Lighthearted Entertainment

That a given film, video game, book, or other work of art is lighthearted or solemn does not dictate its artistic quality or philosophical significance.  Avoidable personal biases against one type of entertainment or the other cannot make these facts untrue.  Though there are idiotic biases based on false promises that drive people to oppose dark entertainment, art of a less intense or bold nature can still capture truths about humanity and general philosophy, as well as provide a more accessible kind of escapism when something darker is too subjectively depressing to easily bear.  There is much to embrace about some art even when it so full of explicit gravity.

Lighthearted moments, feelings, and interactions are a part of life as well, after all.  To pretend like they are not or, even if one cannot relate to them, that they cannot be part of human existence is just as irrational as pretending like darker moments cannot be a part of life, making the exclusion of lighthearted entertainment just as stupid as the exclusion of dark entertainment.  Each kind of art can focus on or demonstrate different truths about possible human experiences that they other is less likely to address if it does at all.  Of course, there is such a thing as making art lighthearted in a shallow, incoherent, or unhelpful way, but the fact remains that there is nothing philosophically superficial about lighthearted entertainment just because it is not brimming with misery, seriousness, or sadness.

Since everything is philosophical, even the more emotionally upbeat or comedic nature of some art, it would be irrational to believe that there could never be anything in tonally lighter entertainment worth savoring or understanding.  At the very least, if this kind of art was philosophically asinine, it would then be important for the sake of understanding reality to decry it.  However, this is not the case!  Mere humor and playful dialogue or relationships do not have to be devoid of philosophical significance.  Inversely, darker entertainment is not aromatically deep despite being more regularly used to explore the more foundational issues that those behind this kind of art are societally more likely to put the spotlight on.

Lighthearted art typically has not been used in a broad sense to tackle the same metaphysical, epistemological, or moral issues conventionally associated with darker art like Game of Thrones, BioShock, or Lovecraft's The Call of Cthulhu, yes--again, this is because of fallacious or incomplete handling of upbeat entertainment across cultures over long periods of time rather than the inherent nature of less explicitly heavy art.  It is still logically possible to make art without darkness that still affirms something true and deep about the nature of reality, even if that is not what many people are hoping to find in it.  People just need to not make assumptions to realize this; it just helps less self-motivated thinkers to see this when there are plentiful culturally visible examples of how escapist fun and philosophical depth are not always exclusive (and there are some popular ones already, yes).

Personal relief from trials through brief escapism is not even an irrational thing to seek on its own, though.  For some, including rationalists, life is often a series of difficulties that can make even small pleasantries welcome.  Entertainment of a more lighthearted nature could fulfill this role even outside of what it might simultaneously accomplish on a storytelling or thematic level.  Optimistic tones or a style meant to appeal to broad audiences (although even movies or games with art styles or characters specifically aimed at children can be emotional brutal despite their more lighthearted components) can both have emotional/conceptual depth and provide some relief from life's troubles.