Armchair Film Critics

Here's where I come off as elitist. 

So last weekend I watched Inglorious Basterds with my girlfriend and her parents. It was the third time for me, and it's a favorite of my girlfriend and her dad (she bought it for him last Christmas). Her mom had attempted to watch it once before and fell asleep, but this time she managed to pay attention by asking a lot of questions. Let's just say she was skeptical for most of the film, but it wasn't the skepticism that bothered me. She's entitled to her opinion, but it was the way she went about conveying her opinion.

See, we're all film enthusiasts here. Some, if not most, of us are amateurs although I'm sure there are plenty actually in the film industry. The point is, we grew up on film and we spend a good part of our day (perhaps on here, perhaps with friends in person) contemplating film. 

The mom doesn't. She watches film as escapist entertainment, like most people, and that's her right. What irked me is she started to criticism the film with a certain tone and a mocking methodology. For instance, during the scene when Shoshanna and Landa are in the restaurant when the cream is brought out and there's an extreme close-up, the mom asked, "What was the purpose of that? What does that symbolize?" Although the question was put to the floor, it's obvious that it was aimed at me because I'm the known film enthusiast. I tried to convey to her how, in my opinion, the shot was meant to make the audience as uncomfortable as Shoshanna, but I wasn't met with much agreement.

Many casual filmgoers express their opinion with simple anecdotal "I liked it" or "It was good". That's not overly insightful, but it's honest and with a degree of intuition you can usually ascertain a greatest hits of their likes and whether or not yours sync up, and therefore you may like the movie they've seen and liked.

This mom, however, was going out of her way to use the language of the film critic in order to not only criticize the film, but criticize the practice of criticism. As if she could simultaneously exist in that world and be above it. 

The situation bugged me, and I've been there before. My question to you is: have you ever experienced anything like this, and how did you handle it?

That's a strong possibility.

I am shamed.

Explain.

All sound advice my friends, but what I told Tzu is that the mom lives in Cincinnati, so the girlfriend and I only have to see her a few times a year. 

I really started this thread as an opportunity to see if anyone has had similar experiences, and then engage in discussion on where this phenomena comes from and what it says about modern diy geek culture seeping into mainstream sensibilities ie. middle-aged housewives.

Any takers?