jadedmusings | Moff's Law (Reply)

From now on, I am invoking Moff's Law anytime someone tells me I should just enjoy something without reading "too much" into it.

Of all the varieties of irritating comment out there, the absolute most annoying has to be “Why can’t you just watch the movie for what it is??? Why can’t you just enjoy it? Why do you have to analyze it???”

If you have posted such a comment, or if you are about to post such a comment, here or anywhere else, let me just advise you: Shut up. Shut the fuck up. Shut your goddamn fucking mouth. SHUT. UP.

First of all, when we analyze art, when we look for deeper meaning in it, we are enjoying it for what it is. Because that is one of the things about art, be it highbrow, lowbrow, mainstream, or avant-garde: Some sort of thought went into its making — even if the thought was, “I’m going to do this as thoughtlessly as possible”! — and as a result, some sort of thought can be gotten from its reception. That is why, among other things, artists (including, for instance, James Cameron) really like to talk about their work.

(Read the whole thing.)

I love Supernatural -- love it --, but I can still see the underlying sexism in some of the episodes, and I can complain about its portrayal of women (Note: I have seen none of the fifth season, but I doubt it's changed much). I love the hell out of the Vlad Taltos novels by Stephen Brust, but that doesn't mean I think they are without issues and that I can't say "Well, I would like to see more of X, Y, and Z." I can enjoy something for what it is while analyzing the hell out of it. It's what I do, it's what I enjoy, and I will share that with others.

Anyway, time to take my achy and sleep deprived self to bed for a nap. I hate how much headaches drain me, especially when I didn't get much sleep (see aforementioned asshat calling at two in the freakin' morning).