People condescending to critical opinions against their favorite films/shows/books

[Shinigami]

Before I talk about my love for [Speed Racer or Watchmen] I want to say that I get it. I get why people didn't like it. It's uncompromising and it's not safe, and people aren't used to that. It doesn't pull any punches. It's not conventional. I hope one day people can appreciate what they missed out on, although I completely understand how difficult it is to grasp such a revolutionary work. It will be this decade's Blade Runner.


Does anybody else see this everywhere? Speed Racer and Watchmen are the two examples I went with, but there's a lot more especially in the horror variety ("People didn't like it because it was too dark"). I've never heard of film fans coming out of a theater with their monocle in their wine glass and their mouth agape. I say, that movie was too uncompromising! I've never heard of film fans who complain that a movie was too unconventional or too unsafe or that it didn't compromise enough. You can throw these remarks at the general public if you're frustrated that they didn't get some quirky Wes Anderson movie, but I have no idea why these ideas frequent film fan sites like joblo.com. We should give each other more credit.

[Preston_79]

[I]Before I talk about my love for [Speed Racer or Watchmen] I want to say that I get it. I get why people didn't like it. It's uncompromising and it's not safe, and people aren't used to that. It doesn't pull any punches. It's not conventional.

Really, Is that why I didn't like Speed Racer? Hahahaha! If you could say that with a straight face I'd include it in a comedy routine.

[Shinigami]

That's my point. You made an example of why my italicized fauxpost portion is a lousy and condescending way for apologists to go about defending their favorite movies. I've seen schmoes behave that way on this site and I've seen it on other film sites too. I'm complaining about it.

[Preston_79]

I hear you loud and clear.

I get this all the time from Shmoes whom I don't see eye to eye with. If I'm critical of something they like, then they see at as an attack on them personally. I know this because all of a sudden they are directing their negative comments toward me.


Me- "Oh I don't find that actress attractive at all."

Shmoe- "You probably want them to all look like porn stars, and don't care how well they can act."

Me- "Transformers 2 was very entertaining."

Shmoe- "And it's movie goers like you making it so nothing original gets green lit."

Me- "I thought Pi was boring."

Shmoe- "Probably because it's a thinking man's movie."


You know who you are. Bitches.

[Bourne101]

I agree Shinigami (and I think Preston_79 misinterpreted your post, maybe put it in quote format so people don't think that the italicized bit is an opinion of your own), I find it quite pathetic when people say that I'm wrong for not liking a movie and tell me why I didn't like it when they have no idea why I didn't like it. The Speed Racer example is a perfect example. Do not tell me that I did not like Speed Racer because it was unconventional. The visuals are spectacular, but the story is about as conventional as they come. Another example is Gommorah. I wrote a review explaining why I thought the movie was just average and in return I was criticized and told that I didn't like it because I thought it was boring and too unconventional, which were two reasons I never even mentioned in my review. I never found it boring and besides the screwy order that the scenes were placed in, it was actually quite conventional.

So yeah, if you want to argue points that a person has made beforehand that is perfect, but don't make assumptions about why you think they didn't like it.

[fooknasty]

The reason Transformers 2 and Watchmen were panned by fans and critics were because they weren't very good, IMO.

In both cases, the acting was very piss poor (particulary in Watchmen), both stories were a huge cluster fuck of incoherent ideas that jumped from place to place, and neither were very entertaining (more so in Watchmen, atleast TF2 had huge ass robots as opposed to huge ass wang).

If it is your opinion that Watchmen or Speed Racer will be our generations Blade Runner, more power to you. But that doesn't take away from the fact that the movies were torn apart because of critical reasons (incoherent storylines, bad acting, etc.).

[Bourne101]

That's not his opinion of those two films. The text in italics is a faux post of someone making condescending remarks because someone doesn't agree with their opinion. Shinigami is saying that he hates when people make condescending remarks to people who do not agree with their opinion. Like in his example, some people say that the only reason people didn't like Speed Racer is because it was not conventional enough.

[g1ng3rsnap9ed]

I also hate people who don't allow you to like/dislike a movie, and their opinion seems to be solidified into fact. :mad:

[john_rambo]

I also hate people who don't allow you to like/dislike a movie, and their opinion seems to be solidified into fact. :mad:

I agree! Despite what critics and a lot of fans think. There is no harm in liking any movie whatsoever. It does not make anyone less of a fan if they like a Uwe Boll movie, and it does not make someone more of a movie fan if they hate a classic.

[starcat]

There is a few people around here that would dissagree with with ya on that one. It seems you are stupid if you like certain movies around here anymore!!!

[movie2cats]

I agree and unfortunately, guilty too. There are times I will say things conversationally that even I'm like "where did that come from?". I for one loved both Speed Racer and Watchmen (and I enjoy the occasional Uwe Boll too), but for the most primal reasons imagineable: pretty colors. That being said I found myself in a conversation earlier today with someone who watched Moon @ my insistance and said they were bored and didn't get it. I proceeded to pompously insist that was because "the movie wasn't on your level". Sorry Dad.

[drc5145]

I can agree and I'll admit I've been guilty of a similar level of snobbery. Not to schmoes on this board though, ususally only once in awhile to people in the public. I have a friend who's tastes are all over the map (with films I consider good and crappy) and I have criticized her tastes.

As for this website though, most if not all schmoes are pretty well off and I'm pretty respectful of all opinions, whether I disagree with them or not. As the case is, I loved Watchmen but I can see why schmoes didn't like it as much as I did. I won't go off to say that "oh that was a smart person's movie". Hell no. I like to give the schmoes on the site some credit.

[hoojib127]

I'll admit that my tastes in movies have become much more refined over the past decade, and I barely relate to the average bloated blockbuster anymore...but I still try to be courteous (or else bite my tongue :p) in the presence of those who still do. To use a food analogy, my movie philosophy has become 'Why settle for a Whopper if you were able to get prime rib at the same price?' :cool:

[NuclearMisfit]

I also hate people who don't allow you to like/dislike a movie, and their opinion seems to be solidified into fact. :mad:

Oh yeah me too.

[Shinigami]

I'll admit that my tastes in movies have become much more refined over the past decade, and I barely relate to the average bloated blockbuster anymore
I can agree and I'll admit I've been guilty of a similar level of snobbery. Not to schmoes on this board though, ususally only once in awhile to people in the public


I admitted in my first post that these are reasonable criticisms to throw at the general public. They aren't film fans. They aren't people who are competitive and educated about films, who have many thoughtful discussions about them. I know a casual movie watcher who can't handle "talky" movies cuz they don't have actions or explosions to a quick pace. Doesn't it makes sense that I ignore him when he goes to see an independent movie and complains that nothing's going on? The general public tend to the conventional. Film fans are usually the ones who take the time to explore new ways of shooting and telling stories and putting together movies. Nobody else has the patience.
I love it when people admit to refined tastes. Art is something you can study and yes, it's also something you can have more enlightened opinions of than others. It's not all subjective. I'd expect some people who study film not to be able to relate to bloated blockbusters anymore above a technical level. That's a good thing. It's why I read movie discussions here instead of eavesdropping on movie discussions in public.

I just don't like it when film fans show each other this attitude. I made the rant after reading some Speed Racer apologists who went about more or less saying exactly what I pretended to say at the start of my post (the section in italics). It's a ridiculous charge to put against film fans and it's counter productive to interesting conversation. I doubt anyone on this site hated watchmen or speed racer because it was too unconventional, so I hate to see claims to the contrary.