Stop Criticizing, Start Exploring

I’ve never went on one of those multi-stringed Twitter rants before. However, there is a first time for anything and I have officially entered that not-so-exclusive club. The straw that broke the camel’s back was an article at an unnamed hype machine publication spouting some nonsense that superhero movies have “lost their humanity” (a simple Google search will unveil the article for you). All of this is in response to Birdman winning multiple big awards and Jack Black’s “rant” during the opening number of the Oscars.

Instead of re-posting my rant or really getting into it (I really don’t want to), I think it would be fitting to calibrate or possibly recalibrate your hearts and minds to WHY we watch movies and how we respond to what we have seen.

Gareth Higgins, film critic, a somewhat regular contributor to Reel Spirituality, and author of Cinematic States, has a very helpful and instructive article on how we can stop being critical of movies and start being movie explorers.

Too often the first words I hear in the post-match analysis after preview screenings are about what didn’t work in the movie, or that it’s too long, or about what didn’t engage the particular critic speaking. It seems unfashionable to pronounce ourselves joyous, moved, impassioned, inspired, overwhelmed, or even happy about what we’ve just seen. To drastically misquote Paul Simon, the new media consensus appears to be that cynicism is magical, and magical is art – that the easiest way for a critic to rise to the ‘top’ is to trample over the works they write about.

Check out the full article, it’s nice and compact, and let us know what you think. I’m positive it will be a helpful lens to start watching movies to find what is true and good and beautiful.