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No academic discipline deals (only) in absolutes - most are dynamic, ever changing (to a degree). I also don't believe I said that I prefer

Posted by: Facto on Sep 04, 07:46 in response to accountant_4_Jesus' post I see what you're trying to say, but that again assumes...

art movies personally - at the festival I avoided Tree of Life, and saw movies like Crazy, Stupid, Love (great entertainment!), Friends with Benefits and so on.. plus some Italian, French and other movies (but avoided Polisse).

As for the law, I don't believe that was a strawman argument. The law is my field within academia. It really doesn't deal in absolutes - although, I'm not sure what you meant there, exactly. Law is dynamic and flexible also, but the process of change or evolution is usually syrupy, slow - like watching grass grow. Either way, philosophers have tried to search for absolutes within law (so-called natural law), but it's really not that easy..

As for art, I find it very easy to distuingish between it, and commercial product. The two really follow different standards. One can detect nuances here and there, and on a sliding scale, some product has to be placed somewhat in the middle, but mostly, art is easily distinguishable from commercial product. But then you art in the strictest sense, and art in the broader sense. The Help may be categorized as part of the latter. And that's where it gets problematic. Does art imitate life, or does life imitate art.. The imitation of life in The Help seems less than authentic, but since the movie is so effective and has such emotional impact, it may inspire real life perceptions. This could mean that any downtrodden person who is less than dignified will not be regarded as a worthy sufferer - because "look at how dignified the sufferers in The Help were!". There are many such false ideals about Gandhi as well. I don't believe this leads to anything good. It goes straight to the fundamental error of bias (psychological term). Using The Help as benchmark, people will see downtrodden sufferers that act like ordinary humans, and show anger and frustration. The average individual, intelllectual or not, will then think, well, there you go, they are at the bottom for a reason - they can't behave. Movies like The Help create false illusion about human nature, and that's what I am sceptical about, first and foremost.

@giteshpandya FRI BO: #Help $3.63M, #Apollo18 $2.84M, #SharkNight $2.8M, Debt $2.61M, Colombiana $2M, Apes $1.85M. grammar Sep 03, 09:01

THELP isn't that impressive. Its holds are good but in a different time of year, it wouldn't have a shot at number 1 HarryWarden Sep 03, 09:11

in a different time of year, it would perform up to the norms of the season. had they released on christmas it would be doing 8 a day islander Sep 03, 09:39

It couldn't compete with most films released during the heart of summer. {nm} HarryWarden Sep 03, 09:45

funny - it just did. and since when is a multiplier of over 4 - 4.5 (depending on how you calculate) not impressive? click999 Sep 03, 09:54

Oh poor you. Can't handle people that don't agree with you. {nm} HarryWarden Sep 03, 09:57

And August is hardly the heart of summer. More like the end. {nm} HarryWarden Sep 03, 09:58

yeah - wah me. click999 Sep 03, 10:08

Why can't you handle negativity? Have you watched the news lately? There's more of that than positivity, to be sure. {nm} HarryWarden Sep 03, 10:10

oh ok. click999 Sep 03, 10:20

Oh poor you. You can't see that THELP has been impressive and thoroughly whupped your beloved horror movies. {nm} Paul2k Sep 03, 10:01

Stick to chick flicks then. Leave the fun movies R-rated movies for those that can enjoy them. {nm} HarryWarden Sep 03, 10:03

Hooray for ad hominem attacks! I bow to you and your wisdom. {nm} Paul2k Sep 03, 10:09

Well, you're the one defending a middlebrow all ages film when the best films are the ones that push boundaries of what's acceptable {nm} HarryWarden Sep 03, 10:11

After all, what's the point of seeing something that could play on Network TV with no cuts? Might as well wait for TV then and save your $ {nm} HarryWarden Sep 03, 10:15

I'm defending the fact that THELP has performed admirably, something which you seem to have difficulty accepting or acknowledging. Paul2k Sep 03, 10:15

