I'm as much a lover of the arts as just about anybody. I enjoy anything from music to cinema to theatre to literature to painting to comedy (yes, I'd consider this an art, unless you're Dane Cook and then I'd consider it a migraine-in-the-making) and beyond.
Like anybody, I have my likes and dislikes in the arts. I'm a big fan of Salvador Dali's painting, of Alfred Hitchcock's film-directing, of Kurt Vonnegut's writing, of George Carlin's comedy, while I'm not so fond of Adam Sandler's acting (and humor), Limp Bizkit and Nickelback's music, Larry the Cable Guy's comedy and Nicholas Sparks' writing. These aren't so much facts as they are my opinions. I may be able to make valid arguments in certain cases to better prove my opinions and more so than the opposing side of the debate. However, grading the arts isn't as black and white as is mathematics. While most critics believe Casablanca to be one of the best films in the history of cinema, not all of them feel this way. However, it is routinely positioned at or very near the top of critics' best-films-in-history lists, even when some don't see it as such. Our version of a "fact" when it comes to the arts is the overall opinion of "experts" with regard to that particular medium. We can't say that a film is the greatest of all-time with equal certitude as if we were to say that 2 - 1 = 1. There would really be no point in awards shows if things were so matter-of-fact in the world of arts and entertainment. We wouldn't need a list of 4+ nominees in order to know which was the best in any particular category. While I personally believe, like most critics, that Casablanca is one of the finest films in the history of cinema, I'm not going to declare that it's fact.
Also, while I feel, like with the artists I listed above, that I have a fairly decent grasp of "quality" entertainment (yes, speaking like a critic now - or writing, I suppose), like most people, I also possess some guilty pleasures. There are some films and musicians that, while I don't think they are too high in terms of quality, for some strange reason, I enjoy them. I grew up in the '80s and '90s, so I like some, how do I put it? I like some fairly bad movies and songs. However, I enjoyed these things when I was growing up and perhaps due to the memories involved when I watch a certain film from back in that time-frame or hear such a song, I can't help but wear a goofy smile across my face. Again, though, these opinions aren't factual. Some critics may feel that these "guilty pleasures" of mine are quality forms of entertainment, while many may not feel this way.
I guess what I'm saying is, regardless of how steadfast in our opinions we are about the arts and how much expertise we have in such a field, the objective is still subjective. What we beleive is fact is merely an opinion. Said opinion can be bolstered by factual arguments, however the two will never completely coalesce.
I write this, because I've read many comments lately which attack an individual on a personal level due to his or her taste in the arts. Often times, it's an attack on an unspecified person.
An example of this would be if someone said, "Anyone who likes the movie 300 is a complete idiot with no taste for quality cinema!"
While I admit that I felt that, outside of the outstanding CGI, 300 was an overrated film, I'm not going to insult a person's level of intelligence just because he or she liked it.
I've never been a fan of boy bands and even though hearing all the screaming teenage girls at the site of them is like hearing nails against a chalkboard for me at times, I'm not going to insult them for it.
The fact is we all have different tastes. I'm a writer, so when it comes to cinema, I prioritize a quality storyline, plot and dialogue far above intense action sequences or special effects. Others are into the adrenaline-pumping scenes first and foremost. That doesn't make either of us correct or incorrect on the matter. Some love romance novels to the point where they get teary-eyed just from reading those two words side by side, while others begin gagging at the sight of those same two words next to one another. It doesn't make either person right or wrong.
I often times think it's silly for people to take political or religious disagreements so personally, as they seem to feel that when someone close to them doesn't agree with them regarding such a topic, they take it to mean the other individual doesn't truly know, understand, like and accept them as a person. I just take it to mean, "We disagree. So what? What's on the tube?" Politics can truly impact our lives, however - the essentials of life no less, so I can understand a person exhibiting a certain fire and passion when discussing such matters and perhaps in the heat of the moment, taking a disagreement personally. While I still find that silly, I can understand that potential outcome far more than a person seeing things from that very perspective with regard to arts and entertainment. While I'll admit to loving the arts and being emotionally moved by them at many points in my life, I'd feel quite ridiculous to engage in a heated debate with a person just because they didn't like a particular movie I enjoyed. ...that is unless they claimed that "The Notebook" was the best film in the history of cinema... Then we may exchange a few words... Actually, that would require no words. It'd leave me speechless and would result in me providing myself with the biggest facepalm this side of the Incredible Hulk.
