Okay, so this was meant as a Facebook note, but I figured I'd post it on here as well, since Spill is a movie-centric community.

 

The following argument began when I suggested in a comment that Tron: Legacy was "not anywhere near one of the best films of the year":

 

GUY:

I wonder what you think is best film worthy, lets hear it.

 

ME:

Every single film that was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars this year (except for Winter's Bone, which I've yet to see) was a better film than Tron Legacy. The King's Speech wouldn't have been my pick for

Best Picture (I'd have given it to The Social Network), but it was still deserving. Plenty of films that weren't even nominated were also better: Another Year, Barney's Version, Blue Valentine, but I've got a character limit here. I think I've given a sufficient amount of films.

 

GUY:

The Social Network? seriously? wow...I'm not even going to argue, enjoy the rest of your day.

 

ME:

Thank you, I shall. And while I'm here I should also point out that your incredulity is entirely unfounded, as the VAST majority agrees that The Social Network was brilliant while Tron: Legacy was simply decent.

And in case you take me as a pretentious arthouse snob, allow me to point out that I also LOVED Kick-Ass and Scott Pilgrim.

 

GUY:

very predictable for you to hide behind "the majority", it only shows you have no personality of your own and you only like what others like. You're a follower, a typical person with no unique qualities...you really need to open your mind kiddo. Ouch...

 

ME:

I'm not sure what you're saying "Ouch" to; I hope you don't think yourself so terribly clever that your last comment was the be-all end-all of arguments. You clearly missed my point. I was responding to your notion that my loving of The Social Network made all of my other arguments completely invalid. And I find it pretty funny that *you* are telling *me* to open up my mind; looking at your "movies" section it's pretty clear that you're pretty exclusively into genre films.

(The "Favorite movies" section on his profile reads "Tron Legacy, Avatar, Superman Returns, Watchmen, District 9, The Dark Knight, WWE, Smallville & Supernatural".)

 

GUY:

I admit that I'm a scifi fanatic and it is sad to see that most people aren't into that genre, without imagination, we wouldn't be where were are in the world today. Just tell me one thing, what is remember-able about the Social Network? Sorry but it doesn't deserve to be nominated as best picture, nor Toy Story 3. If any of the nominees deserve to win, It's Inception, and even you can't argue about that being a worthy winner.

 

ME:

I wrote a review for The Social Network for my school's paper. I've sent the review to you in a message so that you can read my justification in full detail. Toy Story 3 is a beautiful film with a massive emotional punch and is an entirely worthy nominee. There's nothing wrong with being into sci-fi, but being *exclusively* into sci-fi is very narrow-minded. Inception is probably my fourth- or fifth-favorite of the Best Picture nominees this year, but it was an excellent film.

 

(At this point a second debate started in private messages while the original continued. That's farther down. You can read my review of The Social Network, which I sent to him, here.)

 

GUY:

so you think I'm exclusively scifi because of a few movies I listed? that's assuming and assuming as you know, is wrong. You want to know what i like? anything that's not drama. so that means..i like action movies, horror, comedy, animation..ect. What I'm saying is, you shouldn't stay reality based, it leaves no room for enlightenment.

 

ME:

That last comment has made our entire exchange completely pointless. You don't like drama? Well, it's a good thing that The Social Network is a fucking drama film. Obviously you don't like it.

And ruling out an entire genre like that is extremely narrow-minded. You should be able to recognize quality filmmaking regardless of the film's genre.

 

GUY:

narrow minded? you're a kid, you know nothing about real drama. Do yourself a favor and stick to what you know, not what you think you know.

 

ME:

I've tried to be civil up until this point, but that comment is far too moronic for me to continue on in that manner. Using the "you're a kid" excuse is the most pathetic cop-out, "I-have-no-real-retort" argument thrown around by adults. I'm not referring to intelligent adults, as they are able to use their experience and knowledge to formulate, you know, actual arguments. I'm talking about adults who incorrectly assume that their age gives them automatic superiority over those younger than themselves. I am a massive fan of cinema, and as such, I have seen a great deal of films, from Fincher to Chaplin. Hell, have you seen Blade Runner? 2001? Vertigo? Airplane? Notice I am avoiding drama here. Your seven years of additional experience clearly hasn't helped your grasp on the English language surpass my own; why should I assume that it has supplemented your knowledge of cinema any more?

 

GUY:

this debate was finished the moment you said to me in a message that The Social Network was a perfect movie. I don't mean to pick on you, I just hope you learn from your mistakes before its too late. You're a guy i presume right...lesson one, most guys aren't passionate about drama movies so you should really look in the mirror and do some serious reprogramming. Second, drama movies are mainly for female audience so whatever your story is, you need serious help. Good luck kid.

 

(From this point on I took a decidedly more hostile stance.)

