The Lord Of The Burger Kings: Anna And The King, Or Somesuch.
I saw LOTR: Something About A King today. I figured...what the Hell, it can't possibly be more boring than an afternoon of watching soaps with my mother (on full blast volume) while she snores in her cocktail
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Suddenly, I’ve brutally attacked the person somehow and they are feeling threatened and challenged and are visibly distraught..."
Seems like a pretty common reaction to me when you criticize something that people love. Ya know? I once had a long talk with a friend who hated the fact that he would be the target of dismissive and mocking comments because he was a fan of [popular female music star] and some people found it "hip" or "cool" to bust on her in front of him. Seems to me that you could replace [popular female music star] with [popular movie trilogy] here.
We all deal with people in different ways, I know. Of course you should be able to speak any honest opinion to your friends without fear of too much retribution, but when dealing with strangers/acquaintances, I try to avoid making unnecessarily confrontational or negative comments. Why rain on other people's parade? I'm not saying that I'm advocating dishonesty, but I like to try to get along with people unless they give me a good reason not to.
The truth is that you can be honest with the fandork but soft-pitch your opinion. That's what I do. For instance, if I was casually sharing space with a crazy Barbara Streisand fan and they asked me my opinion of her, I would probably say something along the lines of, "Well, she's not really my thing, but I enjoyed Yentl when I was a little kid."
I happen to know some Battlestar Galactica freaks who were really worked up about the prospect of a new show on the SciFi Network. In response to their drooling excitement, I might say something like "I watched that show as a kid! I remember really digging it when they came to earth and they were all super-powered."
Perhaps I was just less discriminating as a kid.
Perhaps I just want to get along with people more than you do. But it's funny to think that you don't understand how a comment like, "I think they’re boring but I understand why everyone likes them" sounds dismissive and condescending and really rude in the face of someone who expresses their love of these movies.
But no fear, Dave! Here are some suggested alternate comments you can make the next time someone all gushy asks you what you think of the LOTR movies.
1. They're not really my thing, but I bet they'll win a ton of awards.
2. I prefer shorter movies with more explosions, but that Sean Astin sure was a cutie!
3. Shut up and lick my balls.
mwah.
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Of course I understand. I'm inviting it becuase I know that 999 out of 1000 people are going to have a cow. It was the same thing when Matrix II came out and everyone wasn't thinking clearly. Ask those people about how much they like the Matrix movies NOW that the 10 minutes of the Matrix is offically up. LOL.
I'm deliberately being rude when I challenge the UNDENIABLE GENIUS of these films. It's amazing what people say about these movies. Most of these people haven't seen a movie that's not of the action, sci-fi, and fantasy genres...and THAT's why they think the LOTR movies are so good. They're the first movies they've seen in 15 years with a bit of humanity in them (since we all know that action/sci-fi/fantasy movies have become synonymous with BAD).
I mean, do you think I would have written THIS much about a movie I didn't like that much normally? Nooooo way.
Of all the movies I've seen this year, I have the least to say about this one. But I wrote the most...because I wanted to see what would happen! LOL.
*sigh*. I'm nuts.
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I really ought use that line more myself. I might even keep the "3." in it, just for good luck!
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Oh, definitely. And it's not just applicable to discussions with LOTR fanboys. You could, for instance, also use it on out-of-town visitors.
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