Oh, the Irony
I’m not really sure what to make of this article about the ironic viewing of genre films and the notion of “so-bad-it’s-good.”
Go on and read it. I’ll wait.
In a lot of ways I agree with the author. After all, I get pretty annoyed by the incessant giggling at the Film Noir Festival. I hate that post-modern ironic attitude that uses snarky, mocking laughter as a constant peacock-like display to demonstrate how above it all you are. I hate that this seems to have become the only possible response to anything and everything. Especially things that are old. Like anything made more than a decade ago is automatically transformed into camp.
On the other hand, I also love watching bad movies. The badder the better. Love MST3K. Love getting together with smart, quick-witted friends and subjecting each other to cinematic gems like MEGAFORCE and ATTACK OF THE BEAST CREATURES. I own both PENTATHALON and DIVINE ENFORCER on VHS. I watch movies like these not to show off how cool I am by making fun of them, but simply because they cheer me up and make me laugh. Because I find the cheesy rubber monsters, wooden acting, baffling plot twists and goofy action sequences highly entertaining.
I have tons of genuine affection for these movies. Whenever I’m sick, bad 50s monster movies are my visual chicken soup. Comfort viewing. I also know the difference between a film like FORBIDDEN PLANET and one like INVASION OF THE STAR CREATURES.
So maybe what I’m trying to say is that I don’t think it’s wrong to laugh at old movies, I think it’s wrong to laugh indiscriminately at every single moment in every single movie. To laugh because you think that’s how you’re supposed to react, not because you really think something is funny.
But I don’t know. Maybe I’m totally full of shit. Maybe I’m just as bad as all those snickering hipsters. What do you think? Discuss…
Go on and read it. I’ll wait.
In a lot of ways I agree with the author. After all, I get pretty annoyed by the incessant giggling at the Film Noir Festival. I hate that post-modern ironic attitude that uses snarky, mocking laughter as a constant peacock-like display to demonstrate how above it all you are. I hate that this seems to have become the only possible response to anything and everything. Especially things that are old. Like anything made more than a decade ago is automatically transformed into camp.
On the other hand, I also love watching bad movies. The badder the better. Love MST3K. Love getting together with smart, quick-witted friends and subjecting each other to cinematic gems like MEGAFORCE and ATTACK OF THE BEAST CREATURES. I own both PENTATHALON and DIVINE ENFORCER on VHS. I watch movies like these not to show off how cool I am by making fun of them, but simply because they cheer me up and make me laugh. Because I find the cheesy rubber monsters, wooden acting, baffling plot twists and goofy action sequences highly entertaining.
I have tons of genuine affection for these movies. Whenever I’m sick, bad 50s monster movies are my visual chicken soup. Comfort viewing. I also know the difference between a film like FORBIDDEN PLANET and one like INVASION OF THE STAR CREATURES.
So maybe what I’m trying to say is that I don’t think it’s wrong to laugh at old movies, I think it’s wrong to laugh indiscriminately at every single moment in every single movie. To laugh because you think that’s how you’re supposed to react, not because you really think something is funny.
But I don’t know. Maybe I’m totally full of shit. Maybe I’m just as bad as all those snickering hipsters. What do you think? Discuss…