Since everyone loves lists, conflict, and art, you can find any number of "The Top 100 Greatest _____ " via Google. Books, albums, movies, tv shows. . . You name it, somebody's made a list about it. Go ahead, take a look; I'll wait.
You're back? Ok. Taste is arbitrary, but you'll notice certain works popping up over and over again. Citizen Kane, Anna Karenina, Mass in B minor. . . How many of these types of things have you personally experienced? And, whether you ultimately find them to be enjoyable or not, aren't they at least worth a look or listen?
Why do we avoid the greatest artistic creations of our own, or all time? Perhaps it's a rejection of perceived snobbery; As Americans, we buy into the dream of doing whatever we want, whenever we want to, and being above reproach. No one's going to tell us what to do, or more importantly what to like. Perhaps we're daunted by the prospect of putting effort into our entertainment time. When we come home from a long, hard day at work, perhaps the massively-populated Russian historical drama of the early 19th Century,War & Peace, isn't the first thing that comes to mind as a good way to "wind down" with a six-pack.
Both of those have a ring of truth to them, but I think the greatest culprit in our embrace of the mundane is the convenience of the mediocre. It isn't just you and War & Peace sitting on a desert island, with your only other form of entertainment being the garbing of crabs. You've got a weeks worth of various forms of Law & Order on TiVo! Time to catch up on all the "ripped from the headlines" action that you've been missing (Doubly important for having not read the headlines in the first place).
I'm less susceptible than some; I haven't owned Cable for several years, and have no internal urge to devour whatever's in the popular consciousness at the moment (Hello, Oprah's Book Club). But I have my vices, to be sure. What's the draw of something like Green Hornet? Well, based on the trailer, the plot seems to involve people being kicked, and things blowing up. Those are two things that I find enjoyable in my zoetropic lightshows. I also, correctly, think that all films are meant to be seen in the theater (All rude behavior of the modern audience to the contrary). And despite my general avoidance of popular culture, I do like to stay abreast of Nerd Culture; seeing something like Green Hornet on it's opening weekend allows me to join in the internet version of watercooler conversation, and absorb the latest winner/loser in the overarching category of Genre.
Let me dissect that last paragraph. Yes, I do like people being kicked, and things blowing up. I also like story and characters. And in a completely shallow way (I claim no other level of depth), things blowing up are much more satisfying when framed properly. That's why I can't really get into the excesses of a lot of modern-day Japanese genre cinema. The aficionados love the extremes to which films like Tokyo Gore Police go, but I implore the director: Don't use a woman with an alligator-mouthed vagina dentata simply as a gag --- Make me FEEL her character (?!?!!).
Yes, all films are meant to be seen in the theater. Films that are worth seeing in the first place. But Green Hornet (Sorry to keep picking on you, innocent movie. You just happen to be the right example at the right time.)?! It might be passably entertaining; I might even watch it on video next year. But would I regret never seeing it? I think not. I also think that behind the scenes special features on DVD's and Blu Rays are great, but I'm never going to watch "The Making Of Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans".
And "staying in the conversation"? Let's change the conversation. I know that studios have to sell their films, and movie sites need to stay afloat; Hence, the never ending debate over a film like Green Hornet, as if it were worth discussing on the same level as something like Lars van Trier's Dogville. And there's the great irony; Dogville, a fantastic, narratively rich film, will be seen by less than a fraction of the audience that Hornet has.
Life is short, kids. Why settle for second, third, fourth, or fifth best? This year, let's go for platinum.
Here's a movie that I watched last night & it was definitely not MEH. It was awesome. Hard Ticket To Hawaii. By Andy Sidaris. I'm now on a mission to watch all of his masterpieces.
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