All its success is going to lead to is more middlebrow, generic, all ages "entertainment" instead of stuff that's more "fringe" HarryWarden Sep 03, 10:20

I have no problem with your opinion and feelings on the movie. Heck, if I were to watch it, I might feel the same way. Paul2k Sep 03, 10:24

Believe it or not, movies are made by people intending to make a living i.e. a profit. By the very forlorne Sep 03, 10:24

If anything, fringe movies are more likely to make a profit because they're a lot cheaper than mainstream films. HarryWarden Sep 03, 10:29

Are you thinking this through? Give me facts that support "If anything, fringe movies are more likely to make a profit because they're a lot forlorne Sep 03, 10:41

Most of the films on this list of the 10 most profitable movies of all time are "fringe" HarryWarden Sep 03, 10:50

And this one HarryWarden Sep 03, 10:52

And their names are..............? {nm} forlorne Sep 03, 10:52

The Blair Witch Project, Saw 1-7, Halloween, Paranormal Activity 1-2, Night of the Living Dead, El Mariachi, just to name a few {nm} HarryWarden Sep 03, 10:55

1)Most profitable by precentage does not = most profitable. 2)Even on your list, some of those could hardly be considered fringe 3) your forlorne Sep 03, 11:00

More than half your list is definitely fringe. Horror films are always fringe. They define fringe entertainment. {nm} HarryWarden Sep 03, 11:03

Ah, I would never have guessed that Poltergeist, Sixth Sense, Amityville horror, Jaws, Mummy Returns, Alien, and Interview With the Vampire forlorne Sep 03, 11:12

The Mummy Returns isn't a horror movie. It's an action movie. Alien isn't horror either. It's pretty obvious what that is instead. HarryWarden Sep 03, 11:21

and as far as" the heart of summer", August 6th was exactly the middle of summer. THELP was released on the 10th. As forlorne Sep 03, 10:32

August 10 is nearing the end of the summer movie season, the actual seasonal data withstanding. Labor Day = end of summer movie season. {nm} HarryWarden Sep 03, 11:05

Forlorne, I don't get your "by definition" argument. It should be obvious that a movie like The Help is inferior to great art. It's made Facto Sep 03, 11:01

Sure. I am saying that movies are entertainment. You seem to be claiming there is some objective definition of great art. forlorne Sep 03, 11:23

I see HarryWarden's point.. At the Norwegian Film Festival, audiences and juries went overboard for The Help. It won several prizes. I tried Facto Sep 03, 10:53

It's an interesting social phenomenon, seeking to be emotionally moved (or manipulated) by a movie. But isn't that what much of art does? Paul2k Sep 03, 10:59

In reply to Paul2k: As a commercial product, The Help definitely works - it provides emotional catharsis. Almost all of the audience cried. Facto Sep 03, 11:12

"slick and cunning"=those that make movies that don't appeal to you. "cutting edge & creative"=movies that do forlorne Sep 03, 11:06

Why is it "appaling" that some people want to be emotionally moved by their entertainment? {nm} forlorne Sep 03, 11:07

Incidentally, more than half of 20= 11 or more. 11 or more of that list, even by your new definition, are not fringe. {nm} forlorne Sep 03, 11:17

Alctually you stated "fringe movies" were far more likely to make a profit than mainstream, so what forlorne Sep 03, 11:29

Seems you're missing my point, forlorne, re: apppalling. I am making a distinction between entertainment and art. One which you seem to not Facto Sep 03, 12:31

Facto {nm} forlorne Sep 03, 13:42

whoops..Facto: I do NOT distinguish between entertainment and art, unless you mean something like the forlorne Sep 03, 13:46

forlorne: Institutions decide, basically, what is art and what is commercial (entertainment). It's possible to make distinctions, by employ- Facto Sep 03, 14:05

Facto: so you are saying professors and students of art determine what is art and what is entertainment? forlorne Sep 03, 16:07

