There are some people who like everything, as long as it's popular culture. Every movie, television show, band, whatever. As long as it's presented to them, they swallow it whole. One thing I really notice whenever you get into a discussion with these people is that they seem to think that, by not liking every new dance movie or dramatic series about renegade cops/doctors/crime scene investigators, you're being picky or, even worse, Pretentious.
I think the problem a lot of these people have is they confuse pretension with another, somewhat similar word: discretion. This is an important distinction, but it's also a difficult one to make. The former is choosing whether to like something based on how important it makes you seem; the latter is choosing whether to like something based on whether or not it is any good.
Some examples will likely aid in this process:
Pretension: Not liking something because it's popular, or liking an artist until they become popular.
Discretion: Not liking something because it's popular and you're aware that most of what's popular is awful.
Neither: Liking something because it is being marketed to you/ you like the pretty sounds/images attached to the idea of it.
Pretension: Listening to Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Discretion: Listening to Death Cab for Cutie
Neither: Listening to Billy Talent
Pretension: Reading reviews before you decide whether you like something.
Discretion: Reading reviews before you decide whether a band/movie/show is worth checking out.
Neither: Reading reviews and dismissing them immediately because the author is clearly a fool for not having liked P.S. I Love You.
The last example brings me to the somewhat controversial subject of critics. While I don't generally trust one critic, critical consensus is a pretty good measure. The website Rotten Tomatoes is great for this. For example, it gave Transformers 57% (And Transformers 2 a 19%) and it gave Up 97%. Certainly, it is an inexact science and it does not account for taste (I know some people who thought Transformers was an 80%. Personally, I would've given Transformers approximately 0.5%. But nobody thought Transformers 2 was good.) Overall, it's a pretty good way to decide which movies are worth consideration, and which are definitely not.
I know it may seem like a pretty minute part of our daily lives and my concern over this may seem overblown. But it isn't.
The second we stop saying "this is good entertainment and this is bad entertainment" or "I'm going to exert my time watching this, but not watching that" is the second bad entertainment rules every facet of our lives--simply because bad entertainment is easier and cheaper to make. When we stop seeking out bands whose music has genuine feeling, those bands stop making that music. When we stop demanding more out of our movies, our movies cease to demand anything from us. It all becomes meaningless, vacuous entertainment.
So if you want a world where shows like Two and Half Men and According to Jim rule the television and Nickelback and Black Eyed Peas rule the airway, then fine. But I, for one, am going to ask for more from my entertainment providers.
4 comments:
I feel like the purpose of entertainment versus the perception of entertainment should be underlined in this commentary. Isn't the goal of entertainment afterall to distract/divert/amuse us?
While I agree with the notion that we should seek out great bands/shows/movies to support those artists who are trying to reach out to a public who's popular opinion is generally shit, I also think that we shouldn't single out "shitty" products like Two and a Half Men or Black Eyed Peas. After all, there are some credible people out there who enjoy the crudness of Two and a Half Men, or the good old fasionedness of Reba, or the black humour of the Steve Harvey Show, or the earlier stuff from the Black Eyed Peas, (these are just a few example of "shitty" entertainment products) etc. The artists who create this shit are supposedly trying to touch people with their craft. I think that the problem lies in the influence that money can have on an artist, compelling him to create something he knows is shit, therefore making it harder for the consumer to find stuff that is actually meaningful. But how are we to know that? And why accuse people of not using discretion when choosing entertainment?
I think that all we can do is experience art and hopefully we will react. Money, flash and flare don't look like they're goin' anywhere anytime soon so I for one am going to try and watch as many movies and listen to as many bands as possible. I know I'm not gonna like everything I see and hear but in watching and listening I gain perspective. And in watching and listening I am also pleasantly distracted from the stress of living. (Except for when I rent a movie and it turns out to be utter shit. Fuckin' hate that.)
That was part of the toungue-and-cheek-ieness of this post. Who the fuck am I to tell people how they should be engaging in their entertainment?
And I do know a number of people who say they can only find the sort of escapism you discuss in what I would call "bad" entertainment. But a lot of the time, I would argue they're just not looking hard enough. I would argue movies like Up or Star Trek can be just as escapist, while still being good.
But to say "Money, flash and flare don't look like they're going anywhere" is to portray consumers as innocent victims in the matter. If Final Destination 3D didn't gross $80 million in its first two weekends, they wouldn't consider developing Final Destination 4D (or whatever the next one will be called).
Also, it's good to hear from you. How have you been?
Maybe we are innocent victims in this thing if these kinds of movies keep grossing more and more millions of dollars! I think pretty soon we're headed for a motha-fuckin ento-tainment industry 3000 in which even those with the best discretion are doomed to spend their money at the box office for hypnotic type special effects that are wonderfully addictive. Hmm? It's not so far fetched. No one is safe from bad taste.
You're right, though. Who's to say what people should and should not like? The thing is that I have a heck of a time defending my attraction to sitcoms. If it's a sitcom, I will probably enjoy it. (But then again I do have to draw the line somewhere. I haven't yet found that line.)
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