By Katya Agatucci | The Broadside (Contact: [email protected])
Growing up, I can say that I was exposed to, but watched willingly, many films that were too mature for my age.
Peeping at parts of “Saving Private Ryan” from the hallway as my father watched it, asking to watch “Apocalypto” after it came out, as a second grader I watched the second part of “The Lord of the Rings” in the theater with my brother and father — this is what I was used to as a kid.
Yes, I watched my fair share of classic Disney movies, I was part of the Harry Potter craze, and I watched Nickelodeon habitually.
I am always up for watching a new movie on the big screen or having a much-needed movie binge, but I indubitably cannot stand to watch the type of satire in which actors like Will Ferrell or Adam Sandler participate.
The constant plot holes and unrealistic situations drive me up the wall. I can go without hearing some of the ridiculously inappropriate slurs that I hear in those movies. The recurring motifs that jump around to entertain a movie audience are dull and disheartening. There is no meat to those movies.
Film is a visual art form. You might be thinking that all forms of art are viewed, valued, and judged by everyone in different ways, and that’s true. They are.
Those who enjoy Claude Monet’s use of pointillism and Salvador Dali’s surrealism might not see Jackson Pollock’s drip painting technique or an interactive installation piece as an art form.
Everyone uses cinema in different ways — to check out of life for 90 minutes, watch an actor you admire or explore a new subject a subject interests you. Not everyone sees film as a visual art form, and if they do they might not have a consistent idea of what film art is.
To me, Will Ferrell and Adam Sandler’s films are not art and are not funny. That type of “humor” is just crude exaggeration.
I could never hear enough about Quentin Tarantino’s film trademarks such as his repetitive use of unique camera angles or how Hayao Miyazaki brings his characters to life with innovative and breathtaking animation.
The techniques that go into the creation of a film should be applauded — more than the weak jokes or profanity in some movies, which are eventually turned into Facebook memes.
I could live the rest of my life without hearing, “The last time I heard that I laughed so hard that I fell off my dinosaur” or watch a full 90 minutes of the same actor portraying a guy — and his sister in a fat suit.
I’ll bet that by now I am making some readers’ blood boil. I am not expecting anyone to fall to my feet in agreement, I just wanted to finally vent about lowbrow comedy.
Tell me about what movies drive you up the wall. Hey, maybe you think that Quentin Tarantino’s movies are over the top, or you can’t stand anime. Tell me your irks when it comes to cinema. That’s what art appreciation is all about, right? ■