of the big factors. Another thing is just trend. I somewhat feel that the current cynical vibe is part of some trend that's going on. For example if there is a more upbeat song or light hearted TV series it may not perform as well as the more trendier darker shows. If the 2020s is a reaction towards the 2010s the darker tone may be countered by a more lighter tone in the '20s. All just my own predictions/speculations with nothing to base my ideas on other than analyzing previous decades. In the end who really knows?

I think "soulless" is the perfect term to describe just about everything about popular culture today. Nothing has any hunor, cynicism runs amuck, everyday folk are twisted and deceitful 2 faced people, and a great deal of entertainment is dull as rocks.


The deceitfulness of everyday people makes me feel sometimes like I'm living in a twisted Kafka story.

I spent a year or two through a dark phase and my outlook on life turned out, well... dark. This coincided with the very dark mid-2010s time era.
Now I'm getting back into comedy flicks, upbeat alternative/Eurodance music (mostly from the 90s) and I'm seeing the world through a fresh lens. And I'm lovin' it.
So why do pseudo-intellectuals frown down upon an upbeat culture?


Honestly, I don't care if it's dark. I like dark stuff myself, especially where I felt that way since I was 12.

Hipsters and their forced cynical grit. Yuck! I'm sorry hipsters but social media obsessions, shiny new tech and instagram narcissism =/= gritty, authentic realism.

2010-2015 music was pretty upbeat. 2016 was mixed. I haven't kept up with music this year.

In my opinion, it's because of this: being upbeat and light-hearted means that you're willing to conform to societal norms, even if these societal norms are horribly outdated and/or will otherwise not benefit you at all because it's oppressive. Aside from that, just as it is healthy to have some pessimism, it's generally more healthier to stay positive. I believe that the socially conservative norms that America have had are, or were suppressing the social minorities especially in comparison with the rest of the world when the US declassified homosexuality as a mental illness as late as around 2002 iirc while the rest of the world had that done so during the second half of the 20th century.


Cynicism makes you have a more realistic view of the world, or at least it makes you less likely to take risks or act on impulses that will ruin you because of how volatile its consequences are, just like how the 2008-2009 financial crisis happened; however, even then, you'd probably just get hooked on smoking and/or alcohol to get away from the situation.