There've been plenty of opinions about movies ("films") posted in the last few days in the wake of the Oscars on Sunday night. I didn't watch the Oscars this year because I hadn't seen a single one of the pictures that were up for major awards. (Of course, I had seen the ones that were up for best animated picture, because I have kids and we regard any excuse to have a family night out as cause for celebration). But anyway. back to the topic.

Several opinions I've read complain that no one went to see the "good" movies this year-- I read in one article that the combined audience for all five of the best picture nominees was around 38 million, which is pretty dang low. I'm among the ones that stayed home, and I'll tell you why. Two of them I did want to see (Dreamgirls and The Queen), but they left our area before we had a chance to get to the theater. The others I had no desire to see. They seemed to me to be part of a general trend in movies toward the violent and sordid, a trend which has been around for years and years, but which has come in recent years to dominate the movies which receive critical acclaim. For a movie to be taken seriously as "art," it seems, it has to be about violence, corruption, hypocrisy, child abuse, spousal abuse, addiction, and anything else that is awful about human beings. This is what movies should do, the opinion seems to be; they should rub our noses in our worst selves.

I get the point, and it's a good point. But my point is that I don't like to watch movies ("films") like that. I feel like I see enough human awful-ness around me every day. If I go to a movie, I just want to be entertained. I would try and think up a defense for this, but I don't think there is one. I'm totally lame, but at least I know it.

Sign me:
Shallow BeaN