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MOFF'S LAW: A Rant Within a Rant Within a Rant About Thinking About Art
For the past week, I've been struggling to get something off my chest. I've been trying to compile examples, to formulate arguments, to try and put this long-standing frustration into words.
I didn't just want a rant. I wanted to write a goddamned manifesto. I wanted to write a rallying cry to artists and lovers of all art--from the highest of brows to the lowest--and issue a final "fuck you" to a widespread type of idiot who's been pissing me off more and more.
Especially within the superhero comic fan communities, oh god, they're the worst. These people seemingly dominate the fandom with their loud-mouth-breathing dismissals and assertions, and are in my opinion one of the worst things about comics as an industry today. And these asshats exist in droves for all forms of storytelling: TV, books (TWILIGHT fans are a perfect example), and most definitely film. Someone called what they do as spreading a "disease of thought," and it's about goddamn time someone called them out on it.
Thankfully for my procrastinating self, someone already did a few days ago, saying everything perfectly.
Joyless Bastard Devin at CHUD posted an editorial entitled "It's Okay to Think About Movies,". I now shall include Devin's introduction, and the actual core rant after that, in bold.
"You're overthinking it."
This is the rallying cry of morons across the internet. Of the mouth breathing folks who cringe at the idea of analysis that goes deeper than 'It rocked!' or 'It sucked!' For some reason they've come out in droves to decry thinking about Avatar, a movie that wears its 'subtext' on its sleeve and all but begs to be deconstructed, but they come out for pretty much every big movie. For these people movies are a narcotic, which I guess is fine - not everybody appreciates film as art the way we do - but they seem to be completely threatened that anyone would bother to take the time to think about (or, heaven forbid, think during) a movie.
Someone has actually summed all of this up much better than I can. I rarely - if ever - do this, but I'm reprinting a comment left on a recent io9 article that I think says just about everything that needs to be said on the subject. Thanks to Roger Ebert's Twitter for pointing me to a blog called Racialicious that initially pulled the comment out of the morass. The article at io9 was Annalee Newitz' absolutely excellent examination of white man's guilt/subconscious racism in Avatar ("When Will White People Stop Making Movies Like AVATAR?"); that kind of article will always get the most 'You're overthinking it' responses because not only is it about a blockbuster, it's about race in a blockbuster. The 'overthinkers' really hate it when people consider race, gender or class when discussing a film, and they'll bend over backwards to ignore any racism or sexism in a movie.
One thing this commenter didn't touch on: analyzing a movie is fun. I really have fun doing it. I like talking with friends about the meanings of things in films, books and other art. It's like a puzzle, and it's intriguing to work a movie over in my mind and ferret out the small bits that - consciously or unconsciously - the author left in there. It's fun to analyze works in the context of the time when they are created as well as in the context of the present moment; art is timeless and can say things about the world we live in even if it was created decades or centuries ago. I know it sounds crazy, but it's actually fun for me to use my brain.
Anyway, here's commenter Moff laying it all down for you:
Of all the varieties of irritating comment out there, the absolute most annoying has to be “Why can’t you just watch the movie for what it is??? Why can’t you just enjoy it? Why do you have to analyze it???”
If you have posted such a comment, or if you are about to post such a comment, here or anywhere else, let me just advise you: Shut up. Shut the fuck up. Shut your goddamn fucking mouth. SHUT. UP.
First of all, when we analyze art, when we look for deeper meaning in it, we are enjoying it for what it is. Because that is one of the things about art, be it highbrow, lowbrow, mainstream, or avant-garde: Some sort of thought went into its making — even if the thought was, “I’m going to do this as thoughtlessly as possible”! — and as a result, some sort of thought can be gotten from its reception. That is why, among other things, artists (including, for instance, James Cameron) really like to talk about their work.
Now, that doesn’t mean you have to think about a work of art. I don’t know anyone who thinks every work they encounter ought to only be enjoyed through conscious, active analysis — or if I do, they’re pretty annoying themselves. And I know many people who prefer not to think about much of what they consume, and with them I have no argument. I also have no argument with people who disagree with another person’s thoughts about a work of art. That should go without saying. Finally, this should also go without saying, but since it apparently doesn’t: Believe me, the person who is annoying you so much by thinking about the art? They have already considered your revolutionary “just enjoy it” strategy, because it is not actually revolutionary at all. It is the default state for most of humanity.
