Pretentious

[FrederickDouglas]

Lately I've noticed a trend on message boards to criticize forms of entertainment (movies, music, etc.) by labeling them "pretentious". Ironically, it seems the accusation is in itself a bit pretentious.

By accusing a work of trying to be smarter than it really is, the critic is assuming a couple of things...1. That he knows the creator's intention is to appear intelligent (instead of maybe just creating what they enjoy watching) and 2. That the critic is smart enough themselves to serve as a judge on whether the work they're criticizing has substance or not.

To be honest, I see a lot of idiots throwing out the word "pretentious" at every opportunity. They assume that just because something didn't resonate with their feeble minds it's unworthy of praise. Instead of throwing out generic words like "pretentious", they should actually elaborate on what's wrong with what they're critiquing. Calling it "pretentious" is played out IMO.

Agree/disagree?

 

[TheGodling]

I find your entire post pretentious.

 

[FrederickDouglas]

I find your entire post pretentious.

Knew it was coming. I bet you thought that response was clever, didn't you?

 

[TheGodling]

Knew it was coming. I bet you thought that response was clever, didn't you?

Nah, I thought it was kinda pretentious of me.

 

[steadyrighteous]

What's an example of a critic calling something pretentious? The few critics I read never use words/judgements like that.

Also, WTF is pretentious? Some things (and I'm talking TV here since it's what I watch the most) that could possibly be labelled as "condescending" or "preachy" (True Detective comes to mind), but I can't think of anything I'd label "pretentious".

I'd think if anything was pretentious about an art-form, it'd be the fans and champions of it, rather than the work itself. If a critic is calling something pretentious rather than someone, then they're a pretty shytty critic to me.

 

[FrederickDouglas]

What's an example of a critic calling something pretentious? The few critics I read never use words/judgements like that.

Also, WTF is pretentious? Some things (and I'm talking TV here since it's what I watch the most) that could possibly be labelled as "condescending" or "preachy" (True Detective comes to mind), but I can't think of anything I'd label "pretentious".

I'd think if anything was pretentious about an art-form, it'd be the fans and champions of it, rather than the work itself. If a critic is calling something pretentious rather than someone, then they're a pretty shytty critic to me.

I'm referring to message board critics, not professional ones.

 

[steadyrighteous]

I'm referring to message board critics, not professional ones.

Oh, then them nikkas is dumber than a motherfukka

Anyway, to fall on either side of the "pretentious" argument, you have to subscribe, at least partially, to the idea of "high brow" and "low brow".

I don't see entertainment like that. I think of TV, Movies, and Music like food:

A prime steak from a Michelin star restaurant (The Wire) tastes fantastic, but on a primal level, a great burger from a local joint (Always Sunny) can hit the same spot, and be equally, but differently fulfilling. You're more likely to get a good meal from a 5* joint, but acting like a shytty steak is better than good pizza, just because it's steak, that's pretentious.

 

[NobodyReally]

Lately I've noticed a trend on message boards to criticize forms of entertainment (movies, music, etc.) by labeling them "pretentious". Ironically, it seems the accusation is in itself a bit pretentious.

By accusing a work of trying to be smarter than it really is, the critic is assuming a couple of things...1. That he knows the creator's intention is to appear intelligent (instead of maybe just creating what they enjoy watching) and 2. That the critic is smart enough themselves to serve as a judge on whether the work they're criticizing has substance or not.

To be honest, I see a lot of idiots throwing out the word "pretentious" at every opportunity. They assume that just because something didn't resonate with their feeble minds it's unworthy of praise. Instead of throwing out generic words like "pretentious", they should actually elaborate on what's wrong with what they're critiquing. Calling it "pretentious" is played out IMO.

Agree/disagree?

Hmm, I don't know. I think you raise some valid points, but I do think some movies come across as 'pretentious', because they use purple prose and have a smug tone that is self-righteous or annoyingly quirky to the point where its not quirky at all, it's a pre-packaged idea of what quirky is or should be. It's hard to describe, but I don't think we can throw the word or critique of pretentious out because some films are... I do agree we need to back up our critique with examples and reasons for labeling a film that way.