The Snob Delusion: The Myth of Elitism

Do you pretend to like foreign films that you can’t understand? Do you constantly boast about the film degree you received from a private liberal arts college? Do you take every possible opportunity to correct others on trivial things related to film? Are you someone who refuses to watch to certain movies just because they’re released by a major studio? Do you blindly hate popular movies you know nothing about just to be different? Are you looking to correct my spelling and grammar as you read this?

Then this post is for you.

You may be wondering, what is a film snob? I would define it like this.

Film Snob – A person who believes that their opinion is fact. This opinion is set in stone and that which was once subjective is now inarguable.

Let’s go over a few things.

1. The Criterion Collection is not bulletproof.

What do Blade Runner, Badlands, The French Connection, Blue Velvet, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, and the films of Johnnie To all have in common? They’re all great movies that aren’t part of the Criterion Collection. While I admire their dedication for film, lest we forget that many films considered to be “classic” aren’t among the Criterion.

2. Oh, what’s that? You haven’t watched it?

In recent times, Twilight has been the main punchline for film snobs looking to crack an easy joke at casual film goers. Except there was a problem–they haven’t watched any of them. I watched the first Twilight. Was it bad? Maybe, but I watched it, so my opinion isn’t baseless. However, film snobs don’t know this because they haven’t watched it. Look, if you think Michael Bay movies look like shit from the trailers, that’s fine, but unless you’ve watched his movies, what basis do you have saying they are shit? Blind hatred of movies? Film snob trait #2.

3. Y U No Understand Money??

They’ll tear apart anything that’s not arthouse or foreign, but if it’s a blockbuster too? Forget about it! What these poor film snobs fail to realize is that the success of the $300 million blockbuster paid for your favorite director’s little $30 million pet project.

I’m not anti-knowledge. I encourage all people who are passionate about art to develop a refinement to their tastes and a deeper appreciation of that medium. We can’t let potentially hurting someone’s feelings deter us from tough conversations. Even I would call someone out if they said The Godfather was “poorly made.” It’s in the delivery of this knowledge that the film snob missteps. Condescention should be discouraged at all times. I don’t understand this thinking..

“How can you like Next Friday? Have you not watched *insert obscure foreign language comedy here*?”

The kind of generalization that “if you like this, it’s only because you haven’t seen this” is preposterous and incredibly snobby. I love the movies, so of course I have favorites like Oldboy, La Dolce Vita, L’Avventura, etc. However, I’m also completely enthralled with the horror genre, exploitation films, and classic Kung Fu flicks. Is my reputation now ruined if I enjoyed Friday the 13th Part 6: Jason Lives? This is useless ideology. Maybe I’m different, because I don’t let anyone deter me from watching any movie. Whether the film is universally panned or praised, if it interests me–I’m going to watch regardless. I didn’t make this blog to condescend. I think highly of you dear reader. You have a functioning brain, so I’m positive you can make your own distinctions about movies.

Do you remember the scene in Annie Hall when Woody Allen is standing in line and the snob behind him is speaking about Fellini being “unsure of what to say” and “use of negative imagery” and “cohesion” ? I imagined someone similar writing the following review for No Country For Old Men.

“The aesthetic baffles are replaced by a sparer, less baroque, much grittier tone and a splitting of the narrative into two distinct voices. Moreover, the violence is often ameliorated by its elaborate choreography and vatic narrative voice. The irony coexists uneasily with the eidetic passages. Notice the structure of the male character on the left, and the female on the right, giving off a sort of Oedipus vibe that was no doubt intentional.”

I wouldn’t be as nice as Woody was. If I could pull this man out of the line and pose a question to him, it would be “what ass did you pull that out of?” I have my doubts that his Oedipus allegory was at all “intentional.”

If you want to draw mumbo jumbo conclusions about post-structural theory and how Samuel L. Jackson was cast by Tarantino in Pulp Fiction because an interracial tag team could usher in a new and vertiginous psycho-social mobility, then by all means, do so. No, I don’t have a clue what I just said either, but that’s what you’ll find in typical “film theory” books. I’ve had the displeasure of speaking to people like this at revival houses, and it’s hard sometimes for me to believe they actually enjoy movies. Here are guidelines that every film snob appears to follow.

• Black and white? Profound by default. (except if it’s made in America and post-1970)
• Independent? Better than any Hollywood film ever released.
• Is it new? A Hollywood studio film? Automatic garbage.
• Foreign? From a lesser known country like Thailand? Instant masterpiece.

Since when was art ever about education? There happens to be a boatload of snobs from schools like NYU with degrees in “film theory” that believe their words are more valid than a casual movie goer because they watch films in a classroom instead of at home. Has anyone questioned whether it was a ruse? Whatever happened to enjoying or disliking a movie, then having a discussion about it? I wish that snobs would realize that they aren’t impressing anyone but themselves with their masturbatory tirades about “gender systems” and “allegorical impotence.”

The issue of proper comparison is something that’s not understood correctly. Film snobs always stick in completely irrelevant opinions to the discussion. Having a conversation about Clive Barker’s Hellraiser? Sorry, the film snob says, it’s not as good as Bergman’s Persona. Really? How is that comparable? A more valid discussion would be debating 2001 vs Solaris.

My biggest beef with film snobs is that many of them aren’t passionate whatsoever about this art that I love so dearly. Yes, they talk about film all the time, but it isn’t because they love it is it? No, it’s all about using that argument to display superiority. That my friends, is wrong.

In summary, if you’re reading this and would like to know how you can stop yourself from becoming a film snob, it’s easy. Don’t be an ass.