Honestly? People seem to think that tearing down popular things somehow makes them more clued-in than other people...and its more of an attention-grabbing technique than anything else, IMO.
Shoot, there's problems with virtually any movie, but to "hate" this movie...or to call it "crap"...that just reflects back on the person saying it, IMO. It smells of trying too hard.
Keanu is a one-note actor, but he fits this role well, standing in for the every-man...Hugo Weaving was extraordinary as Agent Smith, Laurence Fishbourne WAS Morpheus...the story was HIGHLY original at the time for general audiences, the philosophy is still solid and if you look up "groundbreaking" in the dictionary, there should be a reference to the Matrix's special effects...
I get if The Matrix isn't one of your favorite sci-fi movies, but trying to say that its a bad movie just makes you seem goofy, IMO.
Focusing on the negative is what gets the clicks over on Youtube, Youtubers know this and if you want to tear down something considered "great" in pop culture, it only takes an angle. You can do it with virtually anything. That we're so quick to fall in line with agreement...that's kind of depressing to me.
Its easy to tear stuff down...fun even. But its a self-serving kind of fun, IMO and it doesn't do anyone any favors in the long run. If we were all to continually engage in it, I imagine there wouldn't be much of anything "fun" left to pick through.
Good for Nostalgic critic getting his clicks, but its a pretty difficult argument to make that there's more to hate in this movie than there is to love.
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Otter (24464)
5 years ago
Your remarks on critics remind me... my favorite art critic of all time, in fact the only art critic I ever paid attention to, was art historian and critic Sister Wendy Beckett (seen on various TV specials some years ago).
She was the only critic I'd ever seen, in any field, who was able to say what made a painting noteworthy or great, in a few simple and well-chosen words. Most critics spend their lives tearing works of art to shreds or damning with faint praise, which gets old fast because tearing art to shreds is easy and any small-minded bitch can do it. Praising a painting or film or play is actually harder than tearing it to shreds, any tiny-minded bitch can complain about anything and bring enough snark to draw a laugh or two, but giving something the praise it deserves requires a much higher level of understanding, not to mention it's harder to write in an interesting way.
Yeah, that's kind of off topic, but yeah, I suppose a general observation on the art of being a critic is fair. And I must get out my copy of "The Story of Painting", since I have a long weekend.
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Jehosaphet (1055)
5 years ago
Hah that's insightful as hell...hadn't really thought of it this way.
"any tiny-minded bitch can complain about anything and bring enough snark to draw a laugh or two, but giving something the praise it deserves requires a much higher level of understanding, not to mention it's harder to write in an interesting way."
That's SOLID. Also...praising something seems like it'd be putting more of yourself out there to be judged. There's more at stake...if you profess to loving something that others are tearing down as being "pretentious" fodder for the easily manipulated or whatever, its YOU that looks like the fool, you know?
At least moreso than someone who tears down something everyone else loves. Because you're not necessarily a fool as much as maybe you're just hypercritical, or have "high standards" or some such.
I think you're onto something here. Being unnecessarily critical is much more likely to be in the comfort zone of the insecure...the most natural disposition for those of us who may have less faith in their own judgment than they like to pretend...who are wrapped up in what others think of them. You think?
Great post!
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Otter (24464)
5 years ago
I think you're absolutely right about everything you just said.
Especially this: "Being unnecessarily critical is much more likely to be in the comfort zone of the insecure...the most natural disposition for those of us who may have less faith in their own judgment than they like to pretend..."
It's also an easy way to come up with blog filler, hack up something or someone that's widely liked. It's much harder to do the reverse.
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