T w e n t y S i d e d

I say all the time that horror and comedy are the two most personal areas of life in terms of taste. They both prey on expectation to make their impact. That’s why hearing your drunk uncle tell the same joke for the 50th time is exhausting instead of humorous. It’s why knock knock jokes are mentally draining by the time you hit adulthood, too. Same goes for scares. The first time I watched Jeepers Creepers 2 I immediately developed a fear of scarecrows that I haven’t fully shaken, but I won’t have a panic attack watching the same scene again and again because the novelty is gone. The only scare left is the residual fear from the first time I saw it. And it’s also why the “mirror scare” in horror movies just doesn’t really work anymore unless you throw in a misdirect. We expect it now as a culture.

“Wish Upon” is a horror movie released in 2017 and it is atrocious. I say that affectionately because I LOVE bad horror movies. I think it’s a solid recommend for folks like me that like to see terrible writing mixed with a nonsense plot with a sprinkling of questionable acting choices. So when Red Letter Media covered it I was delighted to see my read of the movie was accurate in the eyes of some guys that I look up to and respect. I don’t typically care if I have the “right opinion” on things but it’s always a delightful sensation to me when my personal tastes line up with some people that I consider tastemakers. I also enjoy when I can confidently say that something is just bad because nowadays I avoid saying something is “bad” and substitute in the phrase “not for me” to avoid offending or debate.

Some may argue against my resolute statement that the movie is just plain bad, and that’s going to happen no matter what. There’s a world full of opinions and not all of them are going to be matching or even reasonable. And at the end of the day, we’re all fallible. Someone might see something in a piece of media that others don’t. I, for one, think that the splatter work of Jackson Pollock is pointless and silly. I like my art to have something more intelligible to say. Art critics might see my opinion as uninformed and stupid. That’s fine. That’s because the work just isn’t for me. I find the game Mixtape to be pretentious and boring. It won over tons of critics regardless and that’s fine, because those reviewers just saw something different in the game that I didn’t. It just isn’t for me.

I think it’s important to accept the superiority of the term “not for me.” For whatever reason, many people out there tie their tastes in media to who they are as a person. I think if you want to keep relationships healthier and life easier it’s just a better way to go. You can still hold strong opinions. I’ll still tell people I think Pollock is a hack, but I’m ready to hear how wrong I am from the few people out there who both care and hold a differing opinion. But I’m very ready to let them say their piece and follow it with a smirk and a, “Sorry, I just don’t get it but I’m happy to be wrong.”

Pollock was a hack, though. Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst are, too. Fight me.

Ethan Rodgers