A recent survey showed that Brits are embarrassed to admit watching certain films so we’ve decided to embrace it and enjoy it as we go over the UK’s film guilty pleasures along with some of our own.
In a recent survey of UK film fans, we asked them to reveal their most embarrassing film guilty pleasures. In a survey conducted by Ready Steady Cut we discovered what Brits are too embarrassed to admit watching. It included a total of 100 people who put their shame aside and told us all about what they watch when no one else is near. Here are some of the results:
| Top Genres | |||
| 1 | Comedy | 38 | 21.46% |
| 2 | Romance | 35 | 19.77% |
| 3 | Musical | 24 | 13.55% |
| 4 | Drama | 21 | 11.86% |
| 5 | Fantasy | 19 | 10.73% |
| 6 | Children | 17 | 9.60% |
| 7 | Action/Sci-fi | 10 | 5.64% |
| 8 | Historical | 8 | 4.51% |
| 9 | Christmas | 5 | 2.82% |
| Total | 177 | ||
The results are clear: Brits love a good comedy, romance and musical. What’s interesting about these results are the genres that never ranked:
- Crime
- Horror
- Thriller
- Western
- Superhero
The results of the survey show that many British people feel ashamed to admit they like films typically considered “girly”, which shows an issue with how certain genres are perceived in Britain. Often, films marketed to women are dismissed as evidence of this attitude.
Ultimately, this study indicates that there is a need for greater acceptance of female-targeted films, as well as further exploration of why people feel embarrassed to admit watching them. In order to truly appreciate cinema’s full range of stories, we need to create an environment without judgement or prejudice where all types of films can be enjoyed.
Daniel Hart from Ready Steady Cut found the results shocking, saying:
‘Films should be watched without judgement. It’s definitely time to talk about films we enjoy openly so they don’t turn into “guilty pleasures” due to their target audience. I hope that as we continue to evolve as a society, our views of what is “good” and “bad” cinema will do the same.’
Of all the films that were mentioned, here are the top three most mentioned:
| Top films | ||
| 1 | Dirty Dancing | 7% |
| 2 | Mary Poppins | 4% |
| Grease | ||
| 3 | Bedknobs and broomsticks | 3% |
| Clueless | ||
| ET | ||
| Mamma Mia | ||
| Titanic | ||
| Top Gun |
Methodology
- Research was conducted through a self-serve survey on YouGov. Find the full data on a spreadsheet here.
- The question proposed to the interviewees was “What film is your guilty pleasure?”.
- 24% did not have a film guilty pleasure
- 77 films were mentioned in the survey
- Each film was imputed in a spreadsheet where we calculated the film genres in which each movie fit into
- We summed up the amount of films that would fit in each category and imputed them in the table above
Looking at the research above I definitely question the people who were asked and scratch my head as to how Top Gun and ET are guilty pleasures. They’re absolute classics!
I myself have a fondness for those crappy independent Christmas movies that you’ll find on Channel 5 in the run-up to Christmas Day, I enjoy Love Actually no matter how many times I’ve seen it and I absolutely adore The Holiday starring Jude Law, Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslett and Jack Black.
Furthermore, I’ve seen Sex and the City 1 and 2 more than five times each and didn’t hate either of them, I liked the group dynamic, the raunchy comedy and how the film is shot with this tongue and cheeky naughtiness with camp undertones.
As far as animations go I watched Shrek on the plane home from Dubai last week! Did I care if people saw, hell no! I love Shrek and don’t even get me started on Mean Girls, it’s a superb movie!
I will scream from the rooftops that I’ve watched any of those movies as I personally couldn’t care less what anyone else thinks but sadly many others aren’t like that. As a country, we keep ourselves to ourselves and are afraid of being open and honest and admitting you like a certain film or show that’s uncharacteristic.
For shame!
