20 Thousand Hertz podcast just had an episode about Hans Zimmer, and had a big section covering his music compositions for the Dune movies. So naturally, I had to re-listen to an old episode of Imaginary Worlds Podcast, about how Dune references Islam.
Even so, I feel strangely unmotivated to go watch Dune. I felt that way about the first movie. I feel that way about this recent second movie. This lack of excitement makes no sense, when I like scifi, Dune is a scifi classic, all the makers behind the Dune movies are very skilled (Denis Villeneuve, Hans Zimmer, the actors, etc.), and I've heard nothing but acclaim for the Dune movies. I should be excited about some good movies.
But the thought of watching them makes me feel so tired. And not just the tired of a homebody like me, still taking precautions against the pandemic, not wanting to risk going to theaters, nor deal with all the precautions to take after returning home from a completely superfluous outing. It feels more like the fatigue of adding another piece of media to my backlog. That overwhelm I get, whenever someone says I NEED to watch this anime, or I NEED to watch this cartoon, or I NEED to read this manga, or I NEED to listen to this podcast, or another. Whenever that happens, no matter how acclaimed the media is, I just feel so tired at the thought of adding another thing to my backlog, or even just the idea of tackling another thing, whether it's a 50 episode anime or a duo of movies. I recently saw Frieren overtake Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood in the "best anime series" rankings, and despite both being highly HIGHLY acclaimed and FERVENTLY recommended by EVERYONE, all I can feel is tired at the idea of tackling another thing. I don't quite understand my overwhelmed fatigue, especially for Dune, because I don't frequent places/people who tell me I NEED to watch Dune. All I can think is that because the atmosphere of the trailers, plus the acclaim, have built such an air of awe around the franchise, I am already overwhelmed and tired at the anticipated emotional labor that would be expected to be involved with media of such high acclaim (especially a live action, with lots of drama).
I have been immersed in primarily the "iyashikei" genre for MANY years now. I used to be a Shonen anime/manga junkie. My favorite genre? Demon hunters. Everything from Bleach, to Devil May Cry, to Phantom Quest Corp., to Claymore, to Inuyasha, to Yu Yu Hakusho, to Ushio and Tora,… If there were exorcists fighting monsters with a combo of swords, melee weapons, supernatural powers, magic, some martial arts, and maybe some "urban fantasy" flair, then I was in.
But I've gotten tired in recent years. I switched to the "slice of life" genre, some "moe anime", and mostly "iyashikei". Literally, "soothing culture". Maybe I've become too anxious in my real life to handle anything more stressful in my supposed "relaxation time" entertainment. One of my top 3 favorite anime is still Natsume Yuujinchou. The most peaceful and soothing take on the supernatural yokai genre I've seen. And it still manags to have more action than Tactics, Yokai Doctor, or Morose Mononokean. Lucky Star used to be my contender against Code Geass for my 3rd favorite anime, because I rewatched the "slice of life" genre so much.
Then I heard someone talk about "emotional labor", and that's when I realized that was what I was experiencing. I couldn't take anymore emotional labor. It didn't matter how empowering that Shonen anime/manga felt, I just couldn't deal with even that anymore. It made sense. It was the same reason why I hated the "drama" genre. That genre is just all emotional labor, all the time. I didn't want that. I didn't need that stress, especially during my supposed decompression times. I don't watch "Oscar bait" movies, and I generally don't watch "live action". The reality of looking at real life peple was never as beautiful to me as moving or still illustrations, but now I was beginning to think the heightened reality of "live action" also just disallowed my social anxiety to rest.
People recommend "Game of Thrones" to me, and I am just unmotivated. I look at Dune and think "I should be interested in watching that", but I can only feel tired.
I wonder if part of the reason I'm so into figure collecting now, is that the backlog concept is not so overwhelming. When I collected manga, it was a waste if I didn't get around to reading the book. But as soon as my figurines pass the unboxing backlog stage, then they are already consumed. I can enjoy them, just by glancing at them. I don't have to devote the time to watch a movie. I don't have to devote the emotional labor of experiencing a story's emotional reality. I can just collect figures, play with their poses, take photos, and enjoy them without the stress of emotional labor. The unboxing backlog may make me feel a little overwhelmed sometimes, but it's not as tiring as adding another story media to my backlog lists.
