Positive Media

I noticed that I've been reading and watching rather depressing things for fun recently, Tale of Two Cities, Sherlock, The Given Day, are all interesting and entertaining but involve death and death and more death. As I was reading a children's book by Jon J Muth, b "The Three Questions" I noticed how much better I felt reading that. Does this mean I am only allowed to read novels that are rated G or at the very most PG? What does that leave me? Or maybe I should just take a break from these books and read something self help like by Deepak Chopra or Thich Naht Han. Of course I feel like if those were the only things I ever read I would be depressed out of boredom.
You know high school is a time when a lot of kids have a ton of reasons to be depressed, what with hormones, becoming and adult, issues at home, not being able to date who you want, being bullied, what have you. And I'm not sure reading a bunch of depressing books about other people's problems will necessarily help you. And yet are their any books that are really uplifting that you are forced to red in school? Even the books that have sort of happy endings are overwhelmingly depressing. We shove these things down our kids throats to make them cultured and more interesting and aware of... what? I'm not saying the books shouldn't be read but maybe we should have some happiness shoved down our throat too.
I mean if you read Shakespeare in highschool or Hemmingway, or read about stabbings and fist fights, blowing things up and shooting people. And when they are not doing that they are being promiscuous and drinking. Then we complain that our youth are doing all of these things and we blame Rap music.
If a teen were to behave today as the Illiad or the Oddysey says a man should behave, we usually condemn them to jail or condemn their behavior after they are dead. But in truth they are living out the lives that we uphold and worship through literature. They are being a real man. Or by getting pregnant at an early age they are behaving as many heroines of classic literature seeking love in the romanticized version of it.