How Guilty Pleasures Makes My Life Better

Everyone has them. That band you love, but don't want anyone to know you do. The movies you watch over and over but never talk about. I'll share mine, will you share yours?

First we need to establish what a guilty pleasure actually is.

• Something you like to do but it might now be seen as “productive” or “cool” (tbh, I haven’t ever seen myself as cool but whatever)

• Something that’s indulgent or a bit silly

• Something that you might think doesn’t correspond with your image or how you portait yourself

The society today is usually very prone to things being productive or effective and I think the trend of “having it all” has reached its limit somewhere around now. To both have a great career, children, a connected marriage, a house, a garden, be self suffient and lots of other things is impossible. Especially as to keep a house and a garden and with that a family with children and maybe even animals has been a full time work for 2 adults in the past, not something you can do with your left hand while also working fulltime. Let’s not get stuck in that today, though.

To decompress and to relax I find “guilty pleasures” to be an excellent way of doing just that. Let me tell you mine and maybe you can share yours? So I don’t feel all alone?

Royalties

Okay. So, I don’t really think that we should have a king and queen that we pay for. It’s maybe not a modern way of running things. But. It’s my ultimate guilty pleasure to watch TV-shows with them, about them and to listen to podcasts about what happens in their world. It’s like disassociating yourself from the world and just live in another one for a bit. It’s like my brain takes a bubble bath.

If you want to jump on this train with me here are my recommendations:

• The Crown (TV series on Netflix)
  This is an amazing series about the British Royal Family. It’s well made, has amazing accents and a lot of drama.

• Monarkerna (Swedish Podcast)

  This podcast is in swedish so if you’re not a swedish speaking person, sorry. If you are then this is such an entertaining podcast that streams every week and discuss current issues and topics in the field.

• Downton Abbey (TV series on Netflix)

  Yes, I know this isn’t about the Royal Family but the ~vibe~ is there! Amazing costume and drama going on all the time. Also mentions and a few jump ins from royals do occur.

I feel like all guilty pleasures goes incredible well together with some indulgent fika and a nice cup of coffee, don’t you agree?

1990-2000’s Rom-Coms

I think I’m not alone on this one. These movies are the most comforting and sometimes slow going ones and I just can’t stop watching them. I think it might also have to do with these being shown to me by my mum when I was a teenager. They are classics and before streaming online we only had VHS and DVD, and a very limited collection to choose from.

My fave actors and actresses from this time is Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. Yes. I told you, it’s guilty pleasure.
Here are my top recommendations.

• Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)

  Yes, this might have the worst role ever in Andie MacDowell but in general this is gold. I especially love the actor John Hannah and when he, with his amazing scottish accent, reads the poem “Funeral Blues” by W.H. Auden. That scene always makes me sob! And yes, Hugh Grant is the main character.

• Pretty Woman (1990)

  I think it’s hilarious that this movie is such a classic and that my mum let me watch it haha! To be fair, I didn’t get that she was a prostitute until I was grown up and re-watched this. Julia Roberts is amazing in this role! I can’t really think of why I loved this movie so much when I was younger, but I think it’s because Julia really stands up for herself when she is treated disrespectfully.

• Notting Hill (1999)

  This movie is a laugh out loud kind of movie. Julia and Hugh has great chemistry and I just love his room mate Spike haha. It has amazing comic relief in him and I also love the homey and comforting feeling of the friend group with Wills (Hugh Grants) sister. The parallel stories of his best friend, who’s in a wheelchair, and the involuntarily childless couple are heart-wrenching.

• Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)

  It seams like this one is the only one that spills over on the 21st century but is has to be included. Needless to say, this movie is problematic. And, honestly, surely a part of the reason “thin culture” is such a strong movement still. But also, it’s a very funny movie. Renée is so funny and perfect for the role and Hugh Grant is such an asshole. As a bonus Colin Firth is the perfect “Mr Darcy” and is so english and stiff and tremedous for the role. And I feel like if you want to ease the “guilty pleasure”-guilt a bit you can talk about the correspondense between Bridget Jones’s Diary and Jane Austens (definitely not a guilty pleasure) Pride & Prejudice. It’s acutally a re-telling.

I feel like this topic deserve a series of posts so I will stop there for this time. I loved writing this because it reminded me why I love these things so much!

Have a great day!
Love, Anna.