So when you go out of your way to suggest that people should be thinking less — that not using one’s capacity for reason is an admirable position to take, and one that should be actively advocated — you are not saying anything particularly intelligent. And unless you live on a parallel version of Earth where too many people are thinking too deeply and critically about the world around them and what’s going on in their own heads, you’re not helping anything; on the contrary, you’re acting as an advocate for entropy.
And most annoyingly of all, you’re contributing to the fucking conversation yourselves when you make your stupid, stupid comments. You are basically saying, “I think people shouldn’t think so much and share their thoughts, that’s my thought that I have to share.” If you really think people should just enjoy the movie without thinking about it, then why the fuck did you (1) click on the post in the first place, and (2) bother to leave a comment? If it bugs you so much, GO WATCH A GODDAMN FUNNY CAT VIDEO.
In the original Racialicious blog entry, this has been proposed as "Moff's Law." I second the motion. Much as I would have loved to have had this called "Hefner's Law," at least this way I'll think of Peter Cushing whenever I want to tear these assholes a new them.
I didn't just want a rant. I wanted to write a goddamned manifesto. I wanted to write a rallying cry to artists and lovers of all art--from the highest of brows to the lowest--and issue a final "fuck you" to a widespread type of idiot who's been pissing me off more and more.
Especially within the superhero comic fan communities, oh god, they're the worst. These people seemingly dominate the fandom with their loud-mouth-breathing dismissals and assertions, and are in my opinion one of the worst things about comics as an industry today. And these asshats exist in droves for all forms of storytelling: TV, books (TWILIGHT fans are a perfect example), and most definitely film. Someone called what they do as spreading a "disease of thought," and it's about goddamn time someone called them out on it.
Thankfully for my procrastinating self, someone already did a few days ago, saying everything perfectly.
Joyless Bastard Devin at CHUD posted an editorial entitled "It's Okay to Think About Movies,". I now shall include Devin's introduction, and the actual core rant after that, in bold.
"You're overthinking it."
This is the rallying cry of morons across the internet. Of the mouth breathing folks who cringe at the idea of analysis that goes deeper than 'It rocked!' or 'It sucked!' For some reason they've come out in droves to decry thinking about Avatar, a movie that wears its 'subtext' on its sleeve and all but begs to be deconstructed, but they come out for pretty much every big movie. For these people movies are a narcotic, which I guess is fine - not everybody appreciates film as art the way we do - but they seem to be completely threatened that anyone would bother to take the time to think about (or, heaven forbid, think during) a movie.
Someone has actually summed all of this up much better than I can. I rarely - if ever - do this, but I'm reprinting a comment left on a recent io9 article that I think says just about everything that needs to be said on the subject. Thanks to Roger Ebert's Twitter for pointing me to a blog called Racialicious that initially pulled the comment out of the morass. The article at io9 was Annalee Newitz' absolutely excellent examination of white man's guilt/subconscious racism in Avatar ("When Will White People Stop Making Movies Like AVATAR?"); that kind of article will always get the most 'You're overthinking it' responses because not only is it about a blockbuster, it's about race in a blockbuster. The 'overthinkers' really hate it when people consider race, gender or class when discussing a film, and they'll bend over backwards to ignore any racism or sexism in a movie.
One thing this commenter didn't touch on: analyzing a movie is fun. I really have fun doing it. I like talking with friends about the meanings of things in films, books and other art. It's like a puzzle, and it's intriguing to work a movie over in my mind and ferret out the small bits that - consciously or unconsciously - the author left in there. It's fun to analyze works in the context of the time when they are created as well as in the context of the present moment; art is timeless and can say things about the world we live in even if it was created decades or centuries ago. I know it sounds crazy, but it's actually fun for me to use my brain.
Anyway, here's commenter Moff laying it all down for you:
Of all the varieties of irritating comment out there, the absolute most annoying has to be “Why can’t you just watch the movie for what it is??? Why can’t you just enjoy it? Why do you have to analyze it???”
If you have posted such a comment, or if you are about to post such a comment, here or anywhere else, let me just advise you: Shut up. Shut the fuck up. Shut your goddamn fucking mouth. SHUT. UP.
First of all, when we analyze art, when we look for deeper meaning in it, we are enjoying it for what it is. Because that is one of the things about art, be it highbrow, lowbrow, mainstream, or avant-garde: Some sort of thought went into its making — even if the thought was, “I’m going to do this as thoughtlessly as possible”! — and as a result, some sort of thought can be gotten from its reception. That is why, among other things, artists (including, for instance, James Cameron) really like to talk about their work.
