# Dumbest reasons to dislike a movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 11, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041 "2009-05-11T15:59:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/121 "2009-05-12T17:56:09Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Yeah, what is up with this trend anyway? Did it used to be prohibited and now that it’s allowed every director has to put a vomit scene in? Is it some kind of ratings grabber, like nudity? It makes it gritty and realistic. The way having black characters with speaking parts did back in the '70s, having Asians with speaking parts did back in the '80s, and having Hispanics with speaking parts did back in the '90s. They just ran out of ethnics, so they had to start in on bodily functions. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/122 "2009-05-12T18:05:11Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > It makes it gritty and realistic. The way having black characters with speaking parts did back in the '70s, having Asians with speaking parts did back in the '80s, and having Hispanics with speaking parts did back in the '90s. They just ran out of ethnics, so they had to start in on bodily functions. Yeah, but how often do you encounter vomiting people? This town isn’t exactly rife with Asians but I do encounter a black person every once in awhile. Pukey McUpchuck, not so much. Your explanation made me giggle, by the way:) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/123 "2009-05-12T18:18:23Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Yeah, but how often do you encounter vomiting people? I work in a public library. You probably don’t want to know the answer to that question. > [@](#): > > Your explanation made me giggle, by the way:) Happy to help. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/124 "2009-05-12T18:19:21Z")
> [@Cardinal](#): > > That’s what I heard, and one of the reasons I haven’t seen it. Rather than being “glorified,” the adultery in it has some devastating consequences, and creates a huge emotional mess in the main characters even before anything really bad happens. Hardly what I’d call “glorifying.” So my point about that being a dumb criticism of _The English Patient_ is that the movie actually doesn’t glorify adultery. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/125 "2009-05-12T18:24:04Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > Rather than being “glorified,” the adultery in it has some devastating consequences, and creates a huge emotional mess in the main characters even before anything really bad happens. Hardly what I’d call “glorifying.” I think when people say that Brokeback Mountain (and its glorious cousin, The English Patient\*) glorify adultery, they mean that the adulterers are presented with too much sympathy as opposed to the persons being cheated on. The adulterers, because they are “in love,” are presented as, if not morally superior to the faithful spouses, then at least morally equivalent. This is an iffy position; some people find it downright offensive. \*Yes, _glorious_. It has Kristin Scott Thomas naked in a bathtub at the very height of her goddessitude. Few things are more glorious than that. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/126 "2009-05-12T18:26:17Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Maybe I misunderstood, but I got the feeling that he was implying that pretentious isn’t a valid assessment of a movie and that anyone who asserts that is too stupid to have understood it. Sometimes what you describe is true. In fact, I think I hear the label “pretentious” coming out of the mouths of fools and dullards far more often than from anyone who has an ounce of good taste. _But that’s not what I meant._ What I meant was with regard to people who clearly did in fact miss some important aspects of movie and call it pretentious because they didn’t get it. Even more hilarious is when they insist they got it, when ten seconds of discussion reveals that in fact many of the salient points of the movie flew over their heads completely. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/127 "2009-05-12T18:27:18Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > \*Yes, _glorious_. It has Kristin Scott Thomas naked in a bathtub at the very height of her goddessitude. Few things are more glorious than that. Oh my, yes. However I would assert that the English Patient does not portray the adulterers as superior, although they are mostly sympathetic, until Ralph Fiennes’s characters goes off the emotional deep end anyway. I’ll let someone else defend Brokeback Mountain, but I’d say describing it as “glorifying adultery” is also pretty stupid. Clearly the characters’ inability to remain loyal to their wives is treated sympathetically, yes, but hardly glorified. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/128 "2009-05-12T18:34:20Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Quite true. And don’t misunderstand: I think Brokeback Mountain is an excellent movie. I just think the adultery make the protagonists less likeable, but not unforgivably unlikeable. Their sin is part of what makes them tragic. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/129 "2009-05-12T18:39:17Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > . . . > > _But that’s not what I meant._ What I meant was with regard to people who clearly did in fact miss some important aspects of movie and call it pretentious because they didn’t get it. Even more hilarious is when they insist they got it, when ten seconds of discussion reveals that in fact many of the salient points of the movie flew over their heads completely. Ah, I have encountered this. The sad part is, there’s no shame in not \*getting \*a movie. When I don’t understand something (Hello, David Lynch) I like to ask anyone who’ll put up with me to 'splain. Some folks are letting their pride get in the way of a great cinematic experience. