Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Take the Bad with the Good

I started writing amateur reviews for films about three years ago. It was part of a pet project I had to make my high school's newspaper a little less sucktastic. My articles were mostly well-received, except by those who got off on reading multiple surveys on people's favorite Thanksgiving treats. I enjoyed writing them; they allowed me to be a bit more active when going to the movies, and they gave me an outlet to flex my writing muscles. Yet, while people liked my writing, they seemed to have a problem with the asshole who put the words to paper. To this day, I get a lot of people telling me, "Payton, all you do is tear things down." And to them, I have a message.

Oh, honey-child, you know I do.
No. No, I don't only tear down people's hard work. Unless the project is poorly constructed, lazy, or associated with Jennifer Anniston. But I digress. Despite being a frequent user of the Internet, I try to keep my cynicism in check. I tend to give most things the benefit of the doubt, and I always look for the good until the bad shows up with sparklers in a star-spangled skirt and does high kicks. But I digress.

Instead, I tend to absorb my entertainment with a sense of caution. There's so much crap out there that I think we should be careful of how we take it in. Movies, TV shows, games, or whatever else may not seem terribly important, but think about it. Which part of 2012 excited you more: the election or the summer blockbusters?

Whedon 2016
Then again, I'm not condemning the enjoyment of that which is objectively bad. You're going to like what you like - haters gonna hate. Just be sure that what you like has some heart to it, or at least strikes a chord with you personally. 2008's Wanted is one of my favorite films. Is it any good? Not really; in fact, it's pretty freaking stupid. But it's enjoyable as crap. Will you see me ranting about how it "defined a generation" or "is incredibly underrated?" Nope, but I will squeal like a girl if you show me the assault on the Fraternity.

I still get tingles.
Like what you like, no matter how bad. But the minute you start placing The Hunger Games on the same level as The Departed or The Hurt Locker, you can bet I'll call you out on it. Because The Hunger Games is a bad film. Sorry you had to hear it from me. As for me, I'll keep reviewing - it's fun. However, if I piss you off, just don't read it.

But really, keep reading. I mean it. Don't go...

I've had so few comments on this blog, I'll settle for emoticon penises in the section below. You have my permission.

5 comments:

  1. When you find that you can no longer sleep, for images of emoticon penises are burnt in to your retinas, dancing at the edge of your vision, taunting what little of you may have once been sane, I want you to remember this day. And I want you to remember that you asked for this

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    We are legion. And our emoticon penises will block out the sun.

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  2. I like this post. I am to music as you appear to be to movies; my peeps consider me to be a music "critic" and some people have resorted to concealing their musical tastes from me, lest they be forced to come to terms with their favorite bassist being sloppy or their favorite band's tendency to re-arrange the same lyrics and themes to make all of their songs.

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  3. Tyler, I think it's adorable that you take my writing "seriously."

    As for Thomas, We will...do something in the shade...or something.

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  4. I'm a part time reviewer too and I completely agree. I have been a huge movie nerd since I was a kid and I do see the importance of film. There is a lot of crap out there, but it doesn't mean it can be enjoyed. But also, not every Coen Brothers film is good. You're never going to please everyone. Don't worry about people who think the Hunger Games is good, they are idiots.

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  5. What? Thomas? To whom are you even talking? You know not the man behind the mask.

    There's a difference between just bashing something, and doing it in a way that's funny. You can't say that someone is just tearing things down when they're building things with the remains of the things that they're tearing down. This might sound deep and philosophical, if someone other than me was saying it.

    Also, the URL for this page says "Pigs with lipstick can be sexy", and I have no idea why.

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