You should watch movies and TV shows.

Movies and TV shows are a scourge.

This sums up  the debate about the role of entertainment on our lives. 

Colorado State University students have their own particular takes on our entertainment-saturated world.

“I think it is a good way to decompress and not have stress,” said Lydia Hadley, a senior hospitality management major.

 Hadley, a fan of “Parenthood” and “Friends,” said movies speak to human connections.

“It is a good social thing,” Hadley said. “I think it tells a lot about a person and what they watch.”

For Haley Herring, a junior hospitality major, movies and TV shows are good distractions.

“I think it can make you laugh,” Herring said. “It takes your mind off school or work.”

Herring thinks comedies are particularly beneficial.

“I would say we as students take life too seriously,” Herring said. Herring added that she saw “Thor” over the weekend.

“It made me happy,” Herring said.

Hannah Clark, a freshman biology major, agrees.

“It can be a distraction, depending on the genre,” she said.

While Clark said she watches movies every few weeks, they still have a childhood connection.

“I grew up watching stupid movies,” Clark, an Adam Sandler fan, said. “It is kind of nostalgic.”

Ella Webber, a sophomore equine science major, thinks movies offer a personal connection.

“You can relate to them and see yourself in them,” Webber said.

Webber said she watches movies once a week. Like many CSU students, comedy is her preferred fare.

“If I am gonna watch a movie to get away from reality,” Webber said, “I want something uplifting.”

Some students like on-screen portrayals of different worlds.

“I know this sounds crazy,”  Maddie Eichler said, “(TV shows) show me different careers.”

Eichler, an undeclared freshman, was particularly captivated by watching “Criminal Minds.”

“I was like how cool would it be to do that?” Eichler said.

Zoe Fiedler, a sophomore marketing major, is a huge fan of the “Star Wars” movies.

“They are so different from what we live in real life,” Fiedler said.

Hans Vanags, a freshman philosophy major, thinks movies can inspire viewers on an artistic level.

“Seeing other people’s stories,” Vanags said. “It helps you with creativity.”  

Vanags is a fan of “The Big Lebowski” and “Step Brothers.” He said the movie’s characters and humor are “unique.” In particular, Vanags likes the premise of “Step Brothers,” in which two constantly fighting 40-year old stepsiblings live at home.

Vanags also likes that “The Big Lebowski” spawned its own religion “Dudeism.” Dudeism is based on the philosophy of the movie’s protagonist, a pot-smoking, White-Russian drinking ex-liberal activist called “The Dude.”

Students also said viewing movies and TV comes with inherent disadvantages.

The biggest obstacle?

Procrastination.

Herring said frequent movie watching can be a mindless stress reliever, but it can also be addictive.

“The day you say you are gonna watch one episode, you watch 40,” Herring said.

Weber thinks movie’s portrayals of life are problematic.

“They show you a false reality,” Weber said.

Favorite movies/TV show of students: “Grace and Frankie,” “10 Things I Hate About You”, “The Big Lebowski,” “The Waterboy.”

Collegian reporter Mir-Yashar Seyedbagheri can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com. His Twitter handle is @dudesosad.