Is there ever a point where it is okay to simply disregard someone's opinion and say that they are, in fact, totally wrong? I'm not talking about an issue like taxes or Iraq or religion, issues where there literally are causes and solutions, and the opinion lies within with they are. I'm talking about something less concrete, such as someone telling me that Wedding Crashers was hilarious or that 24 really sucks.
Is it wrong for me to listen to someone harping about how great Wedding Crashers and think "This guy is seriously wrong. Not wrong like I don't agree, but wrong like 2 + 2 = 5,"? I know the value this society puts on everyones opinion, but oftentimes I feel like it is right to make a stand, and say that something crappy sucks, period, and something good is awesome, period.
But if I were to start taking this stance, where would it stop? It feels right to deny that Wedding Crashers has any redeeming value, but on most other topics I feel content to listen to the opinions of others, shitty as they may be. Is the stance something I am only entitled to use in extreme situations? Or is it for once in a great while? Or should I not use it at all?
6 comments:
Should write at the end, "I'll let you choose which two." Maybe. Good post though.
Dustin
Just out of curiosity, what was your motivation for writing that one? It seems like someone said something accusatory about your distaste for the movie "Wedding Crashers".
Based on your review, I have a good idea of what kind of movie it is. And I know I have seen at least 100 other movies exactly like it, so thanks for sparing me from seeing it. I hope I can return the favor someday.
Also, I know the kind of people you are talking about (the kind of person whos opinion you should just ignore because it is so stupid). Those people are, well...
Everyone likes to be treated with respect, and everyone wants to think they are a bit smarter or a bit better than everyone else. Some people evolve beyond this way of thinking when they are in high school. Others are stuck that way for the rest of their life. So lets say you know some guy John Doe. And good ol' Mr. Doe absolutely loved Wedding Crashers and so did his girlfriend, and they will buy the DVD and they got the poster for their apartment. Then they have a good long discussion over a bowl of vanilla ice cream and pitcher of draft beer for 2 hours talking about everything they liked about this movie. And after the conversation John Doe is now very happy and thinking to himself, "Wow, what an intellectually stimulating conversation." only he doesn't have the mental capacity to think that so he is actually thinking to himself "She smart! I love her. I want fuck now." So he gets laid and he also thinks he has a good intellectual reason for why the "Wedding Crashers" is a good movie just because one person agreed with him about it.
So then, Mr. James comes along and says exactly why Wedding Crashers was the amongs the stupidest movies ever made, Mr. John Doe thinks, "That opposite what we said, sexy love girl and me. James wrong, yep." So he has to convince himself that he is intellectual by trying telling you all the reasons you're wrong. To him these "reasons" are intelligent and insightful because he doesn't know any better. After listening to Mr. Doe's "argument" you state the simple truth. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!"
Now you've hurt poor Mr. Doe's feelings so he instinctively reacts with a counter-strike. First he thinks to himself "What smart TV man say when other bad man say thing? Duh.... 'I disagree, that is just your opinion.' Yep, I say that now." So he says that and if you tell him that it's not an opinion it's a fact, he thinks, "James still say he right. Now what I should say?!" So now he either asserts again that opinions are not wrong, or he gets pissed off. Or both.
So, I think thats why people act that way.
Believe it or not, I have actually only had one negative response (so far) to that review, and it was pretty civil.
I have, however, talked to a truly disturbing number of people that thought the film was just fantastic, totally hilarious for every moment. This is far from the first time that I have disliked a film that others think is awesome, but the discrepancy between my feelings on the film and that of countless numbers of my peers is deeply disturbing to me.
Wedding Crashers was quite simply one of the most awful pieces of shit ever committed to film, and I rapidly found myself unable to even process an opinion to the contrary. It is almost as if I woke up and everyone had seen a video of an 80 year old man molesting children and said that it was an awe-inspiring piece of erotic art. The thought that so many people enjoyed this film so much is apocalyptic so me; my insinuation that the film is signaling the end of Western civilization only seems slightly hyperbolic.
Much like the Clinton presidency, I haven't even heard a good or even slightly convincing reason why Wedding Crashers is anything other than utter trash. One of my less observant friends suggested that I was missing Wedding Crashers point, that it was really just a movie made for entertainment. BULLSHIT, I said, because I appreciate the entertainment value of movies more than 99.99% of the earth's population, and Wedding Crashers was the least entertained I had been since the time my dad found out I wrecked the car three years ago.
Oops, I posted the comment for #9 "Lord of War" post under here, too. My apologies.
Dustin
James,
Your "Wedding Crashers" review and comment on this page are both more hilarious, and better, than the movie itself. This is a shameful position for the movie makers because a good review should uplift and present a good movie; a review should not surpass the movie itself. Alas...
I really wish I would have commente on some of this stuff when it was written rather than slogging through it on a slow day at work, but I think this is kind of an important point.
Can someone's opinion be wrong? I'd have to say that the answer is no. Can someone's opinion be totally antithetical to yours due to them being uninformed on a particular topic? Yes, absolutely.
It seems like case number two is what you've encountered here. While you (and I) despise the movie for what it is, a pathetic, mysoginistic, poorly written, generally disgusting attempt at comedy, this boob enjoys it for the same reasons.
You have to remember that you're looking at this from the perspective of someone who sees movies all the time and really deeply considers how they are constructed and what their message is.
I object a little bit to Ramin's characterization of whoever this person is as someone without enough brains to make a baked potato, since he is obviously able to figure out frozen pizza enough to sustain his own life.
Can you despise his view and not listen to it? Again the answer is yes, but I don't think you can equate it to something like a mathmatical fallacy ala 2+2=5.
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