How DARE You Like That Movie!!

It's not easy being a fan of "bad movies".

I've run into this situation a countless number of times. Either myself, or somebody else, mentions the fact that they happen to enjoy a movie which is generally seen as being "bad". This is then followed by somebody else coming up behind them and verbally attacking that person for expressing his opinions. For instance, most recently online, I witness someone mention that they're a fan of Star Wars: Episode II. Some self-righteous prick decided to respond to this person, saying that their opinion on film as a whole has now been invalidated since, as a result of enjoying this generally poorly received movie, they clearly don't know what they're talking about.

This infuriates me, and while I wasn't personally involved in that particular exchange, I have been on the receiving end of it more times than I'd like to admit. And it's not just anonymous faces on the internet who are doing this. I've had this happen in real life, too, which leads to a very uncomfortable situation where I'm suddenly forced to defend my personal tastes.

Spider-Man 3 and the Star Wars prequels are some of my favorite movies in recent times. All of these movies receive, in my opinion, an unwarranted amount of hatred on by a very vocal portion of society. And I have had the fact that I like these films thrown in my face by these people on many occasions. If I'm not a fan of a movie getting good reviews, "Yeah, but you liked Spider-Man 3, so your opinion doesn't matter." Or if I happen to kinda like a film that's getting panned, and try to defend its good points in a debate, "Aren't you the guy who listed Tron: Legacy as his second best film of the year? Yeah, that shows what you know."

But why does one's appreciation of "bad movies" even play a role in determining how informed someone is on the subject at hand? Why is it that people who can see good in places where others see nothing but bad are looked down on? From my perspective, I think it shows that people like myself are, perhaps, maybe a little more open-minded than those who blindly shun what society has deemed "bad". We don't allow society to dictate our opinions for us. We have a mind of our own, and we embrace it.

The way I see it, being a fan of film doesn't just mean enjoying what you're supposed to enjoy, while scoffing at what you're supposed to scoff at. It means being able to find a true, genuine enjoyment in a wide variety of films, and to be able to enjoy a movie for what it is. Some movies aren't meant to be "good". That doesn't necessarily make them unenjoyable, or dare I say, "bad".

And just because we enjoy those "bad movies", that doesn't mean we don't like the good ones, too. We most certainly do, and by accepting movies for what they are, both the "good" and the "bad", we are presented with a wide spectrum of films to enjoy at our disposal. But that's not to say that I enjoy all films. I have several films I don't like, some considered good, some considered bad. The thing is, though, I attack the films themselves. I don't have a problem with an individual who enjoys those films, and I won't shun someone for expressing those views.

I guess I never understood the reasoning behind attacking the movie-goer for his opinions, rather than just the movie itself. If you don't like that particular movie, that's fine. But why think lower of me because of a difference in taste? Don't attack me for being a fan of it. Attacking the movie itself will do just fine. Why can't we just agree to disagree and leave the personal attacks out of it?