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/130 "2009-05-12T18:45:38Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > Their sin is part of what makes them tragic. I wouldn’t agree that it is tragedy. In tragedy, a character’s flaws leads them to a terrible fall they did not deserve. Thus, it is not tragic. In Macbeth, for instance, both Lord and Lady Macbeth partly rue the choice they made and perhaps would do it over, but trapped themselves in a position they could not escape and therefore paid for it. In BM, they were not trapped except by their own wills, and proceded to make the situation increasingly worse. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/131 "2009-05-12T18:55:08Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > I find curious this opinion ( shared by some of my friends as well, by the way ) that posits that movies are inherently superior to TV. Especially in these renaissance days of quality cable series, I simply can’t agree that’s the case. > > Further I find odd the argument ( and this may not be yours ) that watching TV is in general an inferior way to spend your time relative to some other leisure time activity. There is nothing ennobling about reading a book, for instance - I should know, I read plenty and have scarcely improved in nobility at all :). If that’s _all_ you do, I’ll grant that’s a bit constipated. But folks that _refuse_ to watch TV “because it’s a waste of time”, perplex me. If you _enjoy_ it, it’s no more a waste of time than that Carl Hiasson novel you’re reading. I never said any such thing! Movies are 2-3 hours, and they are DONE - I have a plot resolution (most of the time), and I can put it away. And it still takes me 2-3 nights to watch most movies because I don’t want to watch it all at once. TV shows drag on and on and on and on and rarely have any definite conclusion. I may enjoy three episodes in a row but then the fourth episode sucks. I may have to deal with a cliffhanger and then watch the next season. Basically it is just way more demanding than a movie, to me. I don’t mean movies are necessarily inferior to TV…I just think movies fit better into my lifestyle. I just hate the arc of TV shows. Get on with it! ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/132 "2009-05-12T19:50:48Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > I find curious this opinion ( shared by some of my friends as well, by the way ) that posits that movies are inherently superior to TV. Especially in these renaissance days of quality cable series, I simply can’t agree that’s the case. You’re right in the sense that movies are generally getting crappier and cable tv shows are generally getting better, so there is some overlap there. However, movies are still generally a hell of a lot better than tv, and were much more so only a few years ago. It’s still the very rare show, like _Mad Men_, that can even compete. > [@Tamerlane](#): > > Further I find odd the argument ( and this may not be yours ) that watching TV is in general an inferior way to spend your time relative to some other leisure time activity. There is nothing ennobling about reading a book, for instance - I should know, I read plenty and have scarcely improved in nobility at all :). If that’s _all_ you do, I’ll grant that’s a bit constipated. But folks that _refuse_ to watch TV “because it’s a waste of time”, perplex me. If you _enjoy_ it, it’s no more a waste of time than that Carl Hiasson novel you’re reading. I think it’s an inferior way to spend _all_ your time. If you exercize, socialize, do some reading, etc, and want to watch some tv in between, I don’t think there’s anything at all wrong with that. If you forego all that other stuff to watch reruns of _The Hills_ and _Daisy of Love_ then, well, you’re probably just not a very well-rounded person. (Note that you’d be equally un-rounded if _all_ you did was exercise, socialize, etc., even though those activities are generally considered to be superior to television watching.) ---
**Author:** ![Roadfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@Roadfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadfood)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/133 "2009-05-12T19:52:28Z")
> [@SuntanTigerTamer](#): > > I absolutely hate it when people say they won’t watch subtitled films. I don’t know why it bothers me so much, but if someone says that to me, I tend to think far less of them afterwords. I absolutely hate it when people say they think less of others because of their movie tastes. I don’t know why it bothers me so much . . . no, actually I do. How much hypocrisy does it take to judge someone else based on the way they judge something? They don’t like subtitles, so what? Maybe they don’t like broccoli, either, does that make you think less of them? I don’t like movies with subtitles because reading the subtitles takes away from my ability to watch the movie, see the action, see the actors’ faces and expressions, etc. Movies are, after all, a visual medium. If I want to read, I’ll read a book. Think less of me if you will. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/134 "2009-05-12T20:07:58Z")
> [@Roadfood](#): > > I absolutely hate it when people say they think less of others because of their movie tastes. I don’t know why it bothers me so much . . . no, actually I do. How much hypocrisy does it take to judge someone else based on the way they judge something? They don’t like subtitles, so what? Maybe they don’t like broccoli, either, does that make you think less of them? You’re freedom to hate that validates my freedom to hate the thing you hate. Sorry, but “to each his own” cuts both ways. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/135 "2009-05-12T20:11:46Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > You’re freedom to hate that validates my freedom to hate the thing you hate. Er…whut? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/136 "2009-05-12T20:17:45Z")
