I fully expect this post to garner some backlash. Just note that is an off the cuff, purely emotional ramble.I, like most people who frequent this sub, am a movie geek. I love movies. I've always loved movies. I love watching them, talking about them, collecting them, writing about them...it's my biggest passion.I also love loving movies. And by that I mean the simple feeling of having just watched a good flick is something I cherish. It doesn't have to be the best film in the world, but having been entertain for 90 minutes or more by a motion picture is a wonderful pleasure.Over the past year or so, the state of film discourse online has really worn me down. I'm just kind of...sick of everyone's opinions. I know how petty and arrogant that sounds, but just hear me out. The internet is such a massive amplifier of opinions - both positive and negative, that it quickly becomes overwhelming to the point where it all starts to seem pointless.People tear into each other for not sharing the same opinions as them. People make casually arrogant comments about "You can like "This Film" all you want, but you have to acknowledge it's flaws.""How anyone can't see how "This Film" has objective flaws is beyond me."And this list can go on and on.It feels like people are in a constant battle to one-up each others wannabe intellectualism. It doesn't feel like anybody is interested in really talking and dissecting films anymore - in really digging into the experience and relationship you had with a film. It's all about trying to get one over on the film by looking for plot holes and crying "bad writing" every other sentence. It's like people try to be unrealistically objective about art - an inherently subjective subject.And please understand I am in no way saying you should just love every movie you watch and never be critical.I know I'm generalizing. I know it's not all like this...but rational voices are drowned in the choir, imo."But just as many people seem to blindly love and lavish unnecessary praise on everything like mindless fanboys! It's just as bad!"Well, yeah. This is also the case. But at the end of the day, I'd rather people go overboard with love than go overboard with hate. Unabashedly loving something is a far more innocent and positive act than always trying to pick things apart and be this uber objective film fan. Can overzealous fanboys be annoying? Of course. But at least they're having fun.People can't seem to just let others love movies.Here is a recent example. I was talking with a group of people on a different social media site - all of the "geek" variety. Somebody posted about Aquaman and how they loved it. I chimed in with my love, too. Soon enough, somebody else came along and thrashed the film. No, I DO NOT have a problem with people disliking things I like. What I have a problem with is this persons attitude, their approach to discourse. It wasn't simply enough for this person to be like "Eh, it wasn't my cup of tea for this reason and that reason etc." No no. They had demand we justify to them why we don't acknowledge the films "obvious flaws."We simply said: "Dude, because to us what you're claiming are flaws aren't flaws to us...or they don't hinder our enjoyment of the film."Like, I can acknowledge a films flaws. I don't love everything I watch. Far from it. But if my experience with a film is overwhelmingly positive to the point where the flaws fade into the background...I don't give a shit about mentioning them. What's the point? To prove to others I'm being "objective?" Nah man. I'd much rather dig into what a film means to me and why it works for me than worry about rattling off superficial nitpicks like a couple of cheesy moments or a few plot contrivances.The dude could not comprehend that our perspectives were different and that our experience with the film was inherently unique to ourselves. That's kinda how films work - it's different for everybody. I see this all the time - this myopic view that "You have to see it the way I see it. YOU have to validate MY opinion. If you don't, you're wrong."It's utterly ridiculous and I'm so damn sick of it.I don't know. I thought this would come out better than it did. Like I said, I'm just rambling. I'm sure this will be met with nothing but snarky remarks and insults. I guess I can see why, I am whining a whole lot. What I really want to say is that I just wish the internet film community was more positive. I don't mean that we all need to be easier on the films we don't like so much as we should learn how to better communicate our opinions in ways that aren't destructive, snotty, arrogant and myopic. via /r/movies http://bit.ly/2WKKvOD
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