What's one highly extolled piece of media that you absolutely cannot stand in any way shape or form.

A big part of why many of the things in this thread haven't aged well, is because a lot of what made these shows original and unique was copied to death following the fame of the original.

If you weren't there for the original release of a piece of media, there's a good chance you're not necessarily seeing it in the context where the accolades make sense.

Seinfeld basically invented the 3 camera sitcom and a lot of the key tropes in the format. If you go back today having not watched it before, the vast majority of it just comes across as a boring sitcom, because every sitcom to follow took notes from the way they did Seinfeld.

It's the same with the UK office, it basically invented the modern mockumentary format as well as the cringe comedy era that followed (and gave us things like peep show). If you look back now without that context, it just looks like a generic combination of both those things.

The James Cameron Avatar movies.

I can't watch The Office.

My empathy makes me feel super uncomfortable watching people do socially mean or cringe things. I enjoyed most of Parks and Rec, but I didn't like the way they treated Garry, and almost stopped watching because of that running gag.

Oddly enough, I devoured The Bear. It's not high anxiety or intensity that turns me off, it's the banal meanness that some express that I can't stand. The Bear is intense, but the characters feel genuine and honest

Blade Runner\
2001: A Space Odyssey\
Citizen Kane

These movies are so well regarded and spoken so highly of (ok - maybe not Blade Runner); their champions are so passionate and enthusiastic, every time I hear folks go off on how great they are I get, once again, excited to watch them. But every time I try, I just can’t get into them. 2001 is a particular slog with its ~30 minute intro of no dialogue. It almost inevitably puts me to sleep before even the first word is spoken.

I hate that they’re so well regarded and I really want to enjoy them but I just can’t get into them.

Citizen Kane

.world has a comment below stating that some of these are examples where a piece of media did something new and innovative that was so compelling that many subsequent pieces of media copied it, and thus whatever it was that the piece of media did failed to impress later audiences. For them, it was just the new normal. So the work was very influential...but maybe no longer stands out.

I've often seen Citizen Kane cited as being the poster child for this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_Kane

The film's narrative structure, cinematography and themes have influenced countless filmmakers and films worldwide, asserting its place as a cornerstone in the history of cinema

EDIT:

https://thecinemaholic.com/citizen-kane-innovations-flaws/

‘Citizen Kane’: The Innovations, the Flaws, and the Films that it Influenced

Definitely true. I’ve heard the same and it’s another one of the reasons I want to appreciate it.

A other example of this that’s frequently cited and happened in my own life time which makes it easy to see first hand and understand is The Matrix/bullet-time.

They’re so bad.

…well the first one was. Didn’t bother with any after that…

Reality TV

This is going to be a semi-spicy take, but World of Warcraft.

I had a lot of friends who were into it during Cataclysm but I had a hard time getting into it despite it being THE game everyone was obsessing over. It got to the point where I was struggling to get them to play anything else and it pretty much split our gaming group.

Even after all these years, some of them still play it and its still a big piece of their gaming sessions.

Except the last season. That was bad.

That's funny, I'm the exact opposite. I grew up never getting why people liked the Simpsons, but Futurama is one of the funniest, most entertaining, and most moving shows I've seen.

Alternately, you were "the kind of person who didn't watch Friends", which still made it a cultural touchstone.

This post made me angry because I’m one of the people that love this 3 movie and go passionate about them.

I believe "I Love Lucy" is credited with inventing or popularizing the three camera sitcom. Not to dampen's "Seinfeld"s contributions or the point of your comment, but I just wanted to add that small correction.