 

ME:

Well, I apologize for having feelings, you arrogant fuck. I'm sorry to inform you that I will not be changing to conform with the social normality. I know many males who enjoy drama, and a hell of a lot of them are in the Academy. If you think that genres are gender-exclusive then *you* are the one who needs help. Good luck to you, you sad, arrogant person. I will not refer to you as a man, because you are not one.

 

GUY:

you're trying so hard to make yourself seem nothing less than a person who thinks they know what they're talking about that you're going so far way off base of topic, you bring in random materials to this debate in which you hope i know nothing of so you can once again appear like you actually know something about cinema? dude you know nothing about movies because you don't even know what the fuck you're talking about.

 

ME:

What the fuck are YOU talking about? You're the one who brought up that "guys aren't supposed to like drama". My entire previous comment was a response to something that you brought up. Don't tell me that I'm going off-topic. Everything I have said thus far has directly related to what you have said.

 

GUY:

you can have feelings but controlling your emotion is what separates the Men from the boys, or in this case, the boys from the hissy fit fags like you. Grow up.

 

ME:

Who said that I can't control my emotions? You're the one assuming things now. You don't know me, and I (thankfully) don't know you.

 

GUY:

oh but i do know you.

 

ME:

That was weird and cryptic. I'm not sure what to respond.

 

--

 

Evidently he didn't either. I heard nothing from him after that in the comment thread.

 

--

 

Throughout all of this, we'd been having another discussion (basically the same) through private messages.

 

 

GUY:

About half into your review and sorry to say it but you're pretty much praising the movie too much. Going as far as to say it's a "perfect film"? That pretty much concludes it. It's okay to enjoy a film and have an opinion about the movie but you're only looking at it from one point of view, and that's your own. To get a better understanding, you need a different perspective from someone who might not agree with everything you say. For example: I saw the movie myself and i have to disagree with almost half of what you said. The opening scene alone with the chat between the two couples, he has an annoying speech pattern in which you may think he sounds cool but I'm not as easy to impress. He's the main character and he comes off as an asshole right from the beginning and you pretty much hate him for the entire film. Like i said before, i hate drama and this movie has plenty of nonsense drama for which why would i care? no-one can relate to these characters which is a huge problem if you're trying to get into the characters themselves. I agree with you on one part which was probably the only likable character was Andrew Garfield even though i still don't really care about what happen to his character or any character in that film. The film is low-budget which is why you can only talk about the acting. Just by watching the film, i knew the twins were the same actor...that's bad filming. Then again you have to look at the audience the film was made for. I take it that you're a young person who's addicted to facebook because that was indeed the target audience. I didn't watch the film because i thought it was interesting, I saw it because i kept an open mind and wanted to see what everyone was raving about. I was right, it wasn't interesting to me because i don't care about facebook, the creators of facebook, or a movie about facebook and most of all, drama. I honestly enjoyed Toy Story 3 more than The Social Network and Toy Story 3 isn't even one of my favorite 2010 films.

 

ME:

First, why didn't you wait to finish my review before replying? It's not long.

Second, saying that I should look at the film from the perspective of someone who enjoys different aspects of film WHILE WRITING A REVIEW FOR THAT FILM is entirely moronic. It's a review. When I review a film I state my opinion of the film, not somebody else's. If I wanted someone else's opinion I would read a review written by someone else, i.e. their opinion. It's okay if you disagree with me, because an opinion is just that, an opinion.

Third, chalking up the fact that you did not enjoy the opening scene to the assumption that you are "not as easy to please" as I am is ridiculous. I can honestly say that if you feel the dialog in Tron: Legacy was more impressive then your standards are certainly not higher than mine. Film dialog is an art, one which The Social Network's writer, Aaron Sorkin, has honed to near-perfection. Tron: Legacy's dialog, on the other hand, is full of cliches. Nothing about that film's script comes off as smart at all.

Fourth, I disagree when you say that no one relates to the characters. I related to Garfield's character, and I felt for him as he was constantly screwed over. I also felt sorry for Zuckerberg. As the woman in the film's closing scene so poignantly put it, "You're not an asshole; you just try so hard to be." It is difficult for people of exceptional intelligence to relate well socially to the intellectually inferior. Zuckerberg suffered because of how smart he was, so he turned hostile on the world. He goes through life using his wit to dominate his peers, but this obviously causes him to become more alienated. It's a vicious cycle. How appropriate, then, that this man would go on to create an online phenomenon which allows social interaction without actually conversing in person. It's rather tragic, actually.

Fifth, a film's budget says nothing about a film's quality. Some of the best films of this year (and all time) were made for next to nothing. That said, The Social Network is not at all a low-budget film. It was made for an estimated $50 million, which is a higher-than-average budget for a drama. The thing is, the people who made The Social Network know how to tell a great story without the aid of gratuitous special effects. Tron: Legacy looked damn good, but that was the most impressive thing about it. Effects do not make a movie.

