Wanna join the world of Entertainment? I'll warn you right now- it takes thick skin to get into because you'll be judged day one for your taste. Rather it is going into film analysis or filmmaking, becoming a music critic or creating music or being a literary critic or wanting to be an author, all the above requires you to be okay with yourself. This is a tough process as well, the reason so many people want to get into the world of art is because some art has helped them escape and helped them learn more about themselves. Essentially, art is a process of a bunch of people growing and discovering who they are which is a process that continues your whole life.
So lets bring social media into this. Unfortunately social media is a plague when it comes to art. It is an easier avenue to get found and discovered which is the biggest blessing with the internet. If you want to write or create art you have an easy platform you can promote through. The issue? Anyone can have an opinion on whatever you have to say. Since I primarily stay within the world of film lets discuss an avenue about film discussion that has become very popular- Film Twitter.
Film Twitter is a bunch of film fans just discussing movies and it is so incredibly toxic. It shouldn't be but it is. Why is this? Well for one, Twitter is a place where you can say whatever you want and not put a name behind it. You can essentially hide behind a username. This is a blessing and a curse at the same time. People will say what they want to say and most of the time have no real consequence for it. Therefore, every aspect of Film Twitter and the internet in general is filled with bad people.
There's a level of pretentiousness when it comes to Film Twitter that is insane as well. Did you start loving movies because of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Well, tread lightly because you will be considered 'fake' and 'dumb' for holding entertaining and well put together films in such high regard. You could have been watching a three hour black and white foreign film? Didn't you know that? Film Elites come across as some of the biggest jerks on the internet because they bash people just for enjoying content that doesn't harm anyone else.
Is this to say if you want to be a filmmaker you shouldn't watch classic or arthouse cinema? Of course not. My favorite movies of last year included titles like Little Women, Marriage Story and Parasite. These movies certainly weren't the biggest and most successful blockbusters of last year but I loved them anyways. Film Twitter should be a nice atmosphere to discover smaller films that could end up becoming your all time favorites. I think there was a time where I was either less aware of toxicity around me or places like Film Twitter were just a lot better.
I am a Criterion Channel subscriber. I just last night saw Seven Samurai on the big screen, a foreign three and a half hour black and white film and I loved it. I think it is important that as film fans we express our love for different types of cinema and introduce them to people. This shouldn't be us bullying others to like what we like. The mentality of saying, "watch this movie and like it or you aren't as informed as I am and you don't understand cinema" is awful and this is the mentality that could have our next great director, screenwriter, editor or reviewer running off and deciding it's not worth pursuing. These toxic environments are limiting and awful.
In conclusion, it's okay to not like Marvel or Star Wars. It's okay to only truly love A24 films. It's okay to only like Romance films or Faith Based films. It's okay to not like Romance or Faith Based films. It's okay to not like A24 films. It's okay to enjoy a film like Hobbs and Shaw and enjoy a film like Marriage Story. In the end, any movie big or small has value to it to someone. Rather that is dumb escapism or a truly better understanding about the world around us. It is time that we treat each other a little more fairly about our opinions and realize they are what make us who we are. This doesn't mean we can't roast anyone playfully or get into a debate but it should all be towards one thing- a universal love of going to the movies.
