The Gang Mentality

Its only cos you came here with your brothers too
If you came here on your own you'd be dead
Raise a glass or two
You raise a fist or two
Get a shopping basket wrapped round your head

So here we go with the letter
Oh can you fix it for me
24 hour drinking
To keep us all off the streets

So tonight you'll sleep softly in your bed

We are the angry mob
We read the papers everyday
We like who we like
We hate who we hate
But we're also easily swayed
We are the angry mob
We read the papers everyday
We like who we like
We hate who we hate
But we're also easily swayed

Kaiser Chiefs - Angry Mob

So anyone that knows me well knows that I've never read or seen any of the Harry Potter's, never watched Lost, and never sat through Titanic. As someone who lives to read, watch movies, and follow good TV shows, this seems rather perplexing - how could I have never partaken in some of the biggest movie, television, and book crazes of all time? Well let me explain myself.
I have never "fit in". In fact, I make an effort not to fit in. I embrace my uniqueness. To a certain extent, for me, this means doing my own thing and not giving in to the prevailing zeitgeist. I'll watch the blockbusters and listen to a lot of the big artists, but I prefer to embrace indie movies and I love those small bands that no one's heard of. Is this somewhat pretentious? Fuck yeah... but you have to feel important about something, right? I have my wide ranging movie, music, and television interests which give me a self-satisfying sense of cultural superiority.
My avoidance of many things "popular" also stems from my distrust of humanity at large. While I have faith in people as individuals, put them together and all you get is an unthinking mass. I think of it this way: one stray dog is not a problem, hell it can even be cute, but put several stray dogs together and you get a roving, crazed pack of dogs. When I see something that a lot of people like I am naturally skeptical. For me, if everyone likes it, there's a good chance it's not very good.
Some people may see all this as nothing more than ignorant, self-important, nihilistic bullshit, and I'm fine with that, but to live with myself, I can't "sell out" to the world. Theres a good chance my personal ideals (for lack of a better word) are horribly and truly misguided. Perhaps I am missing the boat here; watching the proverbial roses pass me by. But so be it. I am granite when it comes to my views on film and music. Most people don't agree with me, which is good, cause if they did I'd probably have to change my opinion.