Like anybody, I have my likes and dislikes in the arts. I'm a big fan of Salvador Dali's painting, of Alfred Hitchcock's film-directing, of Kurt Vonnegut's writing, of George Carlin's comedy, while I'm not so fond of Adam Sandler's acting (and humor), Limp Bizkit and Nickelback's music, Larry the Cable Guy's comedy and Nicholas Sparks' writing. These aren't so much facts as they are my opinions. I may be able to make valid arguments in certain cases to better prove my opinions and more so than the opposing side of the debate. However, grading the arts isn't as black and white as is mathematics. While most critics believe Casablanca to be one of the best films in the history of cinema, not all of them feel this way. However, it is routinely positioned at or very near the top of critics' best-films-in-history lists, even when some don't see it as such. Our version of a "fact" when it comes to the arts is the overall opinion of "experts" with regard to that particular medium. We can't say that a film is the greatest of all-time with equal certitude as if we were to say that 2 - 1 = 1. There would really be no point in awards shows if things were so matter-of-fact in the world of arts and entertainment. We wouldn't need a list of 4+ nominees in order to know which was the best in any particular category. While I personally believe, like most critics, that Casablanca is one of the finest films in the history of cinema, I'm not going to declare that it's fact.
Also, while I feel, like with the artists I listed above, that I have a fairly decent grasp of "quality" entertainment (yes, speaking like a critic now - or writing, I suppose), like most people, I also possess some guilty pleasures. There are some films and musicians that, while I don't think they are too high in terms of quality, for some strange reason, I enjoy them. I grew up in the '80s and '90s, so I like some, how do I put it? I like some fairly bad movies and songs. However, I enjoyed these things when I was growing up and perhaps due to the memories involved when I watch a certain film from back in that time-frame or hear such a song, I can't help but wear a goofy smile across my face. Again, though, these opinions aren't factual. Some critics may feel that these "guilty pleasures" of mine are quality forms of entertainment, while many may not feel this way.
I guess what I'm saying is, regardless of how steadfast in our opinions we are about the arts and how much expertise we have in such a field, the objective is still subjective. What we beleive is fact is merely an opinion. Said opinion can be bolstered by factual arguments, however the two will never completely coalesce.
I write this, because I've read many comments lately which attack an individual on a personal level due to his or her taste in the arts. Often times, it's an attack on an unspecified person.
An example of this would be if someone said, "Anyone who likes the movie 300 is a complete idiot with no taste for quality cinema!"
While I admit that I felt that, outside of the outstanding CGI, 300 was an overrated film, I'm not going to insult a person's level of intelligence just because he or she liked it.
I've never been a fan of boy bands and even though hearing all the screaming teenage girls at the site of them is like hearing nails against a chalkboard for me at times, I'm not going to insult them for it.
The fact is we all have different tastes. I'm a writer, so when it comes to cinema, I prioritize a quality storyline, plot and dialogue far above intense action sequences or special effects. Others are into the adrenaline-pumping scenes first and foremost. That doesn't make either of us correct or incorrect on the matter. Some love romance novels to the point where they get teary-eyed just from reading those two words side by side, while others begin gagging at the sight of those same two words next to one another. It doesn't make either person right or wrong.
I often times think it's silly for people to take political or religious disagreements so personally, as they seem to feel that when someone close to them doesn't agree with them regarding such a topic, they take it to mean the other individual doesn't truly know, understand, like and accept them as a person. I just take it to mean, "We disagree. So what? What's on the tube?" Politics can truly impact our lives, however - the essentials of life no less, so I can understand a person exhibiting a certain fire and passion when discussing such matters and perhaps in the heat of the moment, taking a disagreement personally. While I still find that silly, I can understand that potential outcome far more than a person seeing things from that very perspective with regard to arts and entertainment. While I'll admit to loving the arts and being emotionally moved by them at many points in my life, I'd feel quite ridiculous to engage in a heated debate with a person just because they didn't like a particular movie I enjoyed. ...that is unless they claimed that "The Notebook" was the best film in the history of cinema... Then we may exchange a few words... Actually, that would require no words. It'd leave me speechless and would result in me providing myself with the biggest facepalm this side of the Incredible Hulk.
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