You know when you were little and your mom yelled at you about not eating enough vegetables, as generic and cliche this situation sounds is it is also all too true, and you would snottily reply "I hate broccoli, MOM!" Then, she would respond with something along the line of "Well how do you hate it if you've never tried it?" And instead of admitting defeat the words "I have tried it and I don't like it!" would tumble out of your mouth with a flashback playing in your head of that one time you ate a raw piece of broccoli from a vegetable tray strategically placed next right next to the bowl of potato chips at a 4th of July party.
Well, watching a movie only once and deeming that you hate it in adulthood equates to that one piece of raw broccoli in childhood. Just like a child not giving vegetables a second chance because of one bad taste, as a (sort-of) adult you are not giving a movie a second chance because of one bad viewing.
I adhere to the ideology that if you truly love a movie, you can watch it again and again and again and never tire of it. That after seeing the movie an obscene amount of times your love for the film grows and expands and shape-shifts with you as a person. But, that seems quite obvious to me that a person would watch and contemplate and examine a movie they deem one of their favorites ever because that's a heavy statement. Picking that one particular movie out of all of them and saying that one, that drama, action, thriller, romance, comedy is the one movie that rises above the rest and sits heavy in your heart.
However, it is also a heady statement to say that you hate, nay loathe, a particular movie. That a certain thriller starring Tom Cruise or a romance starring Rachel McAdams can conjure repugnant feelings in your gut and make your eyes go ablaze with flames, à la Cooking Mama. Yet, that feeling of extreme dislike for a certain movie only follows after having actually watched the movie. After having sat through an hour and a half, even two to three hours, of awful dialogue, visual displeasing scenery, unlikable characters, bad acting, or even a rancid story plot to finally see the credits roll and declare that you hated the movie and will never watch it again. But, that first viewing was only the raw broccoli, because in order to truly stand up and declare you do not like a movie you have to watch it again.
As twisted and backward as that outlook sounds in really does make perfect sense, okay listen and follow along. If you love a movie you watch it again to make sure that it wasn't all an illusion, to make sure it was as magical and mystical and lovable as you remember it being that first time. Well, the same goes for a movie that you hate. It is a necessity to watch the movie again just to make sure it was as awful, terrible, and atrocious as it was the first time you watched it. Maybe the second time you watch it you are in a different stage of life or new problems have arisen or your outlook on things have changed; in turn, your outlook on the movie has changed as well.
Maybe, at the end of the day, it is an extremely idealistic hope to think that people will watch a movie they hate again either to solidify their loathing (if they are a pessimist) or to change their mind and realize they actually like the movie (if they are an optimist). However, just like a person falls in and out of love with a movie or another person or a favorite song it is also possible to fall in and out of hate. They seem like completely opposite feelings, but in reality, they both evoke strong reactions. In reality, you probably talk about movies you hate and think are awful just as much as you talk about movies you love and hold dear feelings for. So, the next time you are scrolling through Netflix give that piece of raw broccoli another chance, it may taste delicious the second time around.
