how I feel about children's programs

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fanart by Chibiterasu-chan (source)

Occasionally the people close to me get a little bit irritated with my tv-watching habits. To be completely honest, I tend to prefer reading to watching movies or tv series, but that doesn't mean I don't still spend time watching things! In fact, the thing that people get irritated with is that I will tend to become completely addicted to a particular show and, regardless of how many times I've watched, will continue to put it on to watch (or even just to have on in the background while I do something else).

Something else I should explain about my watching habits.... I don't tend to watch things with lots of violence, gore, or loud noises (except for when a new superhero movie like Iron Man 3 comes out ^_~). The reason for this is fairly simple, but it's something a lot of people don't tend to understand.

Basically, because my health issues are strongly affected by stress and my adrenal system, and also because I tend to be highly sensitive, I avoid watching (or reading) things that make me feel stressed and anxious. This means that, yes, I miss out on a lot of impressive movies and books, but I'm okay with that. And yes, sometimes people don't understand this because they believe it amounts to a naive or limited worldview. That may be so, but I'm okay with that. I learn about the world through other avenues, and I enjoy everything that I consume - be it tv based or book based.

Anyway! Now that that's out of the way, onto the subject at hand: children's shows! I have quite a few favourites, most of them anime or cartoons. An obvious favourite is above: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Another absolute favourite is Cardcaptor Sakura. What others, you ask? Why, Ben 10, Yu-Gi-Oh, Zoo Mix, and Octonauts, to name a few.

Obviously I used to watch programs like this when I WAS a kid, but, as I grew up I learned that it was unusual for older people to watch them. For a few years I was embarrassed by my desire to watch shows with colourful characters, simple morals, and an overall message of love, support, and friendship.

Over the past few years as I got to know myself a little better and realised how much stress bothered me, I began to avoid certain things. First, I decided to avoid everything classified as 'horror'. I had realised during my high school years that I could watch (and even enjoy) horror and scary movies with all my friends, but then I would be incapable of sleeping for a week - thanks to the terrifying images my imagination conjured up. So horror was the first to go.

After a little while, I realised that a lot of action series focused on murder and apprehending criminals would leave me feeling breathless, unwell, and even a little scatter-brained and spiritually disconnected. So I decided to try out avoiding things like that (I should note that I have some exceptions: e.g. Sherlock and Castle - however they aren't so much about loud explosions or high-speed chases; more about problem-solving and intelligence with the occasional bit of humour). And, honestly, I feel much better for it.

Since then, I have decided to accept that I love children's shows and movies. They make me feel joyful, happy and content. Many of the messages in the shows are not aimed solely at kids, and I find I get a lot out of the humour used in them. And, the fact is, the underlying message of love and connection? It just gives me warm fuzzies. And, for someone who sometimes has to spend a lot of time alone, that's so important to me.

Do you have any favourite kids shows? What about movies? Have you watched a particular Disney movie more than once (my current favourite is Tangled)?

2 comments emotions, musings