What Makes a Film Pretentious?
or (A Look at Film Criticism Part I)
I don’t want to be condescending (that is, of course, as I talk down to you), but my definition of pretentious is quite more sophisticated and nuanced than yours. It is, in fact, so brilliantly layered and faceted, that I dare not sully its artistic merits with an explanation.
That would be base and vulgar.
“Pretentious” is quickly becoming an altogether overly misused, yet frequently used, adjective heard in conversation when one is attempting to construct a sophisticated argument regarding a film. Yet, when used, I seem to hear the opposite — something rather empty. The adjective, as I will refer to it, is a mere signal that an attempt to engage with the film was not made; to me, the adjective is more or less a pejorative — one that speaks more to the critic than the film itself.
So what makes a film the adjective?
I’d say (and who am I?) that if you are convinced a film might be “pretending to be something it’s not” (whatever the hell that even means), you may be better off criticizing it directly — why doesn’t it function in comparison? Simply put, the more convincing your opinion is, the more I’ll hear it; the more you rely on a singular word to tell an entire story — well, the more I’ll hear: I just watched the film passively.
Pretentious — adjective — attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc., than is actually possessed.
Whatever is the adjective… is obviously subjective. However, the adjective’s definition is being watered down every day. It is thrown out every time someone feels insecure about not understanding a film.
The adjective is the new, counter-culture take on “interesting.” I remember I once internally remarked: Wow, everyone finds things “interesting,” but no one can ever say why.
It’s okay to not get something. I have never understood the praise for plenty of classics. Calling something pretentious though, particularly artistic expression or a work of fiction, is actually the easiest way of claiming to know the intent of the artist — as if to know, for a fact, that they’re being disingenuous or showy for unjustified reason. …And isn’t that such an arrogant assumption to make?
