I was talking to somebody recently who claimed to be a "BIG time movie buff!" I perked up, because I love talking movies. But then she proceeded to give me blank stares when I talked about what upcoming movies I was looking forward to (having only heard of The Hobbit), and then later bragged about owning almost 200 movies. Needless to say I went into snob mode, being that together Craig and I have over 1500 films at home. "Ha! Foolish mortal thinking she can outdo me in movie buffness!" Well, I didn't say that out LOUD, but you get the idea. I get the same way when I hear people talk about Twilight, or Tyler Perry, or anything involving a fat suit or bad CGI.
However, when among "true movie buffs", I sometimes feel a little insecure. No, I haven't seen enough Ingmar Bergman, yes I sometimes find complicated movie plots hard to follow and I hate having to ask "Wait, what just happened?" Sometimes, when given a choice between something new and something I've seen a billion times, I opt for Spice World. Again. So who am I to say I'm a bigger fan than somebody else? But then again maybe I don't give myself enough credit. I took film history classes in college and I probably watch more films than the average person, so while I may not be a total expert, I guess I'm allowed to have strong opinions about things. I can group myself together with other movie buffs, even though I haven't seen The Fifth Element (I'm SORRY already!). I can watch my guilty pleasures and enjoy them just as much as genuinely brilliant films. So if people want to talk movies, I could probably be more polite about it.
The next time I hear somebody talk about sparkling vampires, I will bite my tongue and go home to my husband. There the two of us can watch a Marx brothers movie and all will be right with the world.
I HAVEN'T SEEN FIFTH ELEMENT EITHER!!! Sorry. I had to put that in caps because I'm excited (I want to...one day.)
ReplyDeleteBut, yes! I can relate to this so much. I can be SUCH a film snob yet I will happily watch Drive Me Crazy (or Spice World as well!) more times than perhaps I should care to admit (but, damn it, that film makes me feel good).
And I can feel very uncomfortable around 'true' movie buffs, too. I was having this conversation with another film loving friend via email about how, especially men, can be very derisive about maybe more mainstream films etc and play the old 'well...you're not really smart enough to understand why you're wrong about your opinion' card (in so many words, anyway) in a lot of instances (this was in reference to The Dark Knight Rises and some super wanky articles I read on it. I agreed with a lot of criticism about OTHER things but these guys were just being pretentious for the sake of it, I think.)
Anyway, I think there is a lot to think about here. I like to hope people think critically about what they are watching and the wider social etc implications of portrayals of certain people and what-not but I also think that sometimes a film is made to just be enjoyed. I don't know! I think I've started to go off on a tangent, now...
-Andi x
the older i've gotten, the less film snobs/"true" film buffs I have in my circle of friends, so i find myself biting my tongue. not just to resist the urge to correct someone, but to not bore them to tears raving about the french new wave or silent german expressionism or why the original japanese version (of whatever) was better.
ReplyDeletebut i will always cut loose and let my cinematic gut hang out, if you will. tonight i watched INSIDIOUS and enjoyed it immensely.
Now go watch THE FIFTH ELEMENT!