Making a movie is something a lot of people could do, but only few get to experience. While it is easy for anyone to own a video camera and film things to their liking, piecing together a story and articulating it clearly is a much different kind of 'film.' This being said, the amount of material that makes its way on to the internet, or not, is seemingly infinite, allowing us as viewers to be treated to many levels of quality. The particular individuals who make films professionally are the lucky candidates who were selected from the extensive pool of people who can point and shoot a camera, carry an idea, or unfortunately: have a ludicrous amount of money. There is no way to necessarily tell whether or not those chosen are any better than those who were left behind to create for fun, or the ones that fill the demographic of starving artists and failing film strips; this is just the way the film industry works. Some are compensated and appreciated for the work they do, while the rest are left to nothing. This is the sad truth of any art.
While the entire point of any major production is to make it accessible to the masses, the idea behind film is to send a message to the audience. It is the ability to perceive these messages that bridges the gap between the makers and the watchers. Both those who wish to make, and those who have tried to make, will have to settle with experiencing the works of those who do make. Therefore it comes as no surprise that films play an important part in a vast majority of people's lives. Watching films connect the watcher and the maker, but more importantly, it connects the watcher to other watchers. I find that other than music, the most common ground I have with acquaintances and strangers alike, is film. Knowing nothing about another person, I can share with them a conversation of veiled importance about many aspects of film. I say veiled because while our conversations may lead us to believe that we are in fact intelligent, witty people, ultimately whatever we're talking about is of little or no meaning.
But what I find is that for some, critiquing film is more enjoyable than watching film. These conversations generally do not follow the pattern of veiled importance, but rather they are of extreme concern and will eventually lead to retelling. The people who are partial to complete critiques are willing and wanting to tell anyone and everyone who will listen to their considerations. While I hate to judge, I find this to be a very...judgmental practice. The entire ritual of purchasing a ticket, renting a movie, or more prevalently: downloading, a ritual that I have come to cherish, is tainted by the strict agenda of the individual who would prefer to purposefully tear apart whatever they've just seen. My best guess would be that this attitude stems from the bitter, dead hole that should hold a person's heart. There will always be something that could have been more properly executed, better captured, or smoothly articulated than the director chose to do, this is obvious. But for one to believe that all aspects of a certain film to be misdirected, and that their approach would have been better suited, says a lot about a person's personality. Critiquing at this level strips the director of any credence, and ultimately smears their very name...privately and unimportantly, of course.
To not understand is one thing, to adamantly avoid the messages of film is another, to believe you are a master of direction is too much. Coming across someone who is so passionate in their tell-all approach to reviewing/deconstruction will generally lead to a large amount of people feeling the exact same way about one person.
"Yeah...fuck that person."
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