Ask JKM a Question: The Curmudgeonly Old Man Syndrome?

A reader named Darren writes:

“In your review of Man of Steel (2013) last month an anonymous reader noted that his/her nephews loved the film and that naysayers had lost the capacity to connect with fanciful material in an innocent and positive way.   How would you rate that argument?”

Darren, that’s a great question, and I actually did respond to that commenter briefly. But in broad terms, I think the argument tends to be a pretty fallacious one.

Although, as adult we have seen more films that hardly means that as grown-ups we lose the capacity to emotionally connect or engage with material.  Sometimes the opposite is true.  Sometimes, because of our past experiences, we are able to connect more meaningfully with a new experience than a child can, for instance.

In the past, I have kept an eye out for The Curmudgeonly Old Man Syndrome -- the idea that everything produced in the past is somehow better than everything that is being made right now.

But writing this blog regularly for the last eight years has helped prove to me that I don’t suffer from this ailment in any meaningful way.  

While it’s true that I hated, hated, hated Man of Steel, I have, since about the age of thirty, I guess, discovered and fallen in love with many new films that -- while I am not “nostalgic” them for in the same sense that I am for the movies of my youth -- I nonetheless love and admire.

These movies boast titles like The Matrix (1999), The Blair Witch Project (1999), Ghosts of Mars (2001), Children of Men (2005), District 9 (2009), Wall-E (2008), Avatar (2009), Apollo 18 (2011) John Carter (2012), Prometheus (2012), Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013), and The Great Gatsby (2013), to name a mere handful of titles, right off the top of my head.

I would worry more, indeed, about Curmudgeonly Old Man Syndrome if I felt that -- year in and year out -- I was hating every single movie, and emerging from screenings bitter and angry.  But that isn’t at all how I often feel. 

On the contrary, I usually feel energized and stimulated.  Man of Steel was simply, in my judgment a movie about despair, cynicism, and ugliness, and that uninspiring approach was all the worse given the general outline of the traditional Superman character.

Thus “My kids loved it” isn’t necessarily a criticism with automatic merit.  I have noted, from time to time, my son’s love of the Star Wars prequels, it’s true.  So I’m not free of guilt on this front, myself.   But the great thing about being an adult is that developmentally we are capable of both enjoying fresh input, like a brand new movie, and reflecting on our experiences when the new input doesn’t work for us.  As adults, we can ask ourselves why a movie doesn’t work, or contextualize it in terms of history and technique.

Therefore,  I tend to think that the “but kids love it!” argument is not a very strong one. 

In the future, I’ll certainly try not to use it.  And in regards to Man of Steel, I would just ask one question: is it a good movie because your kid loves it?  What lesson did they learn from it?  That when push comes to shove, it’s okay to snap your enemy’s neck?  Or that watching a hundred skyscrapers fall is somehow entertaining?   Or that it’s better to hide who you are rather than risk facing public disapproval?

So I stand by my reasons for disliking Man of Steel.  But I also know that every time I sit down in a movie theater, I’m wide open for a new experience, and excited about the possibilities of what comes next.

Don't forget to ask me your questions at Muirbusiness@yahoo.com