By: Keaton Marcus

Call me out if I’m writing absolute nonsense, but I hope this essay can end up somewhat coherent and accurate to a decent amount of people. I hope some can relate to it, and if not, I’ll cower away in shame and cry in a corner. But who gives a crap about what I’m going to do? Getting back on topic, I wanted to cover something that at least I and a few other people have experienced, which is the fact that to an extent, it’s become cool to call immensely popular films (i.e. Parasite, Fight Club) “overrated” and or wrongfully slap people who love these films under a generalized group.

WHAT ARE THE FILMS:

Before I really get into the details of this essay, laying down the framework and explaining what actual films get attacked in this way is more or less essential at the start. The majority of them will likely lie in both the most popular films on Letterboxd and the IMDb Top 250 (the former in terms of popularity and the latter in quality). Highlights of these lists include Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite, Todd Phillips’ Joker, Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, and others like Lady Bird, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Inception, Fight Club, and Knives Out which aren’t necessarily all in the IMDb Top 250 but are still incredibly mainstream and popular. Referring to solely Letterboxd at the moment, all of these movies have an incredible amount of members (meaning people who saw them). For example, Nolan’s Inception has over one million members on the app, meaning it’s the biggest movie of all-time on the app. Otherwise, Parasite has about 950k, Joker is nearing 900k, and even arthouse horror films such as Midsommar are able to touch a massive 600k. To sum this up, these are basically the qualifications for the movies most likely to get hit with the word “overrated”. They must be regarded highly by a large number of people, they should rank on the first page of the calculated most popular list on Letterboxd, and perhaps be in the IMDb Top 250.

VOICING YOUR OPINION/HOT TAKES:

Before someone murders me in the comments section for generalizing people who dislike Fight Club as someone trying to be cool and quirky, let me defend what I believe is the majority. A lot of people who dislike these incredibly popular movies don’t happen t to be using the word “overrated” to look good. Some just genuinely don’t like the film, and that is simply voicing your opinion. If you have legitimate reasons behind it, then don’t let anyone tell you differently. If one believes Interstellar is a convoluted, overlong science fiction mess riddled with plot holes, so be it. If Star Wars is dull for someone then I have no issue with that. Explaining your reasoning in a clear fashion is perfectly fine and that’s what discussing movies is all about. If you have a legitimate hot take or unpopular opinion, then write whatever the hell you want. It’s only the butthurt people with fragile egos who can tell you off on that one. Overall, call Fight Club mediocre, Lady Bird generic and forced, Blade Runner 2049 style over substance. Just give me sufficient reasoning behind it. Don’t worry I’m not threatening you to, however.

WHAT’S WRONG:

But what’s wrong with some of the folks who harshly disagree with people who call these movies masterpieces? There certainly isn’t anything wrong with the group that’s just trying to voice their opinion about highly acclaimed and mainstream films, but what about the others? Well, take Bobby for example (making up more people ugh), an angry neighborhood moviegoer who despises everything that ranks high in popularity lists on Letterboxd or IMDb, regardless of their quality. I’m talking bullying people on social media who have Avengers: Endgame in their favorites list, figuratively curb-stomping some kid who happens to be a fan of David Fincher, or calling Parasite lovers “fake cinephiles who stick with the mainstream.” See anything that may be somewhat morally incorrect there? I understand that arguments can be made for both sides. For example, someone who likes more mainstream films doing the same thing to a friendly Wong Kar-Wai admirer. I only decided to write an essay focusing on the opposite side of things, so don’t hesitate to lecture me on why this is only half correct.

HASTY GENERALIZATIONS:

Likely one of the worst things in my, and probably many others’ experiences with these things would be consistently getting slammed under wrongful names and generalizations for types of moviegoers. As a meme or a joke, calling someone a filmbro, a cinephile or a kinophile isn’t exactly a bad thing to do, but if you’re being serious in the situation, then it’s sort of rude. Who do you care if someone enjoys Marvel films more than Tarkovsky ones? What’s so terrible about a person calling Joker a masterpiece and The King of Comedy “good” (literally me)? Throwing someone under the bus and labeling them a filmbro just because they have a profile picture of Arthur Fleck, Tyler Durden or whoever isn’t a “cool” thing to do. It isn’t just mean, but also quite invalidating to their personal tastes. You’re basically explaining that their opinions don’t matter and that they should stop liking more mainstream movies. Again, the same goes for writing someone off as a cinephile, or as a moviegoer who only enjoys foreign language movies. There are a billion really hurtful names for the invalidation of moviegoers and it really needs to stop. Can’t everyone simply enjoy what they enjoy and let others watch what they want to see? Is that truly so difficult? Additionally, a moviegoer who happens to adore Tarantino or Fincher films doesn’t mean that they don’t love Stalker or Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Overall, this just shows how messy and hurtful these generalizations can be if used in a serious manner.

BEING DIFFERENT:

So why do these people do it exactly? Well, as I have briefly touched upon, I believe it’s to be different and quirkier from the mainstream group of moviegoers. To have such an extreme need to have exotic and unique taste that it goes too far. Trying to experience new cinema is always a magnificent thing, but to bully people about not watching an Ingmar Bergman film is pathetic. It’s ridiculous because of how stuck up you are in putting yourself on a pedestal because you’ve seen a wider selection of smaller films that you are pushed to invalidate other's opinions due to different views. To be very honest, in that type of situation, you are the smaller one…Not the person you are trying to put yourself over. To call a movie overrated and bad because it’s popular and well-known isn’t enough. Being a polite moviegoer means a couple things. You have to respect people and whatever they like, and if you want to substantiate your unpopular opinion, give some true reasoning. Please don’t call me an asshole in direct messages for calling Joker a masterpiece when 140 thousand other people on Letterboxd think the same as me. I love to talk about films with other pages, but only if it’s respectfully and not someone who’s completely stuck up their own ass.