Um... yeah, this isn't really that kind of place. This is more one of those "let the work speak for itself" kind of deals.
Not that I'm saying that there's anything inherently wrong with those sorts of things -- but I think there can be undesirable elements when not used properly.
Let's talk it out.
First off, I'm all for critically evaluating forms of entertainment. I think that what goes into our heads from movies, books, TV, radio, MP3 players, art exhibitions, the playground, etc. can affect us. However, I don't think that it's a simple case of "what goes in is what comes out". I think that we humans, as rational creatures, do have filtering and reasoning abilities that allow us to process our actions and emotions to certain degrees, and this ability may be different in each of us. This is all to say that I don't think everyone who watches, say, Natural Born Killers will display violent tendencies, but they may find it hard not to unless they have adequate processing skills.
So it's good to develop those skills, but here's where I think the danger lies, and this is what I was alluding to in the first paragraph:
Don't you think that it's a little irresponsible for us to task out our personal reasoning skills to the agencies that have provided us with our entertainment? Isn't there a conflict of interest there? Are we really so addle-minded that we can't make our own critical assessments? Are we really so busy that we can't develop our minds to the point of being able to critically assess what goes into them?
Those weren't rhetorical questions. The answers to all of the questions in the above paragraph may be 'no'. If that is true for you, then I would challenge you to try to think a little harder about what you read/see/hear.
Because I believe that entertainment is very much like food. It's seems a shame that most of us don't want to cook for ourselves anymore, we just want to put our feet up and consume something easy that has been prepared for us. I say a shame, but ultimately, there may not be that much wrong with it. Some of us just can't cook, or just want to take it easy. But if we decided that we are not going to provide for ourselves then I think we have a responsibility to at least consider what we're consuming without giving free reign to our animal cravings and greed -- just to make sure that it's nourishing and healthy. I think that we should taste new things, experiment with different flavours and chew them over a little but -- and if not to beat a metaphor to death then to whip it within an inch of its life -- I think that it's acceptable to spit things out if we don't like their taste or decide if, after all, they might not be good for us.
Maybe this is a good challenge for you. Perhaps you have become flaccid, listless, and flatulent in your mental body as a result of unnourishing mind-food and you need to beef up a little bit. It doesn't have to be hard work involving evening seminars and Harold Bloom. It can be if you enjoy those things, but be careful about getting into a rut. A balanced diet demands variety. Instead of watching Friends or playing X-Box when you come home from work, consider, on alternating days, pouring yourself a drink and cracking open an improving Russian novel to relax. If Tolstoy or Dostoevsky are too much to chew through, may I suggest a nice, tender Turgenyev? Before you go to the gym, perhaps you could download an audio book into your music player. www.audiobooksforfree.com has a wonderful, high quality selection for free. I recommend the Father Brown stories, or The Man Who Was Thursday. It also looks like they have The Pickwick Papers. You could read a Dickens book almost without trying. Imagine that.
Perhaps you need to go on an entertainment diet after living for some time as a cultural glutton-- don't cut it out completely, but just scale it back for a time until you get a handle on things once more. As you're going to work, maybe you should turn off the radio, eject the Clapton CD, and drive in silent contemplation of the world and cyclists around you. Then flush out your system by reading from the Complete Works of The Brothers Grimm, that an odd relative gave you at Christmas all those years ago, that is now gathering dust on the shelf. Perhaps there's someone near you who would like to be read to. Make it fun, it should be. And then afterwards, think about what you've read. Did you like it? Why or why not?
In any case, and whatever you decide for your entertainment life-style, I hope you find Godman pleasing to your palate. Think of this site as one of those high-class burger restaurants. It's all dressed up to look and taste fun, and comes in much of the same form as a lot of the fast-food joints, but if you examine it carefully, you'll find it was made of the best and healthiest ingredients available, prepared to the best standard our ability would allow, and will provide you with sustaining nourishment and a zesty tingle that makes you wonder if it's really that good for you... (it is).
Most of all, we want you to enjoy your experience here, to take something with you, and to come again someday.
Remember to tip your waiter.