Now, that doesn’t mean you have to think about a work of art. I don’t know anyone who thinks every work they encounter ought to only be enjoyed through conscious, active analysis — or if I do, they’re pretty annoying themselves. And I know many people who prefer not to think about much of what they consume, and with them I have no argument. I also have no argument with people who disagree with another person’s thoughts about a work of art. That should go without saying. Finally, this should also go without saying, but since it apparently doesn’t: Believe me, the person who is annoying you so much by thinking about the art? They have already considered your revolutionary “just enjoy it” strategy, because it is not actually revolutionary at all. It is the default state for most of humanity.
So when you go out of your way to suggest that people should be thinking less — that not using one’s capacity for reason is an admirable position to take, and one that should be actively advocated — you are not saying anything particularly intelligent. And unless you live on a parallel version of Earth where too many people are thinking too deeply and critically about the world around them and what’s going on in their own heads, you’re not helping anything; on the contrary, you’re acting as an advocate for entropy.
And most annoyingly of all, you’re contributing to the fucking conversation yourselves when you make your stupid, stupid comments. You are basically saying, “I think people shouldn’t think so much and share their thoughts, that’s my thought that I have to share.” If you really think people should just enjoy the movie without thinking about it, then why the fuck did you (1) click on the post in the first place, and (2) bother to leave a comment? If it bugs you so much, GO WATCH A GODDAMN FUNNY CAT VIDEO.
In the original Racialicious blog entry, this has been proposed as "Moff's Law." I second the motion. Much as I would have loved to have had this called "Hefner's Law," at least this way I'll think of Peter Cushing whenever I want to tear these assholes a new them.
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The thing I'm learning to say is not a dismissive "You're reading too much into this" but rather an engaging, respectful, "I disagree, and here's why."
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Don't get me wrong, I have my "no, I really don't care how good it is, I love it" movies and books and TV. But I am consistently fussed at for thinking 'too much' about movies or books or TV, and then I am tempted to choke a bitch and ask for an explanation of the concept. Which would be counterproductive, what with them being choked.
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Then again, I am the kind of guy who will argue to the death that JACKASS is performance art.
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Ditto on Jackass being art. I don't like Jackass, but I'm glad they're doing it and I wholy appreciate their format.
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And since I was looking for an excuse to post this... the best video argument I can make for JACKASS being art is this SFW 46 second clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8fB8I4Y88Y
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But "just plain fun" was my opinion and doesn't decry the historic context and gender issues within the play.
Moff is right, and I seriously applaud this.
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I'm tired of the producers of entertainment assuming that I need to have everything painstakingly pointed out to me. Dammit, if you don't use some subtlety, there's no need for me to watch it again to catch the stuff I missed the first time. You're screwing yourselves out of repeat business, dumbasses. Plus you're insulting my intelligence and that pisses me off. So the next wannabe blockbuster or "must-see" TV show you put out? I'm probably going to bypass it on general principle.
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Basically, the point I've come to in all discussions like this is that all films are some one's fantasy. If you enjoy said fantasy, good on you. If you don't, well, then it's just not for you. Like, there's absolutely nothing on earth that I could gain from the sex and the city movie except for blood gushing out my nose, so i just ignore it. Why be bothered by something that was very obviously not designed with my particular demographic in mind. I could go further into this theory, but it is one of my many theories, that although I have put alot of thought and time and effort into them, gets reacted to with a knee jerk "that is not politically correct so I must hate him now."
Now, I also think the over thinking it people are also scum. Perhaps they and the critics should all be shot into space with a rocket headed for the sun.
And, for all my new found live and let live attitudes about movies, I am still me, and I have been having a rip roaring good time hating the fuck out of Avatar. So, you know, old habits die hard.
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(Elisabeth just found out from a third party that Mr. Darcy kept his friend Bingley from proposing to marry Elisabeth's older sister Jane, who was head-over-heels for Bingley)
"I do not see what right Mr. Darcy had to decide on the propriety of his friend's inclination, or why, upon his own judgement alone, he was to determine and direct in what manner his friend was to be happy."
If I want to pick a film's narrative structure apart, dammit, I will, and that's just as much a good use of my time as watching the film without slicing it open to see the insides.
Anyhoo, Merry Christmas, Mr. Hefner, and a happy new year.
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And a Merry Christmas to you too! Glad to see you back 'round these here parts! You've been missed! :)
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