In Defense of Boredom

Yes. Were you going to reword the ending?

God forbid somebody think an "important" film is dull.

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Totally not my point but hey that's your style

Never said it was your point.

Well, I could, though it feels strangely like "cheating" to do that. I feel like once I allow myself to edit anything beyond typos once it goes up, I'll never stop fiddling. And given that the Nolan essay sat mostly done for literally more than a year, that's not an exaggerated fear.

quite an essay

That was a very insightful read, Yoda! I agree, there are many expectations and pre-conceived notions regarding classic films (or film in general) that have permeated much of our culture, so much that it sometimes makes it difficult--or nearly impossible--to simply drink in a film, rather than actively hunting for the film's redeeming qualities. I have found myself doing this before, and I've discovered that if I watch the film a second time, I generally enjoy it much more because I'm not trying to like it, and the pressure is off, so to speak.

I think boredom is in the eye of the beholder...there is a lot of love on these boards for 2001: A Space Odyssey and Batman Begins, but both of those movies bore the crap out of me. I don't think that makes a less intelligent movie goer or makes the people who enjoy the films anymore intelligent...different strokes, it's all about different strokes.

Great and interesting read this was! But I don't feel any guilt or whatever, I've always said my opinion and doesn't sugar coat things... If I don't like it I just don't. But often I revisit the films cause I may have missed something or had the wrong approach. Sometimes this actually works.

It took me 3 times before Godfather Part II became amazing for me - and not because I forced myself to like it, I just found what I had missed the other two times and actually it had been the approach that was all wrong both times. Anyways, again, a great read!

Very relevant read. I think the idea of boredom with films ulitmately lies in the interests of the viewer, some may like the cheesy romance, whereas the mere mention of political talk could excite someone. The modern generation unfortunately does not regard classic films in the way they should be, and this comes down to context. What audiences in 1940 praised and hailed as masterpieces, is now seen, in the 21st century, as lacking in action, dialogue and quality. Getting fidgety and second guessing during a classic film is nothing to feel beaten up about, but commended on the fact that these films are still even being thought of, and watched.

Very well written.. Boredom in fact, prepares us to enjoy life better. Imagine, life without boredom. it will be vanity. when you are bored, your mind yearns to come out of it, and seek pleasure and entertainment.

Really well written! I admit that I feel 'pressured' to appreciate a film more if it has widespread critical acclaim.

Love this essay.

I never really thought about it but film is an art form that's new enough that people don't necessarily feel the need to contextualize everything (yet). I took a lot of art history in school and the first thing we always did when analyzing the work (or even just looking at it) was to put it into the context of the time that it was created. Sure, you can look at a Picasso and appreciate the colors, shading and lines but without the 'meaning' in context most lose interest. Contemporary film is a no brainer... it's happening now and it's 'us'. Going back 7-8 decades can be challenging for some as they might have no reference point at all and might become 'bored' as they can't connect personally to the material. I suppose the really great films can transcend context? Not sure... have to think about that.

That's a really great point. Even if we wanted to put a film in context, has much context is there to put it into? The medium's relative youth makes that very difficult. We've had thousands of years to paint and sculpt. Not nearly as long to film things.

I think there's a difference in kind, too, that will persist even as the form matures. A sculpture does not attempt to simulate reality (a key idea in this other essay, incidentally). A painting may or may not. Film very often does. Very often that's the entire point: either to simulate reality, or to make something unreal seem as real as possible. That creates some really weird corollaries, I think. Your point about it being harder to connect with old films is really insightful, because I don't think we see that with other art forms. If anything, I think your average person is far more likely to appreciate very old art than they are very modern art. There's something fundamentally different going on with film. It's almost like it's dynamism as a medium works against our ability to consider it as an art form.

Thank you for posting this, Yoda...there are several classic films that it seems like everyone here loves but bore the crap out of me. Even worse, there are also films that I haven't been able to get through the entire film without being thoroughly bored or even falling asleep. There are film that I have tried to watch 2,3,4 times and every time I try to watch them, I fall asleep. I have never considered my personal feelings toward a movie a deliberate slight of the movie and I have never begrudged anyone else's feelings about movies I love. There are a whole lot of movies that I love but I have never seen a positive word posted about them by anyone else on this website. Film viewing is probably one of the most subjective activities out there...boredom is in the eye of the beholder.