Abandoned AmericaThe older I get, the more aware I am that being critical rather than enjoying things is not a sign of intelligence or wisdom. Not loving things - movies, art, music, people, situations - because of their weaknesses doesn't make you better than them, it means you're unable to see past imperfections. Sure, some things absolutely are bad & should be left behind - but being hypercritical denies you joy. I need reminded of this every day. Too many things are legit bad to throw out good ones too.
If you find your response to popular movies, albums, books, etc is "I don't like them because (x, y, and z)" maybe it's not because you're not smarter than everyone else, maybe you're just outsmarting your own ability to enjoy things that aren't perfect
Before replies get too far: criticism has its place. Not liking things is fine. Not everything is meant for everyone, do what works for you. But! If your sole purpose of spending time with most things is to pry apart what makes them bad, you could definitely be doing better things with your life, like finding and spending time with the things you do love.
fallingbeam@AbandonedAmerica "If you hear the rustle of tool coming up behind you? Run." https://youtu.be/Urw-UDz1X_c?t=129
rory & paris (87)
@AbandonedAmerica There are definitely people - I'm friends with some of them - who go through life sucking lemons :P .The world is always coming to an end, who see existential threats everywhere. And that applies to the things they watch/consume. "That was terrible, it's the worst thing ever," etc. A lot of things aren't great, but are they the worst? That can't be true of everything :P .
But I think some of what you're talking about is also a social media-amplified phenomenon. Outrage tends to be the surest way to ensure engagement from an audience. That incentivizes postings that are negative, because it can help you "go viral," because people react, if only to flame you :) . But for some, the negative attention is the point :D .
I want to be careful about Mastodon and lack of an algorithm being a cure-all for this. It probably isn't. The outrage machine is in our heads. Lack of algorithm can help decelerate things. But it does not turn off that part of human nature - only we can, by being conscious of it and understanding why we feel the way we feel.
I used to work for someone who would say "there's no need to tell people they have an ugly baby" :D . So I think while there are times where I am guilty of reflexive snarkiness, I do also do my best, if there is something I'm not wild about, is to instinctively point people to things that are better.
Which brings me to the thing I like that I can't find a clip of on YouTube - in Whit Stillman's "The Cosmopolitans." There's a moment when a character presumably channels the film director who is the subject of critics. "You always imagine journalists being ugly, because of the anger. But she's really attractive."
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3505662/
That said, most people engage with film/TV etc. because they do find joy in it. And watch a lot of it. People who do that tend to be clear on what they privilege/enjoy, vs what they don't. That's not the worst thing ever. But it is also about how you communicate that to others - whether you want to point out flaws, or celebrate the stuff that's awesome. See social media issues/incentive structure above :) .
@AbandonedAmerica I'm also reminded of a really good book written about the movie "Seven." That clarifies how the film chooses to view large outrageous acts of senseless/gratuitous cruelty and violence. And how the film contrasts that with the relatively smaller failings people have on a daily basis.
https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Film-Classics-Richard-Dyer/dp/0851707238
@fallingbeam oh, thanks! I'm way behind on books now but this does sound really interesting
@AbandonedAmerica If you're way behind, then there's no reason not to pile on, right? :D Because when I think of books about films, I'd be remiss not to mention this one.
Probably a foundational text about understanding film. That took the - at the time - controversial stance that film should be understood as its own medium.
That film was not a book, not a play, not a text, but should be understood as its own thing. That films should be understood *as films* rather than as something else :) .
https://www.amazon.com/Film-As-Understanding-Judging-Movies/dp/0306805413/
@fallingbeam my undergrad was in film, I feel like I read most of the film theory books I will get to in my life then, but who knows ❤️