Not long ago, I was surfing IMDB looking for something to watch. I had stumbled upon a film that was iconic, and it was a must see for true film lovers. The film was called The Terminator and I gave it a watch. Needless to say I was not impressed as much as everyone else was. There are numerous films out there that are extremely popular that I still haven’t seen, so I’m over here playing catch-up. I didn’t anticipate that I would be so underwhelmed by a film beloved by the vast majority of people who saw it. It wasn’t bad, but not great in my opinion.
People have always been conflicted with sharing their true feelings about a number of topics. It is not limited to one. In the case of film, I believe there is nothing more important than sharing your own opinion. Of course there will always be opposition. People will be quick to label you as a bandwagon or contrarian for feeling a certain way. A prime example of this is film critic Armond White. Armond White is an american film critic, and although I don’t know much about him as a person, he is known to have some pretty hot takes. He has in fact been labeled during a time as a contrarian. I discovered him when I was sorting through the Rotten Tomatoes reviews of the film Parasite. This particular picture actually garnered awards such as Best Directing, Best Picture, and Best adapted screenplay. It also happened to be one of my favorites of the year. Armond White said in a scathing review “Bong himself is a political con artist. He pits a family of grifters in opposition to elites, as though clarifying the easily exploited social conflicts frequently repeated in the media.” At first glance I found this reaction to be pretty pretentious, but as I read his full review it made a little bit more sense what his stance was.
If you hate a movie that everyone else loves, or loves a movies that everyone else hates, Well that’s all fine. But if you want people to take you seriously, you gotta explain yourself. No one is obligated to do so, but I believe if you do it will create room for discussion. That’s part of what film is about, everything for that matter. Discourse. If you tell your friends or peers you don’t like something, chances are they will ask why. In the beginning, I said I watched The Terminator and it didn’t impress me as much as I expected. I felt like I committed a crime giving it a 3 out of 5 instead of a higher score. But as I looked around and found similar opinions, I felt a little comforted. Now that might not always happen. People you look up to might think otherwise about a film, and thats okay. Pretending that you love something when you really don’t is one of the worst feelings. So don’t hide it. Express how you truly feel about something. At the end of the day people might not be fully convinced by what you have to say, but they will be introduced to a new perspective. That’s the beauty of having a difference of opinion.
Be firm about it and don’t let others change it.
Cedric Cinema 