Let's Talk About Taste

[Yasashii]

So I'm in a "screw everything" mood right now so what I'm going to do now is exactly what people say never, ever to do. I'm going to discuss taste. I'm going to rate, I'm going to judge.

It is agreed upon by the vast majority of people on this planet that it is fine to like whatever you like. They say that nobody should be allowed to tell you otherwise. I'm now going to explain why this is not only not true at all, that people do ALWAYS judge you and why they most definitely should.

Several arguments could be named here but let me just put in the one that matters the most: if all tastes were OK then we wouldn't have laws. Maybe someone just likes to drive their car at 200kph through the city. Perhaps someone has chosen to be a pedophile because children are their preferred sexual partners. What if a serial killer kills just because they are not into a certain kind of people? See what I'm going at? We, as a society, prohibit these things and we do that for very good reasons which I hope I don't need to list for anyone on this website.

I'm always disgusted by the people who say they don't judge because they are freakin' liars. A person who isn't judgmental in the slightest would love every single person and every single thing in the world. If you want to prove me wrong here, find me a person like that... and then promptly send them to the insane asylum they had escaped from.

I'm willing to concede that there is a certain level of incompatibility with their own preferences people tolerate. I've walked this Earth for long enough to know that it's usually way below what people claim that level is, but still, it is possible for a person not to bat an eye at another guy's preference. But we never really say it like that, do we? No. We have to be like "nah, it's alright dude, I don't judge". We have to say "You do you however you want to do you". We love to create this vision of the world in which one's taste doesn't collide with anyone else's. Why? Because we are afraid of being judged ourselves. We have made the unwritten "thou shall not say a bad word about another person's taste" rule so that we can feel it is fine to be into revolting things.

In fact, let me give you a few examples of such things to that you can understand why it is that dictionaries contain the word "distasteful":

1. Rice

http://honda-tech.com/attachments/honda-civic-del-sol-1992-2000-1/168066d1287197032-wtf-does-ricer-mean-6003d1258622677-what-do-you-call-rice-ricer_civic_2.jpg


2. Messed up fashion choices

http://images.complex.com/complex/image/upload/c_limit,fl_progressive,q_80,w_680/RichardSimmonsSept2011_tszhhn.jpg


3. The reason why this movie scored an actual 27% from the audience on RT:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/garbage_pail_kids_movie/?search=garbage%20pail


4. The "just because it won't kill you if you eat it, you should eat it" philosophy

http://www.pxleyes.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/bizarre-foods/1.jpg


5. Stupid-ass trends

http://s1.dmcdn.net/J0UF2/1280x720-AXF.jpg

https://img.youtube.com/vi/taOzl_9ewAc/0.jpg



Let me tell you right now: if you liked any of those things you have a bad taste. Feeling upset about it? Well at least I have the audacity to tell you that honestly. Most people won't so you can continue living in your bubble. I prefer living in the real world. Crawl out of your holes, people!

[Sexy Celebrity]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=24820&stc=1&d=1459806349

Your avatar is kinda stupid and seems more fitting for LiveJournal circa 2004. And why do you have to call yourself a "manchild"?

[Sexy Celebrity]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=24821&stc=1&d=1459806652

Really? Still posting on a message board that is so 2000-2002? Are we still 18 years old? *walks away with nose in the air*

[honeykid]

All anyone needs to know about taste is that mine is the best. :yup: Those who agree have taste, those who don't, don't.

[Sexy Celebrity]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=24822&stc=1&d=1459806866

Yuck. This princess still goes around acting like everything they do is better than what everyone else does. Will someone please throw her a kindergarten graduation ceremony? She needs to finally move on.

[matt72582]

Great post. It's refreshing to see anyone say what they believe while being sincere about it.

Of course taste can be subjective, but of course that's based on my taste. Just because a movie makes a ton of money, doesn't mean it's good. Also, just because a film does make a lot of money, doesn't make it "commercial bullcrap" - it could be a triumph for good taste.

The only rice I know is the kind you eat. Richard Simmons isn't worth talking about - bad taste, just like that "food". I don't know if that guy is doing a stretch, or if he's completely drunk. I could care less about these "challenges".

