Movies or Films?

When you frequent your local theater do you go to the elaborate exercise of excess that is your local mutliplex, or do you seek out entertainment in the pretentious pomposity of a city arthouse cinema? When popping the newest arrival from Netflix into your DVD player, do you want the sensory overload of Transformers 2, or do you want the highbrow intellectualism of something like Lost in Translation? Connotatively speaking, which of the aforementioned cinematic offerings would you consider a movie? Which a film? Why is the differentiation made between the two? What makes something a movie, as opposed to a film? Why do I type entire paragraphs in question form? Ok, ok, seriously - What's the difference between a movie and a film?

Here's the short answer to this queerest of questions in a word - NOTHING!

Now, the long answer, in many words:

A good deal of folks think using the word "film" adds weight to their opinion. Why? Well, a psychological examination would likely lead you to believe it was insecurity manifesting itself in the form of self-importance - but that's neither here nor there, since it isn't the point of this post. A film is often seen as being more serious, or as having more artistic merit, than a mere movie. Consequently, those who watch these more meritous offerings have a tendency to look down upon those who enjoy something as trivial as a movie as entertainment only. Film, in all of it's cinematic glory, is where the truly enlightened movie-goer looks for entertainment. At least, that's the typical rationale. It's a classic case of unadulterated pretentiousness. Elitism. Film snobs. When mocked and put into commercial form elitism looks like this:



Now, you may be thinking, "Dude, I get this. This isn't insightful." You'd be right. It isn't. I take issue not with the existence of movie snobs or film dunces, but with the tendency for those that reside in both ends of the movie watching spectrum to automatically equate different with bad. After all, varrying tastes are a fact of life. Outright disregard and contempt for certain segments of movies, however, is not. For instance, someone who loves the Die Hard series that wouldn't even think about sitting through The Cider House Rules will be prone to missing out on many, many worthwhile films. A person enamored with Gosford Park that looks down on those who enjoy Zombieland, is equally prone to missing out on worthy entertainment. Casting a specific type of movie, whatever that type may be, off as "stupid", or "arty", or whatever other adjective your mind assigns to it, limits your film-watching sensibilites. Your ability to think about movies is hindered. Your opinion is less informed. As with any kind of opinion, the more informed you are, the more valid the opinion.

I'm not foolish enough to believe bringing a close-minded approach to movie watching reflects the character of a given person. However, I would argue that bringing such an approach can lead to a general lazy satisfaction with your opinions, which can lead to close-mindedness in other arenas of life. Close-minded people suck at life. It's an impossibility for them to be wrong, they don't feel as if they have anything to learn from anyone or anything, and they generally think they're better than everyone else. Their shit doesn't stink, so to speak.

Take heed, my friends. Your shit, like everyone else's, does, indeed, stink. It's very easy to selfishly believe in your own hubris. What isn't as easy is realizing opposing opinions and values have legitimate worth. Sure, its easy to pay lip service and tell yourself and others you respect differing opinions. It's an entirely different beast to actually respect those opinions and beliefs and allow them to sit equally next to your own.

I'm not above hubris, I fall victim to it's allure as well. We all want to be "right" and have our beliefs validated, so its only natural to have a desire to put your own values on a pedestal. The trick is coming to terms with the concept that there is no "right" or "wrong" when it comes to personal belief. There's only what you think. Its a difficult task to accomplish and by no means am I an authority on the subject. It is, however, something I find meaningful to pursue. Listening to and learning about other opinions, values, beliefs, faiths, or anything else that is foreign to you does not compromise your own beliefs. In fact, it makes your values stronger and more informed. It forces you to constantly evaluate yourself and your beliefs, which allows you to avoid a sense of stagnation. Speaking of stagnation, I believe this blog post is suffering such a malady. Until we meet again.