Star Wars Hater

I see Devin's been branching out lately.

Hey, the guy swiped the whole article from one of the Anti Star Wars rants in "The Guardian" in the UK.
I guess hating Star Wars has become the latest thing for wannabe left wing intellectuals to do....

14) Jackasses like this not being able to write lists about why they hate Star Wars because it gets them attention.

...

Wow, I'm not big on SITH but I gotta wonder how many times this dude is gonna see THE LONGEST YARD over the weekend.

This guy's hard on for Lucas illustrates that they're are 2 types of people most common to San Francisco:

Type 1: The wealthy

Type 2: Those who despise the wealthy until they are wealthy.

Both links had a valid point.

The first is right in saying that Harrison Ford carried the first three films.

The second is right in pointing out that nothing is scarier and more insane than an unhinged fanatical Christian.

You forgot to include a smiley at the end of that.

Pretty stupid thoughts, if you ask me.
TPM was a piece of Shit, and is one of the biggest money makers ever.
No way a Star Wars film, no matter the quality, is not gonna be a cash cow.
And ROTS is actually a good film.
And the guy is not courageous. He was writing for the kind of people who love to sneer at anything that proves popular and is not high brow and intellectual. And I can tell you from long personal experience that the SF Bay area is abounding in that sort.

The irony, of course, is that the kind of people who write long-winded treatises on why Popular Cultural Phenomenon (tm) is a complete waste of time and worthy only of scorn and ridicule are just as obsessed with Popular Cultural Phenomenon (tm) as the people who write long-winded treatises on why Popular Cultural Phenomenon (tm) is important and worthwhile. He's a reverse fanboy. We need a name for these people. Anybody?

They're called intellectuals. And you're anti-intellectual.

It's interesting how STAR WARS fandom has taken on a fanatical bent, where those who don't like it are seen as some kind of threat, and their disdain for the films are taken as personal slights.

They have the high-ground Devin. Give up. There's no way you can best somebody who is standing 4 feet above you.

So, now someone who doesn't like Star Wars is an intellectual, eh?

That's a pretty lazy (not to mention wrong) definition.

There are intellectuals and then, there are poseurs...

See how matro goes into his insane defense stance? I was referring to the "question" in the post above me. Read it.

I did.

It's still not a definition of an intellectual.

from the article: "...Reasons for normal people to get back to caring about decent movies with subtle dialogue and true character development and nuanced plot lines not revolving around a monochromatic good/evil dialectic..."
But, normal people (i.e., the mass of moviegoers) don't give a shit about subtley, dialogue, charachter development or nuanced plot lines.

If they did, they wouldn't chit-chat and talk on their cell phones throughout the films they (and I) paid good money to see.

Also, if they did, a film like the Woodsman would make hundreds of millions of dollars and movies like Bad Boys 2 would tank.

Not that there's anything wrong with popcorn flicks, mind you...

As Nigel St. Buggering pointed out, I think we need a good name for these high-brow buffoons...any ideas?

Would these be people who can spell "paid"?

Seriously, I hate the anti-intellectualism that goes on here sometimes.

I think people are lashing out at this guy because he lashed out first. I'm cool with someone not liking Star Wars. I'm NOT cool with someone who doesn't like Star Wars saying that because I enjoy Star Wars I'm "too emotionally immature to graduate to real movies." There's a difference between 'having an opinion' and being a 'pseudointellectual Bill Hicks-wannabe', and the prick who wrote the article in question doesn't seem to understand that difference.

Face it, Devin, you're exactly the kind of person we're talking about. You're just as obsessed with Star Wars as any fan; it's just that your obsession is with bashing it. And don't bother denying it, since your presence in this thread pretty much confirms that. You never let a Star Wars thread go by without popping your head in to take the opportunity to voice your disdain. That's just as obsessive as those who post threads praising it.

Exactly!

SW is its own beast and I realize that because of nostalgia I am pretty forgiving of these movies. To quote Eberet (though from a different review), "There is a sense in which attacking this movie is like kicking a dog for not being better at calculus."


And, thanks for the free proofread Devin!

You're right NIgel. As a guy who writes about movies I can't even begin to imagine why I would be thinking about this film a lot.

I vote for Devinettes.

There's a big difference between thinking about it and going out of your way to piss on other people's parades over it. Personally, I've never liked Buffy the Vampire Slayer. For that reason, I don't go hunting for pro-Buffy threads so that I can piss off those who enjoy it. I express my dislike of the show by not being involved with it. Why would I spend my time posting messages on a show I don't watch and didn't like? There's a difference between not liking something and obsessively hating on it.

Over-Under: 3 months for the haters vs. apologists "debate" to subside?

It'll take at least that long to organize the jihad.

I've seen all the STAR WARS films. Your analogy sucks.

All of your reasoning sucks. You just want threads filled with people who all feel the same way?

Fine. I don't like the Matrix sequels either. Same situation, except that I've seen those. Happy?

No, I'm simply trying to point out that you're as preoccupied with these movies as the fans are. I just don't become preoccupied with things I don't like, whereas you apparently do.

Ha ha ha!

"Devinettes" may be seen as slightly effeminate though....how about "Devineers"?

Again with this. Besides the fact that I write for the site, and so I am immersed in whatever is going on in movies right now, STAR WARS is the main topic on these boards. When another movie becomes the main topic, I'll talk about that. I honestly don't understand why this is so difficult for you to process. If I am still talking about STAR WARS a lot in 3 months, you might have a point.