I think those are better qualified to give strong opinions on let's say movies should probably watch something other than what's out in theaters today. Watch movies from every decade, from as many countries as possible.. Widen your spectrum so that you can be more selective, so you know what you like and hopefully not waste time with junk you don't like.

The one thing I love more than movies is music. Once 1980 came, stuff went bad. Movies got much worse. It's not even comparable to judge the 70's movies (or music) to the 80's. John Lennon was murdered.. John Bonham (favorite drummer ever) drank himself to death basically. Keith Moon died a year and a half before (2nd favorite drummer). Reagan was elected President (which means ANYONE can be President) and ruined the country. Usury rates never got higher than 10% until that B-Actor fascist was financed by Donald Regan and associates. "Let's sell poison to the American people, but with a smile."

I also think most people judge, at least to the things that are important to them. I try to avoid pre-judging, but that happens to. When most of the movies (and music, comedy) I see made after I was born (1982) is usually garbage, I'm not going to waste my time to show "how open-minded I am" while there are still older movies I haven't saw, which are usually good to great.

I think taste has a lot do with probability, too. People are exposed to certain things, usually whatever is current, since it's much harder to make money when you can't interview someone dead, when they can't do any more work. Even the great actors from before were pushed away when they hit a certain age, especially women.

Conformity plays a big role. If a group of people say such and such is great, I see people agree, but later on tell me in private something else....When I first went to SF, after a long day in the city, I came to the hostel for a movie night. It was hard to hear with so many people talking (I guess they never took movie etiquette classes, or learned common sense). At one point, everyone started laughing. So I turned to the guy to my left who was closer to the TV and asked, since he was laughing. He said "I didn't hear either". I couldn't believe it... To make matters worse, I noticed people who weren't black would wait for the only black guy in the table to laugh first before they laughed like robots. That's patronizing, not progressive.

I hope this topic picks up.. We need more like this. I could care less about how important something silly like alcohol is. Which gives me an idea!

[Redwell]

More important than what your taste is in, I think, is how malleable your taste is. For instance, Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master (2012) was underwhelming on my first watch and now stands as one of my favorite films. That happened because I was willing to accept that maybe my initial reaction was rooted in a misunderstanding of it. To go along with Matt's brief point about alcohol, virtually nobody likes the taste of beer the first time they drink it. The more you do, and the different ones you try, you gain a taste for, preference for, and understanding of the drink. There are movies I like now that I know I would have disliked 5 years ago. There are genres of music I like now that I held know appreciation for just last year. That said, I think you can still respect something without necessarily enjoying it. That's something I try to keep in mind.

[matt72582]

More important than what your taste is in, I think, is how malleable your taste is. For instance, Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master (2012) was underwhelming on my first watch and now stands as one of my favorite films. That happened because I was willing to accept that maybe my initial reaction was rooted in a misunderstanding of it. To go along with Matt's brief point about alcohol, virtually nobody likes the taste of beer the first time they drink it. The more you do, and the different ones you try, you gain a taste for, preference for, and understanding of the drink. There are movies I like now that I know I would have disliked 5 years ago. There are genres of music I like now that I held know appreciation for just last year.

I agree about giving certain things another chance. I'm curious why you gave "The Master" a second chance? I think some people think because of how elitists, critics, and even members here feel highly about it, they might feel like "What did I miss" and question themselves and try it again... I've had many experiences where I didn't like a certain piece of work the first time, but loved it afterwards, and vice-versa.

And to be specific, I like reading your posts, which is why I gave "Gummo" a shot, even after a few people thought I wouldn't like it, but I did appreciate it, and enjoyed it. I got all of the director's movies - any recommendations? For some reason, I have a feeling that "Spring Breakers" was a way to use the title and girls to get a mass audience.

[matt72582]

Since the most popular topic has been drugs, our opinions of what we see can be influenced by what we drink, smoke, snort, etc.. So sometimes the taste is unflavored, or highly flavored. Personally, I won't watch a movie that ends after 8pm, as I am buzzed by then. I also try to know little about a movie so I can go into it with an open mind, and THEN read comments here, other message boards, friends, etc.. A big advantage of this kind of communication about things we love is that some people can bring points we didn't consider, and I could do the same. Sort of a mental tennis where you break down an argument, draw a line in the sand, dissect until you have more understanding, which only works with sincerity and a decent knowledge of what you are talking about, and the points you are trying to make.