Silver and Gold
Tomorrow I will be graced with the chance to see the original Batman movie (Keaton, not West. Yeeguda.) and I don't believe I've been this excited about a movie... let alone anything else... in quite some time.
This is largely due to the fact that, were you to ask half my friends what my favorite movie is, they would tell you it is undoubtedly that same film, the picture of pictures, "Batman."
Of course, were you to ask the other half, they would tell you it was Kubrick's "The Shining."
Weird thing; they'd all be right.
From the start, I've never much been one for picking favorites very convincingly or even accurately. I've experienced too much I enjoy, I think, or the things that I do enjoy I enjoy so much that they're all pretty much on the same level, that it's difficult for me to choose one that I like above all others. And this doesn't just go for films. I'm talking food, music, places, people, I really can't decide. Actresses is my least favorite one. I have trouble thinking of an actress I like in the first place, let alone one that's my favorite.
For the most part, when faced with these questions, they do little more than put the seed of dissention in my head, and make me want to have a favorite of whatever category has been chosen. I simply won't answer whoever asked me, but by the next day I will have thought about it enough and become so sickened with my own indecision I'll arbitrarily pick one thing to like above all others. There's precious little that goes into making these choices, but I think there's one large factor that applies to these picks, and I think that factor applies to a lot of people when we talk about our favorites.
When I'm speaking to someone about what my favorite film is (which is a question I'm asked repeatedly, being a film student) my answer depends greatly on the person I'm talking to. If I think the person well-versed in film and honestly interested in my ideas and thoughts concerning it, of which I have a great deal, I'll tell them "The Shining" is my favorite. However, if I think the person is making conversation or just wants to know more about me, I'll say it's the original "Batman." Both of these are right answers, but they cater to different audiences and, most importantly, different intents.
"The Shining," I think, is one of the best made films ever to have been shown to mortal man. It's art at its highest form, and it elevates the viewer to something more than what he was before watching it. If I really wish to discuss (read: debate) this with someone, or I think they really want to do so with me, that's the film I'm going with. However, "Batman" is the much more frequent answer, because of this. Most people don't ask your favorite film because they want to talk about movies. Most people don't ask about any favorite thing to talk about that kind of thing. They ask their favorite thing, and most people choose their favorite thing, as a reflection of who they are.
I love "Batman." I think it's a great movie. But more importantly, of all the films I can think of off the top of my head, when I'm talking to someone about what kind of movies I like, I picture myself or at least want to be pictured as the sort of person who would have "Batman" as their favorite movie. It's how I'd like to be viewed. I didn't necessarily think this as I was deciding it was my favorite, but later I realized that people really do choose their favorite whatevers as tools to building a general idea of the person they are.
For the most part, I think this is true for a lot of people. In fact, for the most part, I'm pretty sure that people's favorite whatevers are the same things that are going to paint a good picture of them. Most people have maybe one or two broad subjects in their lives that they really look into and enjoy, and perhaps they have a favorite thing of those, but for the most part everything else they could take or leave. It's the people who like everything, or bits of everything, that need to find favorites among the myriad of things they already like, and favorites of favorites within those favorites that really have it tough when picking their most liked items.
For the most part, people are pretty one-dimensional. It's the multi-faceted ones that have a hard time.
I also have a theory that there are people who only like dogs, there are people who like both cats and dogs, but there aren't any people who honestly only like cats. When I say "people," here, of course, that hinges on the person not being evil... or cronish. Evil and cronish beings aren't people. They're assholes.
Anyway, that's a whole other thing.
I'm taking the missus, and I'm seriously considering dressing in my Joker costume.
This is largely due to the fact that, were you to ask half my friends what my favorite movie is, they would tell you it is undoubtedly that same film, the picture of pictures, "Batman."
Of course, were you to ask the other half, they would tell you it was Kubrick's "The Shining."
Weird thing; they'd all be right.
From the start, I've never much been one for picking favorites very convincingly or even accurately. I've experienced too much I enjoy, I think, or the things that I do enjoy I enjoy so much that they're all pretty much on the same level, that it's difficult for me to choose one that I like above all others. And this doesn't just go for films. I'm talking food, music, places, people, I really can't decide. Actresses is my least favorite one. I have trouble thinking of an actress I like in the first place, let alone one that's my favorite.
For the most part, when faced with these questions, they do little more than put the seed of dissention in my head, and make me want to have a favorite of whatever category has been chosen. I simply won't answer whoever asked me, but by the next day I will have thought about it enough and become so sickened with my own indecision I'll arbitrarily pick one thing to like above all others. There's precious little that goes into making these choices, but I think there's one large factor that applies to these picks, and I think that factor applies to a lot of people when we talk about our favorites.
When I'm speaking to someone about what my favorite film is (which is a question I'm asked repeatedly, being a film student) my answer depends greatly on the person I'm talking to. If I think the person well-versed in film and honestly interested in my ideas and thoughts concerning it, of which I have a great deal, I'll tell them "The Shining" is my favorite. However, if I think the person is making conversation or just wants to know more about me, I'll say it's the original "Batman." Both of these are right answers, but they cater to different audiences and, most importantly, different intents.
"The Shining," I think, is one of the best made films ever to have been shown to mortal man. It's art at its highest form, and it elevates the viewer to something more than what he was before watching it. If I really wish to discuss (read: debate) this with someone, or I think they really want to do so with me, that's the film I'm going with. However, "Batman" is the much more frequent answer, because of this. Most people don't ask your favorite film because they want to talk about movies. Most people don't ask about any favorite thing to talk about that kind of thing. They ask their favorite thing, and most people choose their favorite thing, as a reflection of who they are.
I love "Batman." I think it's a great movie. But more importantly, of all the films I can think of off the top of my head, when I'm talking to someone about what kind of movies I like, I picture myself or at least want to be pictured as the sort of person who would have "Batman" as their favorite movie. It's how I'd like to be viewed. I didn't necessarily think this as I was deciding it was my favorite, but later I realized that people really do choose their favorite whatevers as tools to building a general idea of the person they are.
For the most part, I think this is true for a lot of people. In fact, for the most part, I'm pretty sure that people's favorite whatevers are the same things that are going to paint a good picture of them. Most people have maybe one or two broad subjects in their lives that they really look into and enjoy, and perhaps they have a favorite thing of those, but for the most part everything else they could take or leave. It's the people who like everything, or bits of everything, that need to find favorites among the myriad of things they already like, and favorites of favorites within those favorites that really have it tough when picking their most liked items.
For the most part, people are pretty one-dimensional. It's the multi-faceted ones that have a hard time.
I also have a theory that there are people who only like dogs, there are people who like both cats and dogs, but there aren't any people who honestly only like cats. When I say "people," here, of course, that hinges on the person not being evil... or cronish. Evil and cronish beings aren't people. They're assholes.
Anyway, that's a whole other thing.
I'm taking the missus, and I'm seriously considering dressing in my Joker costume.
posted by DeadLanguage at 8:42 PM
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