Psycho. #56

I love some incredibly normie films and absolutely hate some other beloved films from Normiedom. Secretly I have no problem with Normiedom but find other people's hate-posts about the normie films I like a little bit intimidating. If I met someone in person I would probably be fine about shrugging my shoulders and saying "Well I liked it". But online I find the hate-posts about my normie loves to be so well articulated that I wouldn't stand a chance if I even engaged. So I don't post about them. Should I be a bit bolder and declare my love publicly for these beige films? Or should I remain suppressed and living in the shadows?

Yeah, better to stay living in the shadows I think! This seems to be a kind of non-issue to me — no offence to you, I’m sure you’re lovely — but I’m interested in this distinction you make between ‘normie’ or ‘beige’ films on the one hand, and… what, recherché films? Sophisticated films? Esoteric? 

I wish you had given examples, because I feel like I am probably the kind of person who tends to write these “hate-posts” that you decry. What are we talking? Everything Everywhere All at Once? Meet Joe Black? Jojo Rabbit? One of the Marvels? Maybe even a standard normie film like, I don’t know, When Harry Met Sally? Is that the kind of thing we’re dealing with here? 

My base feeling is that this stuff doesn’t really need defending so much online, and there’s nothing for you to feel intimidated about. Your guys won! The ‘normie’ films, the ones that offend the fewest people and seem to find a popular consensus, have definitionally done alright for themselves and don’t need you to rush to their defence: a shrug and a “well I liked it” is good enough; the equivalent action is simply to walk away from the argument. Practice with me! Put the phone down. Walk away. Close the laptop. Step away from the scene. Good! You’re doing brilliantly. 

I think there could be an interesting case to be made as to why these films (Titanic? The Dark Knight? Jumanji?) speak to you, if you wanted to gather those thoughts and synthesise them into an argument. I do think there can be value in some middling fare that eases your mind; not everything you engage with has to be high art. Having said that, I do believe that we’re fundamentally better off trying new things and stimulating ourselves, rather than falling back on ‘comfort watches’ the whole time; or, that if you do live for those warm-bowl-of-mashed-potato type films, that you not try to put those on a par with, say, The Earrings of Madame de… (Max Ophuls, 1953).