If **Roadfood** feels justified in having a lower opinion of me for, for example, having a lower opinion of **HypotheticalPerson** , who won’t watch movies with subtitles, that’s self-contradictory. His justification for having a lower opinion of me is exactly as valid as my justification for having a lower opinion of **HypotheticalPerson**. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/137 "2009-05-12T20:19:14Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > If **Roadfood** feels justified in having a lower opinion of me for, for example, having a lower opinion of **HypotheticalPerson** , who won’t watch movies with subtitles, that’s self-contradictory. > > His justification for having a lower opinion of me is exactly as valid as my justification for having a lower opinion of **HypotheticalPerson**. Yes, Ok, I see. Thanks. I truly couldn’t parse that. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/138 "2009-05-12T20:29:00Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I never said any such thing! Movies are 2-3 hours, and they are DONE - I have a plot resolution (most of the time), and I can put it away. > > I don’t mean movies are necessarily inferior to TV…I just think movies fit better into my lifestyle. Well, that’s reasonable. Bordering on the incomprehensible to me, but reasonable ;). Some stories I feel just benefit from the extra length and complexity that serial television allows. For example the upcoming HBO series based on George R.R. Martin’s **Song of Fire and Ice**. It may well end up flopping badly, but it probably couldn’t even be seriously attempted for the big screen and still stay even halfway faithful to the books. The Lord of the Rings films probably represent the upper limit of such attempts and that took three movies, that even in theatrical release probably rivaled in length a single season of one cable series. > [@](#): > > And it still takes me 2-3 nights to watch most movies because I don’t want to watch it all at once. See, now I just don’t have the patience for _that_. Heck, I like my TV shows on DVD, a disc at a time. > [@Cisco](#): > > You’re right in the sense that movies are generally getting crappier and cable tv shows are generally getting better, so there is some overlap there. However, movies are still generally a hell of a lot better than tv, and were much more so only a few years ago. It’s still the very rare show, like _Mad Men_, that can even compete. I dunno. I agree that argument would have been a hell of a lot more persuasive to me several years ago. But while most TV is still crap, so are most movies, really. I think enough quality TV exists, particularly on DVD, that if you pick and choose you can fill your allotted TV time ( for a semi-normal, semi-socialized person ) with quality stuff. Certainly the _medium_ is not inherently inferior, even if historically it has been in fact. As above movies and TVs have different ( potential, perhaps ) strengths. > [@](#): > > I think it’s an inferior way to spend _all_ your time. > > (Note that you’d be equally un-rounded if _all_ you did was exercise, socialize, etc., even though those activities are generally considered to be superior to television watching.) Can’t argue with that. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/139 "2009-05-12T21:40:37Z")
I have a movie genre I won’t watch and feel completely justified saying I would not like any movie in the genre even if I haven’t seen it. I won’t watch horror movies. I don’t like being scared. I don’t like jumping at the screen. I have an active imagination and was jumping at corners for weeks after seeing Sixth Sense. (I regretted watching that one after caving to peer pressure.) I can’t imagine any movie in the Horror genre being good enough to justify putting myself through the torture of those ugly, ugly images living on in my brain long after seeing the movie. I have some sympathy for people who blindly reject full genres. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041/140 "2009-05-12T23:06:38Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > I wouldn’t agree that it is tragedy. In tragedy, a character’s flaws leads them to a terrible fall they did not deserve. Thus, it is not tragic. In Macbeth, for instance, both Lord and Lady Macbeth partly rue the choice they made and perhaps would do it over, but trapped themselves in a position they could not escape and therefore paid for it. In BM, they were not trapped except by their own wills, and proceded to make the situation increasingly worse. They were not trapped by their own wills. They were trapped by a homophobic society that ended up killing one of them. And to say they didn’t rue their choices… obviously both men were miserable. I think both of them tried to commit to their marriages but could not. Their wives, especially Ennis’, are portrayed as sympathetic and wronged parties in this. Once Jack realized he couldn’t make his marriage work, he tried to persuade Ennis to chuck it all and run away with him, but Ennis had witnessed a gay bashing incident in his childhood and was deeply terrified of being out, so he was unable to try and be happy. His fear was not baseless, and thus, it was not his will that stopped him, but his circumstances. Thus, I think this criticism of BM falls squarely into the category of “dumb reasons to dislike a movie.” On the adultery theme, a friend of mine refuses to see _Closer_ because it contains adultery. A skewering of adulterers is more like it, but he’ll never know because he won’t see it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dumbest-reasons-to-dislike-a-movie/496041.md?page=8)