Finally, I don't believe that you need to care remotely about Facebook to enjoy the film. It's an interesting, engaging courtroom drama with complex characters, and any fan of film can enjoy it.

 

GUY:

I can't take anymore of your ridiculous uses of the same jr high school vocabulary words like narrow minded & moronic. When you finish college, then you can come back and write something worth reading. Until then...like i said, you need help.

 

ME:

There you go with that same fucking excuse. Sure, don't bother to actually provide valid responses to my points. As for my vocabulary and writing, they are vastly superior to your own. The reason I used the word 'moronic' twice is because you are a moron. "Narrow-minded" is a phrase, not a word, and again, I used it twice because I believe you to be narrow-minded. I'm not sure what school you attended if you took until junior high to learn the word moronic. If I wanted to use school vocabulary I would've called your views insular. I pick up the vast majority of my vocabulary from reading, something you evidently need to do more of. I am not trying hard to impress with my language; eloquence comes fairly naturally to me. I'm not sure why I am even bothering to respond to you any more, but if you keep messaging me back I suppose I will continue to respond, even though your most recent messages/replies have lacked any trace of substance. I currently have nothing better to do.

 

GUY:

Ignorance in bliss my friend, and that is the state you are in.

 

ME:

Once again, thank you for completely disregarding what I just said. I'd venture that you are the one living in ignorance. For one, you repeatedly ignore every single point I raise.

 

GUY:

wow you're poor common knowledge continues to surprise me, you're so ignorant that all you care about is winning a debate but you fail to understand the purpose of one. Until you can learn to take criticism, you will never effectively learn from & redirect enlightenment to another. In you're defense, which would appear to make more sense, you can go on and say The Social Network was the best drama cinema of the year. The Social Network wasn't getting pass True Grit, Black Swan or The King's Speech. You must be disappointed in that...but on the "majority side" they were considered better than the Social Network...so where does that leave you? Sucks when you're own words are turned against you.

 

ME:

You are hilariously incorrect. First of all, "you're" is a contraction of the words "you" and "are". "Your" is the word that you're looking for; that signifies possession. Don't talk to me about common knowledge until you get some yourself.

And next, the critic reviews for The Social Network were more positive than those for all of the films you mentioned, and even the public reviews were only higher for The King's Speech.

 

http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-social-network

http://www.metacritic.com/movie/true-grit

http://www.metacritic.com/movie/black-swan

http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-kings-speech

 

Once again, you've failed. Try again, guy.

 

Oh, and I take criticism perfectly well, thank you. It's just that I only take criticism from people who know what they are talking about. In other words, not you. None of your criticisms have been valid, and I cannot use your knowledge to enlighten others because you have none.

 

GUY:

actually you don't know how to take criticism which is why you're whining like a little girl because you can't accept the fact that someone doesn't agree with you. That my friend is being closed minded, immature, ignorant and it's even worse that you have so much pride that you are blinded and can't see how ridiculous you sound trying to seem like you actually know what you're talking about so you won't look bad. You indeed have a lot of growing up to do and trust me...no one cares what a kid has to say. This is the best advice anyone could give you but once again, your pride will blind you. Good luck.

 

--

 

I composed the following message in response:

 

Actually, I do know how to take criticism, and when I get criticism, I take it into account and use it to improve either myself or the work that has been criticized. However, for me to take someone's criticism into account, the criticism has to be constructive and well-thought-out. Your criticisms are neither.

 

I can't believe you can't see how ridiculous *you* sound. You want to know what's close-minded, immature, and ignorant? Assuming your own superiority simply because you are older than I am. Wisdom, knowledge, and maturity do not come automatically with age. Please, if you're going to argue with me, come up with more than one (invalid) argument.

 

Finally, it's perfectly fine that you disagree with me. You prefer Tron: Legacy while I prefer The Social Network. I may not agree with you, but as I have stated *numerous* times, opinions are opinions. This entire argument has gotten so far away from our original points it's absurd. The situation became hostile when you suggested that liking The Social Network more than Tron: Legacy was imbecilic. Since that point, I have been attempting to show you why I feel that way whilst defending myself from your seemingly arbitrary insults which you toss into your retorts.

 

I'm not sure why I'm even responding anymore: if past messages are any indication, you're just going to respond to this by saying something along the lines of, "You're a bratty little kid and so you don't understand," and then you're going to throw in some entirely unfounded condescending remark at the end of the message. So it's my turn to be condescending. I hope that some day you will be able to begin formulating actual arguments in debates instead of simply driving the same points into the ground even after they have been responded to. Good luck to you.

 

 

 

 

However, upon pressing "Send" I discovered that he'd blocked my account. XD