When I was in college, I found my film teachers abrasive, bitter and resentful towards cinema. At the time I didn't fully understand why. These were professors whose career was based around loving and appreciating film, and all they could do was cut people down who gave an opinion or trash the latest Batman movie. My professor for Film Theory 101 began the first day by announcing, "This is the class that will make you hate movies." It was funny, but I worried that my already cynical attitude would grow into an enormous cloud of negative didactic behavior. I loved movies, how could my studying them ever change that?A year or so later, after I had truly emerged myself in film studies, I went to see the Bob Dylan inspired film "I'm Not There" with some friends. While sharing what we each thought of the film, and after I expressed my initial distaste for it, one of my friends retorted fatuously "Oh, well you just didn't get it." And in that moment, all my film professors' cynicism came rushing back to my memory and I suddenly realized,"Oh my God, people have no idea what they're talking about." And that sliver of truth I had finally realized was so true and pure placed me in the shoes of my teachers, and what a miserable existence they must lead. But of course, I wanted that existence too.
Just think, receiving degrees and diplomas and writing scholarly work and analyzing every aspect of the art of cinema, from the Lumiere Brothers to David Cronenberg, dedicating yourself to study and practice until that wealth of technical and aesthetic understanding became your profession, your mastery and your love, only to realize every single person on earth who has ever watched any movie believes that they know just as much as you do. Despite your best efforts, to them, you are just a cynical jerk. Because you didn't like Avatar. Because you didn't cry at the end of Love, Actually. Because you didn't think The Hangover was funny. Because honestly, Trainspotting wasn't really that good, was it? Tell someone any of these things, and you will be labeled an outcast, be told that movies aren't art, they are just entertainment, and your existence is futile. They are merely opinions, but with some intellectual ground behind them.You wouldn't treat your doctor like a fool if he explained his opinion on your health, would you? (Unless physicians undergo the same arrogant abuse from patients, and I am unaware). But unfortunately, film aficionados are considered quacks. Useless intellectuals of a pseudo art. Perhaps such is the life of a scholar.
I will clarify at this point that I do not consider myself a scholar, nor an expert by any means. I am a film lover, and I firmly believe that there is an art and a science to be appreciated in cinema. Yet I believe this ignorance towards cinema appreciation causes such grief and crushing defeat that any so devout will spiral into reclusive cynicism. And like I said, it was four words that engendered those sentiments: You don't get it. In an extremely delayed response to this, I want to impart the wisdom of my former professor onto everyone who has heard these words expressed about a film. And that is simply, that there is nothing to get.
"Not getting" a film is absolute nonsense. It is a sentiment expressed by someone who doesn't know why he or she likes a film, they just do. And instead of admitting that, the individual will make his or her opinion so lofty and presumptuous and claim that there is a secret truth hidden in the depths of the film, so grand and eloquent that those who can grasp it are simply a step ahead of the rest. "Sorry, you just don't get it." But there is no such truth. Not in any film. Not in Citizen Kane and not in I'm Not There. It's simply lights on celluloid. This expression makes the critic sound plainly like an idiot. What could there be that the viewer missed that makes the film so good? What is there to "get"? A confusing plot line? A symbolic reference to current social ills? A back story only understood by true fans of the series? Such concerns aren't the highlights of a well-made film. In fact, they are quite the opposite.
A film inherently is a visual representation of a filmmakers perspective, surreal or common, factual or fictional, story driven or collage inspired. A film is a collaboration of shots and sequences juxtaposed in a unique way to convey whatever the artist desires. And I would argue that if this juxtaposition is conveyed poorly or without innovation, it simply isn't all that interesting. Unless, of course, you are fascinated by the content. That is the biggest difference, and the problem is most people can't admit to it. It's the difference between liking Pirates Of The Caribbean because it actually had a coherent and interesting plot progression, or because you think pirates and Johnny Depp are sexy. Neither of these distinctions are any better or worse than the other. They are opinions, and it doesn't matter who says them or what they stem from. Admittedly, to hold a high opinion of one's study in cinema over anyone else's is just as ridiculous as claiming there is something to "get" in a movie. Both critics are jackasses, and myself included at times. But the vital point is that everyone has an opinion, and if you do, just admit it. Don't try to make yourself or your praise sound more intriguing. It's not. Just say why you like the movie. Any reason, no matter how undeveloped, is better than "because it got it."
Case in point. I love Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park. I love it. I have since I was young and I still do today. And the reason is because I think dinosaurs are super bad-ass. And that movie was super bad-ass. I'm not going to dazzle and bewilder anyone with fanciful or technical descriptions because I need to be taken seriously. It's just an awesome movie. Because the T-Rex is huge and the velociraptors attack from the side and Jeff Goldblum says, "When you gotta go, you gotta go." I think all that is awesome. It is as simple as that.All I wish was that my friend who enjoyed I'm Not There could have said, "I like Bob Dylan. This movie had Bob Dylan songs. Therefore, I like this movie," instead of the high and mighty claim that I didn't "get it." Perhaps this entire ranting and raving could be spared. But instead I will encourage only one thing from movie-goers, and that is say what you mean. Movies exist for your enjoyment, whether its because you appreciate how the timing of the cuts in an Alfred Hitchcock film heighten suspense, or because you think Julia Roberts is such a wonderful woman that everything she's in is amazing. It doesn't matter. Both are equally valid. Just know what you like, don't be afraid to admit it, and for the love of God, don't ask ANYONE while walking out of a theater if they "got it."
Movies People Will Often Say You Need To Get To Enjoy (false)
Donnie Darko
Mulholland Dr.
Fight Club
Requiem For A Dream
Memento
Citizen Kane
Again, just enjoy these films. If you've watched it, you haven't missed anything.
