A disgustingly diplomatic post.
14 03 2007After all this extensive discussion on the “is it good” question, I feel as if one question needs to be asked: Is it really that important? Don’t get me wrong–this distinction is a very important one for me, but it seems that this is not a universal feeling. What if you don’t care whether a film you’re watching is ‘good’ or not, as long as you like it? And what if you’d rather not even make that distinction–you’re happier just accepting each film in terms of the enjoyment it brings you? While I disagree with this perspective personally, I think I’d feel very snobbish if I told someone not to think that way. As Stephanie points out, “a movie’s worth is in the eye of the beholder”. No arguments there. People will always disagree–not only about films but about books, scientific theories, philosophy…pretty much everything, actually. Everyone has their individual reasons for liking films, and it’s unfair to say that one person’s reason is less valid than another’s. If people went to movies with exactly the same purposes and expectations, it would be different. But we aren’t all looking for the exact same thing in movies. In fact, it even varies by individual film.
If you feel as if it’s important to make the distinction and be able to identify the difference, do that! (As I’ve said, that’s where I fall, personally.) But if it’s not all that important to you, don’t let other people’s opinions lessen your own film experience.
[...] I think that Serena and Robyn both bring up a very valid point: does this whole debate about liking a film verses it being “good” even really matter? Obviously it matters to Bordwell and Thompson. But does it really affect the average movie-goer? My bet has to be on “no.” The average American will probably not pay attention to movie reviews, but rather go and see a movie they think they will like based on the movie trailer. And, if the average American movie-goer does pay attention to reviews, I imagine that most of them don’t pay attention to who writes them, such as the father of the She’s My Rushmore blog owner (I’m sorry for not knowing your name). Granted, there are those people out there who do actually care if a movie is “good” or not. I can be that way myself. Now, what is “good?” I have no idea. Is it fantastic cinematography? Is it superb acting? Is it an original storyline? Is it a famous speech? Is it camera motion, or lighting? Who knows? There are many schools of thought on this subject. So how can we know for sure what is “good?” Well, we can listen to the critics, but I personally don’t like that idea, because I don’t care for other people telling me what I ought to consider “good;” or, we can each have our own individual ideas of what makes a “good” film. I’m willing to bet that there will be some similarities in our ways of thinking, and that it’s those similarities would create the canon of “good” or “classic” film. [...]