6 Responses so far

1. 1. Teresa Nielsen Hayden on Dec 21st, 2009 at 1:49 pm

   My current model puts “Why do you have to analyze things?” in the same category as comments like “This is really boring” and “Some people have too much time on their hands.” I think what they mean is that the commenter can’t think of anything to say on the subject, but is equally unable to see that “not saying anything” is a legitimate option.

2. 2. Kelley on Dec 21st, 2009 at 1:53 pm

   Oh snap! That was an interesting and very entertaining read. In the artist community, this is commonplace. When artists’ go on at length about their creative process, it is sometimes scoffed at by viewers or even other artists! Let the art “speak for itself”. That’s a bunch of cheese I say. Let all of our brains froth over with thoughts into a barrel. We can pass it around like a huge flagon of brain mead. Mmm.

   For those not usually following io9 or their sometimes cringe-worthy comments, all of he real juicy stuff starts here:

   http://io9.com/comment/17719801/

   It wasn’t directly linked in the other blog, but to his general comment history which might be a bit confusing to some.

3. 3. Josh Wimmer on Dec 21st, 2009 at 2:32 pm

   @Kelley: My general comment history is a bit confusing to lots of people, mostly because of all the inappropriate Miley Cyrus jokes.

   @Tobias B: Thanks for the post! It’s like Christmas, four days early!

   – Josh/Moff

4. 4. Mark Terry on Dec 21st, 2009 at 3:50 pm

   Welllllll, I have a foot in both camps (like having one foot in boiling water and one foot in freezing water, on average I’m quite comfortable, thank you). I can be just as analytical as the next writer and maybe more so than some. That said, I’m often reminded of Stephen King’s comment that literature professors often want to dissect the golden goose, with the end result often being goose guts with no map toward how it laid a golden egg. Sometimes it’s a good idea just to sit back and enjoy.

5. 5. Marguerite Reed on Dec 22nd, 2009 at 3:33 pm

   I’m with Mark on this one. Yes, analysis is good. But sometimes being clever for the sake of being clever, as I see so many reviewers try to do–and not just with this movie–is incredibly irritating. One gets the idea that some of these guys just sit around knapping out little edged bon mots, save them, and then wait for a movie that they can apply these to.

   On the other hand, I am not really in a place where I can be objective about this particular movie yet. ;^D

6. 6. Rachel Heslin on Dec 22nd, 2009 at 4:40 pm

   My favorite line:

   “And unless you live on a parallel version of Earth where too *many* people are thinking too deeply and critically about the world around them and what’s going on in their own heads, you’re not helping anything…”

   Which pretty much sums up the problem, IMHO. Thanks for link!