Snob or not a snob?

[captainofbeef]

Dan suggested this to me on another forum so I thought I would take him up on his offer. A while ago, probably a year ago now, when I first met Dan the man, he told me that he NEVER wanted to become a snob. Well, time has passed and I feel that he has become EXACTLY what he never wanted to become. He doesn't feel that he has become a snob at all, despite the removal of all the fun films from his top movie list. Well Dan, care to defend yourself?

[ie]

In my opinion, using the term 'film' over 'movies' makes you kind of look like a snob. Besides, calling a movie like Russian Ark a 'film' is inaccurate, because it was recorded directly to a hard disk drive, without the use of film. I can understand the need for a more proper term, because 'movies' does sound kind of cheesy.

But, I don't think Dan the Fucking Man is any more of a snob than any of us. That's the community we're in. We talk about obscure directors and movies that you can't find at Blockbuster. I don't like to think of myself as a movie snob, myself, but in reality, if you seek out older movies instead of newer movies, you're bound to eventually look like a movie snob. It just happens.

[mixed]

True. i just see myself as a more intelligent and informed enthusiast of cinema. Not a snob just somebody who refuses to find pleasure or only view such pathetic films as the fast and the furious whilst dismissing truly fantastic films. Somebody who isn't satisfied enough with shallow cinema. People like us are looking for more in movies/films than entertainment. We want to marvel at a directors skill or an actors bravado. I want films that change my life, make me see things differently. I want to feel inspired, awestruck and ENTERTAINED by cinema.

[ie]

I can see what you mean, there.


But if you wholly transplant yourself away from big-budget Hollywood movies as a rule, and hate every single one because it lacks intellectual value, that seems a little snobby to me. Now, as an intellectual , I do like having things to think about in the movies I watch, and I certainly am finding explosions to be all flash and no bang (no meaning, just insert explosion), but I can find some entertainment - if not intellectual entertainment - in the mindless popcorn flicks.

The thing is, not everything in life is the top crust of the upper class.

I might also add that it's ironic that Hollywood is able to produce the most expensive movies, with the highest budgets, yet in most (not all) cases, movies with smaller budgets can out-do these big budget movies. Not in terms of explosions or number of cars crashed, but in terms of emotional depth and intellectual value.

[mixed]

Of course I can still enjoy the odd Adam Sandler film and explosion fest but they just leave me indifferent, I forget them soon, I dont care about them. They give me nothing.

[criterionmaster]

I agree completely with mixed. Why watch a film I have already seen? Why not try and take something away from my film other than just it being entertaining? I will stick with my old entertaining films, because any new ones are just showing me stuff I have already seen. I want to watch new films for different experiences and new things to think about. If a film changes me in some way, then all the better. And plus, who says that I can’t watch a film like Seven Samurai and be immensely entertained, but also take something away from it, and have it be well made? So why would I just watch a film that is entertaining?

[agentknight]

I'm not a snob, I'm a film enthusiast. There's a difference there.

[jelizarose]

i can be a snob.