Pretension vs. Discretion

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.

Edmonton Questions 9/11, Along with Its Sanity

So I was walking down the street the other day in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, (AKA not New York or anywhere near New York), and I noticed a series of posters that exclaimed Edmonton Questions 9/11.

Edmonton.

Now my thoughts on 9/11 aside (though I'd say it's somewhere between this and this), what, exactly, is Edmonton questioning 9/11 going to do? Do the supposed conspirators have a map of the world with little bulbs that light up when a city with a population over 1 million (which Edmonton just has) is "on to them?" Will Dick Cheney be casually strolling through our fair city, on his way back from checking out the now-fourth-largest mall in the world, see the poster and realize he must finally break down and tell everyone the truth? Will Edmonton be the proverbial straw that broke the proverbial camel's proverbial back?

A part of me suspects this is not the case (the "brain" part). I have a small, but growing, suspicion that the... maybe 200 people, (I bet a dollar that none of them are structural engineers or established scientists) will not bring this thing crumbling down.

Or maybe I'm just in on it.

Disclaimer: (If this note comes off as patronizing (which it most assuredly will), let the record show that is not my intention. I know people who I consider quite intelligent who believe 9/11 was an inside job. While I certainly understand, and even share, their mistrust for government, I personally find the evidence flimsy. Furthermore, when you have no direct evidence of something, you're forced to accept whatever news reports you have access to. If you look at many of those clips, articles and videos outside the context of Loose Change or 9/11 Truth or Everyone is a Liar but Me, and still believe what you believe, than fine. I've made up my mind, and you're entitled to make up yours.

I do think it's kind of irrelevant, in that it was eight years ago, in a different country. I think it takes people's attention away from what's far more important, say... working to make this a functioning, participatory democracy.)