the way we talk about movies today.
as a movie lover, and by that i mean, someone who actually factually loves watching movies, seeing general audiences parrot the language of studio heads and film promoters as though we all have some collective skin in the game for each and every new release has been…exhausting, to say the least.
we seem to have lost the plot when it comes to art. constantly seeking a return on the investment of our time and energy over all else. it’s no longer enough to simply enjoy movies and music — one must instead chastise entire industries to prove our “true” love for them. one must do the absurd work of asking “WHO WILL RECOUP THE EXECUTIVES’ HARD-EARNED MONEY?!” one must rain down criticism as a showcase of expertise and analysis.
how is it that the desire to avoid being cringe, being seen LIKING SOMETHING, has already gotten us to this soulless place?
i have some ideas.
obviously, capitalism is up first. the insidious search for transactional utility has found its way into every nook and cranny of our lives and cannot help but fuck with our fun and entertainment. if everything’s about money, where does fun fit? if for everything we do, we expect to receive a return in kind, it’s not unreasonable to see how someone would systematically cut off fun if or because it doesn’t feel worth it. if there’s no return. “didn’t have fun at that party — think i’m done going to parties” OR “that movie sucked — see why i don’t go to the movies???” capitalism (and low effort, which i’ll discuss further below) is also what gets people talking about numbers and metrics and ROI, rather than the art itself. with a focus on utility, art needs to pre-prove its existence, worth, and value to you in order for you to engage with it in the first place.
next up, our friend nihilism aka none of this shit matters — fun included! combined with capitalism, nihilism doesn’t only make fun unworthy of your time and energy, but also pointless in general. if nothing matters, what is fun? why is fun meaningful? why is it worth it to figure out what fun is for you? “eh, that movie could be good, but how good really? who cares?”
let’s add in low effort. the expressions of low effort we throughout american society have many many different origins, including exhaustion from capitalism, but what i’d like to focus on here is decision fatigue. when fun doesn’t feel worth it overall, it starts to feel like one more thing you have to do — even though it quite literally isn’t, and you’re therefore less likely to exert effort to do it. “i could go see the movie now, but why? it’ll come to streaming, i’ll watch it then” furthermore, because of expansive social media followings and parasocial behaviors, we can see more and more people conflating the collective effort of others as their own, which only further diminishes individual effort. “everyone’s seen it so i’ve basically seen it” OR “everyone’s posted about it, so i already know what it is”
another one: younger generations creating hyper-curated lives. i’m 36 — growing up, i just…went to the movies. i didn’t watch or really care about trailers, and even if i did see a trailer, i didn’t review them with general audiences in mind. i bought a ticket, went to the movies, saw the movie, came home. at home, i…watched what was on TV. if i liked it, awesome. if i didn’t, whatever. when you’ve curated (or are trying to curate) every aspect of your life for maximum pleasure and enjoyment, or more likely, to minimize negative experiences as much as possible, anything that might temporarily disturb your peace becomes a threat. any experience with a bad movie now comes with a pain that only seems comparable to a broken heart and is followed by the denouncing of the entire movie industry vs. it being time spent engaging with a so-so piece of art. any harm to your curation becomes a nonnegotiable.
finally, let’s review what i consistently think is the biggest culprit: our growing societal disgust of enjoyment for enjoyment’s sake. of FUN. the cringe of it all. what’s most disheartening to me is the way our young people are learning, practicing, and fully accepting this as part of life. that it’s shameful to purely and vocally enjoy something, and you need to instantly produce an infinite number of caveats to a positive reaction to art in order for it to be a “REAL” opinion. have you read 4 and 4.5 star reviews for movies lately? far too many of them sound worse than 1 star reviews. or review videos from creators who clearly adore a piece of art, but have titled it “does this suck?!” or “does it live up to the hype?” in order to get views. people are doing everything they can to avoid looking “soft” on art.
so, how do we get out of this awful spiral? i’m not sure, but i know it won’t come by us hiding our praise for art we love. it won’t come by removing fun from our lives completely. it won’t come by cowering to cringe. we can be thoughtful and analytical people who engage with art AND simply like it. answering “was it good?” and “did you like it?” is enough for the vast majority of people watching movies, and we don’t need to convince ourselves otherwise in order to preserve the supposed sanctity of the movie industry.
let’s get back to just checking out a movie. if it changes your life, INCREDIBLE. if it doesn’t, there’s always another one.
