That may be so, Jeff. I'm not arguing his right to interpret or state such things, but I hate it when people try to sour things for others. What is the point of writing an article like this right near Christmas? It's not a message of hope, there's no moral...all it does it serve to ruin a Christmas movie and make people a little more skeptical and a little more bitter during the Christmas season.
May as well write a review of A Christmas Carol noting that it would be more fortunate if Tiny Tim died, since the world is becoming overcrowded...I mean, come on. It's so ironic that this "progressive" line of thought supposedly places a great deal of value on the individual (freedoms, quality of life, etc.), yet life itself is valued so lightly.
Well, if I may play Devil's advocate for a bit -- is the movie now ruined for you? If so, it means you side with his interpretation; if not, it means you'll continue to enjoy the movie, as will millions of others, and that this dude's opinion means squat to you. If the latter is true, his article hasn't affected you, and it shouldn't make a difference. If someone now chooses to interpret "It's a Wonderful Life" completely different now, because of one newspaper article they just read, odds are they're skeptical folk in the first place.
To this day, there are people trying to interpret and (over)analyze works done centuries ago. I, for one, enjoy hearing what people can derive from all these works. It doesn't mean I believe them all. I had a professor years ago who claimed "Romeo and Juliet" was intended to be a comedy...and I'll be damned if he didn't make a compelling argument.
Besides, this isn't half as bad as the shit The New York Post allows in their paper (and for the record, I've never bought one, I merely glance at it if it's in the break room during my lunch, and I have nothing better to do).
There are a myriad of papers worse than the NYT, but so what? My judgment wasn't intended to be relative.
I see where you're coming from, I just think publishing an article like this during the holiday season is unnecessarily provocative. But then, it is to be expected...Christmas has come under attack in recent years.
The movie is not ruined for me - that's not the point. If you look at a Christmas Carol, why does Scrooge need to change? It's not only that he doesn't participate in Christmas; it's his whole "bah-humbug" attitude. The fact that he's such an a-hole around Christmas time only exemplifies that. If people don't respect Christmas or don't want to participate, that's fine with me. But when they try to actively ruin it for other people, or bring them down, it strikes me as quite selfish and immature. It's the same kind of thing as telling someone on their 60th birthday, in all seriousness, "Well, looks like you're over the hill now. Won't be much longer before you kick the bucket."
I guess I didn't see it as one writer trying to bring everyone else down with his negative view of the movie. I just saw it as "hey, we go to press in 40 minutes, and we need an article to go right here." I don't think the timing was done JUST to bring people down, though. It wouldn't make sense to write a Christmas-themed article in July.
And speaking of Christmas, this will probably be our last correspondance before the holiday, so I hope you and your family have a merry one. I'm happy to know you'll be able to spend it with your mom and sister (and slightly less happy to know that little punk Emmanuel will be there).
My name is Paul, and I am an American Catholic currently living in Japan and working as an English teacher.
The "mission" of this blog is two-fold. One, to relate some of my experiences and thoughts about living in the land of the rising sun. Two, to post news relating to my main interests - usually religion and politics, although sometimes including other random materials. As I may seem bleak or cynical at times, I beg your indulgence. God is indeed everywhere, and through Him there is hope. Although there are patches of light, we do live in a dark world, however. How can we persevere? I recommend faith and a sense of humor.
I hope you enjoy! If you like what you see, please check back every now and then, and feel free to leave comments.
8 comments:
Were you expecting something different?
But aren't we free to interpret things as we see them? I'm not saying I completely agree with the man, but he brings up some good points.
That may be so, Jeff. I'm not arguing his right to interpret or state such things, but I hate it when people try to sour things for others.
What is the point of writing an article like this right near Christmas? It's not a message of hope, there's no moral...all it does it serve to ruin a Christmas movie and make people a little more skeptical and a little more bitter during the Christmas season.
May as well write a review of A Christmas Carol noting that it would be more fortunate if Tiny Tim died, since the world is becoming overcrowded...I mean, come on.
It's so ironic that this "progressive" line of thought supposedly places a great deal of value on the individual (freedoms, quality of life, etc.), yet life itself is valued so lightly.
Well, if I may play Devil's advocate for a bit -- is the movie now ruined for you? If so, it means you side with his interpretation; if not, it means you'll continue to enjoy the movie, as will millions of others, and that this dude's opinion means squat to you. If the latter is true, his article hasn't affected you, and it shouldn't make a difference. If someone now chooses to interpret "It's a Wonderful Life" completely different now, because of one newspaper article they just read, odds are they're skeptical folk in the first place.
To this day, there are people trying to interpret and (over)analyze works done centuries ago. I, for one, enjoy hearing what people can derive from all these works. It doesn't mean I believe them all. I had a professor years ago who claimed "Romeo and Juliet" was intended to be a comedy...and I'll be damned if he didn't make a compelling argument.
Besides, this isn't half as bad as the shit The New York Post allows in their paper (and for the record, I've never bought one, I merely glance at it if it's in the break room during my lunch, and I have nothing better to do).
Jeff,
There are a myriad of papers worse than the NYT, but so what? My judgment wasn't intended to be relative.
I see where you're coming from, I just think publishing an article like this during the holiday season is unnecessarily provocative. But then, it is to be expected...Christmas has come under attack in recent years.
The movie is not ruined for me - that's not the point. If you look at a Christmas Carol, why does Scrooge need to change? It's not only that he doesn't participate in Christmas; it's his whole "bah-humbug" attitude. The fact that he's such an a-hole around Christmas time only exemplifies that. If people don't respect Christmas or don't want to participate, that's fine with me. But when they try to actively ruin it for other people, or bring them down, it strikes me as quite selfish and immature. It's the same kind of thing as telling someone on their 60th birthday, in all seriousness, "Well, looks like you're over the hill now. Won't be much longer before you kick the bucket."
I think it falls in there with schadenfreude.
I guess I didn't see it as one writer trying to bring everyone else down with his negative view of the movie. I just saw it as "hey, we go to press in 40 minutes, and we need an article to go right here." I don't think the timing was done JUST to bring people down, though. It wouldn't make sense to write a Christmas-themed article in July.
And speaking of Christmas, this will probably be our last correspondance before the holiday, so I hope you and your family have a merry one. I'm happy to know you'll be able to spend it with your mom and sister (and slightly less happy to know that little punk Emmanuel will be there).
Heh heh...thanks - merry Christmas to you, too. I'll tell them you said "hi.'
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