Was watching an academic lecture on Caravaggio on YouTube (premium is so worth it) and found myself irrationally angry when people in the audience started asking questions. “I’m not here to listen to the comments section!!!” ? Also why I no longer argue with people online. They hijack your time.
I remember when I first noticed that my opinion of some piece of media was poisoned before I even watched it – by online commentary. And that I was forming opinions of “news” stories I hadn’t even read yet – based on how people I knew were responding. And all THOSE opinions were knee jerk reactions.
I explicitly didn’t engaged with anything related to the UHC shooter until I figured out what **I** thought. This should be what we all do, of course: take the time to think deeply about a story or event instead of of reacting immediately based of a headline or skim. But we are human. And we don’t.
I noticed it first with the shows and books, tho. And I’m not talking about “this show is great, watch it” but “this show is a shallow piece of garbage for subhuman people only idiots would watch it.” Like, ok, Chad. Or, conversely, “everyone should love this or they’re a fucking idiot.”
When that comes from people you disagree with, it makes you laugh and do opposite of what they say, but when it’s from “your people” it’s harder for me to buck wave. I am in marketing because I know how gullible I am to marketing. The social danger of not “fitting in” is one I feel keenly, still.
I think I first noticed this with RH fiasco. But it really came to head for me with Helicopter Story. I read that one before the sides got entrenched and while it’s good for me to have read it three times to make sure I stuck by my opinion, watching communities eat themselves over it was wild.
And this happens with shows all the time too. If you enjoyed this problematic show, you’re a monster. If you watched this movie you’re part of the problem. And it leaves no room for people to actually engage critically with a piece of art. Which is how we are meant to engage with art! Critically!
I’m someone who loves old Conan novels and American Psycho. There’s still occasionally this belief among people I speak to that if I just understood how problematic these pieces of media were, I would stop liking them. And these days my reaction is why would you want people to stop liking things??
Art is complicated. HUMANS are complicated. Yet I found myself putting stakes in sand on issues, art before I had chance to think critically about it MYSELF. Going FIRST to the comments section (which is what social media is – including mine!!) I was denying myself joy of discovery on art or issue.
I love robust critical discussions about art and media! But we’ve increasingly gotten away from that. I’ve read a few longer takes on pieces of media where at no point did writer ask themselves, “What if this writer/artist did this thing I see as a negative… INTENTIONALLY???”
One thing I loved about Roger Ebert was that he would meet a film where it was. That is, he engaged with a film MEANT to be a light comedy… As a light comedy. He wasn’t evaluating it against standards of a serious drama. “What is this film doing? Is this film succeeding at what it’s trying to do?”
Pithy one liners are great for likes and RT’s, but they don’t capture the nuance of most work. If someone is spending literally YEARS making something, it’s worth at least asking, “WTF were they trying to do here?” Even if they failed at it, at least I can meet them where they are.
All this is to say, when I watch lectures on YouTube now, the more they allow questions from the comments section, the more likely I am to nope out. And when they open for audience questions, I move on. Not that q&as are inherently bad! But I find most dull my enjoyment or engagement with subject.
When I’ve had time to digest, THEN I can engage and talk to others about it. That’s great! But I’m too malleable in the moment to trust myself not to come away influenced by The Immediate Discourse. And if I’M aware enough to notice this happening to me – you can bet it’s happening to a LOT of us.
And life is too short for that nonsense, friends.
