You seem to have a very narrow idea of what storytelling actually is or can be. It’s not just about plot or surprise. It can be about character, and psychology, and philosophy, and catharsis, and emotional concepts that we can apply to our own lives. It’s not just a brain teaser or a puzzle box that we use to feel good about how smart we are. It’s not about learning, it’s about feeling.

Try to be more broad-minded about things, and open yourself up to the emotional possibilities of art instead of shackling it only to intellectual/analytical ones. This is very much a “you” problem, and at the end of the day it’s your loss.