Already done, at length. I know you read the post, since you quoted from it. If you want to maintain that you had a different intent in what you’re saying, fine. I can only react to what you actually wrote, which is condescending, arrogant, and pretentious. However, I have a hard time believing that you can honestly say you think you haven’t made any value judgements in this thread when your very first post in this thread started with the sentence, “Man, you poor poor people.” You want to try and claim that’s not a value judgement?
In other words, it’s not your fault that people don’t understand what you meant to say, it’s their fault for only going by what you actually said.
Well, then you should stop saying that, because that is precisely the impression you continue to give in threads like this, including in this very paragraph, where once again, you assume that because people in this thread have listed movies you like as “pretentious”, it must mean they didn’t attempt to dig into the movie. That is a pretense: that people who do not appreciate a movie must not have made any effort to appreciate the movie. That is precisely what is so infuriating about trying to discuss almost anything with you: your regular habit of assuming different conclusions must be the result of different processes. I am every bit as interested in discerning subtext as you are, and at least as skilled, but of course, since I’m arguing with you, I must be one of those people who only go to the movies for car chases and explosions.
Manifestly untrue. You haven’t been able to make a post yet in this thread that didn’t contain a value judgement. And, just for kicks, I like how you paranthetically say you will not re-emphasize your point shortly before you use all caps to re-emphasize it. Maybe I’ve been mistaken all along, and words just aren’t your bag, because you seem to have some trouble making them do the things you want them to do. Such as construct a sentence that doesn’t contradict itself, or state your opinion without alienating your audience. I’ll try to keep that idea in mind when addressing you from now on.
The point of the thread isn’t to debate these movies. The fact that people haven’t been offering up nuanced defences of their opinions does not mean they are incapable of doing so. This is the sort of assumption that makes you appear to be arrogant, because you are assuming things about people with insufficient evidence.
So, let me get this straight. If I say that a movie you like is pretentious… let’s say, Showgirls… that means I’m saying you are pretentious? If I say it’s a bad movie, am I saying you’re a bad person? If I say I didn’t like it, am I saying I don’t like you?
Of course, I have pretty much said two thirds of those to you in this thread: I do think you’re pretentious, and I don’t much like you. But that’s not because of which movies you like, or why you like them, it’s because of how you treat anyone who disagrees with you.
Oh, and for the record, I think Roger Ebert is a pompous ass. Great movie reviewer, but I’d never want to get in a debate with him, because… well, because it’d be a lot like debating you, really.