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I tweet a lot about how art doesn’t exist to validate your morality. Dragged Across Concrete was one of my favorite films of last year and the politics of that are, well, ~problematic~
I was talking to a friend the other day about WW84 and my response to it.
I was talking to a friend the other day about WW84 and my response to it.
He correctly pointed out that it seems like I’m not adhering to my own line of thinking because I’m constantly pointing out the gross elements about it as to why it’s bad. He was right and it was a great conversation.
It got me thinking tho
It got me thinking tho
I don’t dislike that film solely for those reasons. I think it’s pretty mediocre to bad as a film, removed from that but on the flip side of that, I think it’s 100% ok to like that film or Soul or whatever else and acknowledge what people are saying about them.
It doesn’t make you a bad person to like those. I use those movies because that’s where the discourse is focused right now. Just as I think it’s vitally important to digest art that doesn’t necessarily line up with your morality, it’s equally important to examine your bias.
Nobody is telling you that you can’t like WW84 or Soul. But if your response to MENA folks or Black folks is that they’re wrong for feeling how they feel about those films, it’s no longer about the film being shitty. It’s about you being shitty.
These are important conversations as representation continues to move forward. Sometimes depiction isn’t enough. Especially when depiction is regressive or filtered through the lens of a white person.
Think critically about the stuff you love! It’s ok! I promise you, it’s not hard. It’s something I’m also trying to be better about as well. No one wants to cancel you or a film.
And people aren’t a monolith. I’ve seen plenty of love for those films from people who aren’t white. I just think we all need to listen to criticism. It’s healthy.
And I’m also not an arbiter of anything btw. Just venting some thoughts
