ThePlashyBubbler
06-02-2008, 07:19 AM
How does a film buff become a film buff? As film and film culture has grown throughout the last century, children grown alongside it, or more accurately in front of it: eyes fixed intently on the glow of the television set and the movie screen. As a child, we do not question the existence of the programs or movies we view. Their purpose as entertainment is largely taken for granted, and it is not until the realization is made that these images were purposefully constructed as narratives or works of artistic vision that the young viewer may transcend a superficial attachment. As I'm sure all the frequenters of this board can attest, there comes a moment in any movie-lovers' life when they reach that recognition of the movie as its own entity, and conceivably another when they acknowledge the presence of directors behind the scenes.
With this sophistication in the way we watch movies, a set of unspoken criteria emerges within every viewers' consciousness in regards to what constitutes a "good movie." Attempts to verbalize or defend ones position on particular films inherits these personal criteria. Individualism is therefore seemingly inherent in film criticism/discussion, as even if we agree that a particular film is worthy of praise, our reasons for believing so will undoubtedly be different. Likewise, films that are loathed by a pair of individuals will likely be such for separate reasons. Nothing is more exciting in film discussion than hearing a proponent of a film you either love or loathe give an impassioned reasoning for their ardor.
Within this context, I have grown somewhat distressed recently with not just the seeming universality of praise for a couple of recent films, but the way in which they were praised. The main source of my irritation was the critical response to Iron Man, in which the large majority of critics lauded Robert Downey Jr. for his brilliant turn as Tony Stark. Without questioning the validity of such a statement, nor whether it was the only critical defense of the movie, I found it interesting that so many critics seemed to overlook flaws in the movie in favor of this one aspect that had been widely mentioned by others. While Downey's performance may have been great, just how great of an effect did the general media's hyping of said performance have on popular opinion? In this growing climate of critical conformity, I began to wonder just what the best way of determining one's true internal guidelines for loving a film was.
I think that maybe the best way of determining such a thing would be to look back at those old childhood favorites. To return to the stories that connected with us as children before we accumulated our innumerable biases and qualifications for enjoying a film. This entire long-winded ramble actually came out of a conversation I had with a friend recently about some of our old childhood favorites. Many I have not returned to since I would watch them endlessly on the weekends and summers off from grade school. How do they hold up today? Do they meet our current criteria of what is a good movie? And are we willing to allow nostalgia to make up for any doubts me might have at their actual quality?
At some point I will probably attempt to re-watch some of my personal childhood favorites and write up some thoughts, as this is at the forefront of my mind at the moment. Until then, please feel free to ignore my rambling and use this thread as a place for discussion of old childhood favorites, how they hold up today, etc.
With this sophistication in the way we watch movies, a set of unspoken criteria emerges within every viewers' consciousness in regards to what constitutes a "good movie." Attempts to verbalize or defend ones position on particular films inherits these personal criteria. Individualism is therefore seemingly inherent in film criticism/discussion, as even if we agree that a particular film is worthy of praise, our reasons for believing so will undoubtedly be different. Likewise, films that are loathed by a pair of individuals will likely be such for separate reasons. Nothing is more exciting in film discussion than hearing a proponent of a film you either love or loathe give an impassioned reasoning for their ardor.
Within this context, I have grown somewhat distressed recently with not just the seeming universality of praise for a couple of recent films, but the way in which they were praised. The main source of my irritation was the critical response to Iron Man, in which the large majority of critics lauded Robert Downey Jr. for his brilliant turn as Tony Stark. Without questioning the validity of such a statement, nor whether it was the only critical defense of the movie, I found it interesting that so many critics seemed to overlook flaws in the movie in favor of this one aspect that had been widely mentioned by others. While Downey's performance may have been great, just how great of an effect did the general media's hyping of said performance have on popular opinion? In this growing climate of critical conformity, I began to wonder just what the best way of determining one's true internal guidelines for loving a film was.
I think that maybe the best way of determining such a thing would be to look back at those old childhood favorites. To return to the stories that connected with us as children before we accumulated our innumerable biases and qualifications for enjoying a film. This entire long-winded ramble actually came out of a conversation I had with a friend recently about some of our old childhood favorites. Many I have not returned to since I would watch them endlessly on the weekends and summers off from grade school. How do they hold up today? Do they meet our current criteria of what is a good movie? And are we willing to allow nostalgia to make up for any doubts me might have at their actual quality?
At some point I will probably attempt to re-watch some of my personal childhood favorites and write up some thoughts, as this is at the forefront of my mind at the moment. Until then, please feel free to ignore my rambling and use this thread as a place for discussion of old childhood favorites, how they hold up today, etc.