Ah, but isn't becoming preoccupied with defending something you had no part of from people who don't like it just as bad?

I'll get me coat..

That's all well and good, except that what you're doing is not "talking about" or "discussing". You drop into these threads primarily to peremptorily insult people.

This was your first post in this thread:

They're called intellectuals. And you're anti-intellectual.

Where I come from, that's not discussion. That's trying to pick a fight. If you want to discuss a movie from differing viewpoints, I'm all for it, and I welcome the debate. But popping in just to insult people, then defending yourself on the basis that the movie is a popular subject for discussion is more than a little dishonest.

I make no apologies for responding pithily to something stupid.

Aren't you the one that brought up me being obsessed? I was just responding to that, not saying why I was in this thread. I was in this thread because I hate seeing people make anti-intellectual and general anti-intelligence comments.

I would agree with the intellectual vs. anti-intellectual explanation if that article was remotely well-written. But it reads like outtakes from Best Week Ever. Pauline Kael trashed SW and Return of the Jedi, but she was a brilliant writer who forces the reader to reflect on his/her own response to a film. Being intellectual or anti-intellectual has little to do with whether or not you have the "correct" opinion about a film - it's about being able to state your opinion with depth and passion. That article has neither; it's just glib.

I'm still not seeing the anti-intellectual angle. This guy's an intellectual because he agrees with you, and we're not because we disagree with him?

I have no opinion on the article. I was merely responding to what Nigel said about smart people.

I really would like to be shown where I said the guy was an intellectual, or anything about the article.

I didn't say one damn thing about smart people. Where are you getting this? Here is my first post:

The irony, of course, is that the kind of people who write long-winded treatises on why Popular Cultural Phenomenon (tm) is a complete waste of time and worthy only of scorn and ridicule are just as obsessed with Popular Cultural Phenomenon (tm) as the people who write long-winded treatises on why Popular Cultural Phenomenon (tm) is important and worthwhile. He's a reverse fanboy. We need a name for these people. Anybody?

Where is the slam on smart people? I can only assume that it comes from your belief that anyone who still likes Star Wars is not very intelligent.

I agree with this post. Also the writer seemed to spend more time bitching about people who like the movies than the actual movies themselves. I have absolutely no problem with someone disliking a movie that I like and who comes up with a reasonable argument as to why they feel that way. But when that person starts acting like anyone who could have possibly liked the movie and god-forbid have a differing opinion is being an idiot, like this jackass seems to be doing, that's when I have a problem.

(for the record I can enjoy a movie while at the same understand that it is flawed)

So, now disliking pop culture makes you smart...

Gee, I always thought that you had to get yourself educated, read a few books, meet a few interesting people to be smart. If I only knew that I could be at least as smart making vitriolic comments about anyone that disagrees with me on movies, I would have saved me a lot of wasted time.

If I misunderstood your intent, I apologize. But your response could have been more clear. The question was about what to call a certain type of critic, and the original article's writer was included in this type. So your response seemed to include that writer.

You know, I don't take it all that personally. I like differences of opinion. But you must have a movie that you love even though you hear all the time that "anyone who likes [blank] isn't mature enough to appreciate real art," and so that must annoy you at least a little bit. It's pretentious and beside the point.

Um, have you read your review of GUESS WHO?

Obviously you didn't see the secret ending to the Episode 3 video game....

WOW! I never thought that the term intillectual would be used to tag Star Wars fans, or haters for that matter.

After bitching non-stop about star wars and how I was disgruntled overweight 28 year old, I finally went and watched it last night. Lot better than I had expected yet still lacking something (Me being age 5 I guess)..... Regardless I am kinda shocked to see the same stuff reiterated by Journalists and web bloggers once again recycling old news and opinions like it was a Christine Agulera single (sorry.... cover).

Did these not come out when TPM first aired?

This is what happens when they add in Jar Jar Binks.

All these people that got ass pumped after being fans of the originals or growing up with them. And guess what.... He didn't call....!! That b*stard!

But calling someone an intillectual doesn't really cut it with Star Wars. Surely the smartest thing to do is not to just copy and paste someone elses thoughts into yours and publish them. I'd have thought that the best intillectual thing to do was to get on with whatever stuff they had to do previously. Like discrediting Mensa, finding new ways to wage war or screw people over for medical advances.

Being proudly low-brow I say fudge it. I'm happy that Star Wars has ended. Hopefully there will be no more to come from George. I fear that he has turned to the dark side. After rejigging the originals beyond belief I have hung up my lightsaber and will be going back to Buddhism as my religion for the next UK census. Multiple DVD/Video releases, removing actors from special editions, yoda talking, autism he has, like... these lead to the dark side.

Not sure if you guys would get to see a BBC program called Dead Ringers, but they did a marvelous sketch with George lucas doing his "treatment" to classic films like Psycho. Worth a watch if you can.

May the Marketing machine be with you...... always

This seems to be a reoccuring theme in these threads, and the reason they seem to spin into nothingness unless kept on course by pure force. Seriously, some people need to get over the fact that other people disagree with them. Often they just aren't as "right" as they think they are. People can site sources and facts, but often there will be sources and facts that dispute the former. Feel free to disagree, but don't insult people. It is bad form and is slowly swamping these boards into something lesser.

My older brother's smart, and he doesn't like anything.

You are not seen as a threat or personal swipe, just a joyless, snobby douche bag.

If the shoe fits...