I’m not elitist. Random right? And so early in the blog. But still I was inspired to write on the subject of snooty nosed filmic critiques when last Friday my sister and I watched a segment of Movie Mob on Reelzchannel (they owe a check for that plug).If you don’t know Movie Mob is essentially a symptom of our faux-starmaking times. Instead of actual talent, producers put joe blows with an internet connection and a netcam on television to spaz out and deliver movie reviews (I promise I don’t mean to throw salt I’m just so sick of the miserly execs and their cheap reality shows, but that’s another blog entry). Anyway, the lowest vote getters get kicked off. Given the buzz around the toy flick, I don’t need to tell you it got ugly. They thrashed the film pretty handily. I watched desensitized to the flame throwing, but my sister stared, with a twisted expression of her face. Y’know the kind you give when someone cuts you off, or someone closes the door in an elevator when they obviously see you coming. Y’know the one you give to an asshole. Well, she shared with me a peeve of hers. My sister exclaimed how lame it is that people go after movie that hard. They seemed to exude this air of pretentiousness in their review. I was taken aback a bit. Have I became the chest thumping, mean-spirited film elitist my sister despised?
Since I changed my major to film studies, (and thereby crushing my parents dreams) I’ve understood films on a different level. Before I started following films seriously-somewhere in high school I suppose-I demanded little more than explosions, glossy special effects and maybe a breast or two. The more I grew as a film snob I started to desire more than pretty brauds and cool set pieces. Now, dare I say it, I refuse to relinquish my hard-earned money for nothing less than novelty and characterization. All of that is a long winded way of saying that I fear I may be among the dregs of suit wearing, snooty aired, film critics or tech-savvy, toxic movie message board whores who rip movies apart to shreds throwing adjectives like Middle East projectiles. Hiding behind their apt command of the human language and an open thesaurus, they shit on movies for simply being what they are. Summer movies are what they are for a reason. Broad, gross-out comedies are what they are. It’s unfair to judge a film harshly to standards it doesn’t seek to attain. Movies are like food. If you don’t have a palette for the broadness of a Tyler Perry film then maybe you’re in the wrong theater. I recognize the function of the critic as a modern wolf crier, championing the great films for us and steering us from the bad ones. Still, it has become a competition to viciously denigrate movies that have no intention of being Casablanca or The Graduate.
We have to just take a look at why we take a movie apart by the limbs. Why should we feel the need to beat on it to no reason when a simple “Do not Recommend” will suffice. I’ll give you that certain films out there are mindless as shit. Transformers I’m looking at you. Nonetheless, it’s never cool to bash someone’s art no matter how little of the art you think there is. Is it because we compare it to other films with markedly different intentions? I know no film exists in a vacuum, but it’s important we make a distinction. Because I tell you elitism is not fly. I don’t know, what do you think?
Recs in effect:
My recommendation for this week isn’t a movie, but a resource for good criticism that I cosign
Filmspotting- These guys have an incredible podcast that I listen to weekly. They take every film seriously and focus on how the film works together holistically. They keep it lively and encourage a full discussion with listeners about why a movie works or does not. Does it push the medium? Is it original? Does it provide a visceral reaction? Highly recommended.
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