Forlorne: "that which the commoner can not distinguish as worthy". Yes, to a degree, that would be right. A commoner is someone who is not Facto Sep 03, 17:33

No TV in your house???!?! {nm} HarryWarden Sep 03, 14:35

Harry: We have a TV, but it serves only as a monitor for DVDs or video games, no broadcast TV, cable, satellite etc. forlorne Sep 03, 15:59

Re: Facto tribefan695 Sep 03, 13:49

There might be a good argument here, but not when the comparison is against films of a genre that is decidedly not high art {nm} tribefan695 Sep 03, 14:06

And there will always be fringe horror movies just like there will always be middlebrow crowdpleasers. {nm} tribefan695 Sep 03, 14:12

tribefan695: It's HarryWarden who talks about horror movies - not I. The decision that something is art, is often made already in the choice Facto Sep 03, 14:16

Fine, but I still don't see what makes The Help so "detrimental". {nm} tribefan695 Sep 03, 15:04

One could write long articles about what makes it detrimental to society. I believe I tried to explain briefly. If not, I'll make another, Facto Sep 03, 16:58

Facto: movies are NOT real life. None of them. Even if they were, they would only be of the real life of forlorne Sep 03, 18:06

Forget it, forlorne, you are not debating me, but rather debating some figment of your imagination. I have presented my points, and it's Facto Sep 03, 18:44

btw, forlorne, please do not think that I include you in that definition of "commoners" (the term you introduced to our conversation). I Facto Sep 03, 19:32

Actually , u have answered your own question,u can't compare it to movies opening in summer, who knows,it may do even better in summer {nm} karspov Sep 03, 10:12

Sure, or I mean, could be, but it would've never beaten Pirates, or Thor, or TF3, or any other huge blockbuster. {nm} Facto Sep 03, 17:55

I would like someone to explain the rationale that totally ignores older intellegent adults from the multiplex for 3 months? mrbinns Sep 03, 10:46

"Harry Warden" {nm} forlorne Sep 03, 10:51

You have a good point. I took my girlfriend to see WELPH, and after that, there really wasn't anything, before MIDNP. Well, we went to TF3 - Facto Sep 03, 12:48

This is truly absurd. {nm} Libs Sep 03, 12:05

ditto. {nm} JMT-NL Sep 03, 12:11

What is absurd? {nm} Facto Sep 03, 12:53

Calling The Help's performance "not that impressive." {nm} Libs Sep 03, 17:13

That's meaningless, if taken out of context. HW says it's performance is good, That about covers it. It can also be called impressive, but Facto Sep 03, 17:36

What does whether it's #1 or not have to do with whether the movie is a success? Libs Sep 03, 18:31

I haven't said that I don't grasp that. What I am basically saying is that everything is relative. Are you new to these forums?? :-) Facto Sep 03, 19:08

"the exchange's" (meaning HSX) and "some movie is priced at 330" (correcting spelling mistakes in the third to last paragrpah) {nm} Facto Sep 03, 19:16

D'oh... *paragraph* !! ;-p {nm} Facto Sep 03, 19:17

Facto: Re your debate with forlorne: accountant_4_Jesus Sep 04, 05:38

Well.. First of all, an intellectual does not have to be an academic. They can be self-trained. Just an aware individual. Secondly, I see Facto Sep 04, 06:18

(apologies for spelling mistakes etc - multi-tasking here, and PC has some issues, so I just publish before there's a surprise shut down and Facto Sep 04, 06:25

Don't worry about the typos etc. I'm not picky, and I could still understand you. {nm} accountant_4_Jesus Sep 04, 07:06

I see what you're trying to say, but that again assumes that the collective opinion of art is taken to be an absolute, which it isn't. accountant_4_Jesus Sep 04, 06:43

No academic discipline deals (only) in absolutes - most are dynamic, ever changing (to a degree). I also don't believe I said that I prefer Facto Sep 04, 07:46





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