Are We Our Own Worst Enemy?

It's not hard to champion your favorite film. Not hard at all. If anything, just the mention of it likely perks your ears, wets the tip of your tongue, and gears your brain into position for an all out cheerleading campaign on its behalf. Such is the way of passion. And what's there to be more passionate about than that one film that you feel sums up everything you could ever love about a movie?

But I often wonder if I don't do the movie some grave disservice by arguing its case so loudly. After all, with my incessant reminders, calls to viewing, and pushing, how can you ever judge the movie evenly? You can't. You're going in convinced through my advice that this movie will be a sentiment of perfection. But that's no guarantee. My favorite movie could easily become your least favorite. And it's something that's bound to happen every now and again. So by what right do I have to push this movie upon you with such assurance?

By the same token, leaving it as a simple "just watch it" feels as if I'm letting the movie down. Why would you watch a movie just because I said you should? It seems void of emotional connection, and while that may just be the very thing that helps you give the film a fair assessment, I am left wanting. Then again, I probably should be left to feel that way given it's not my opinion to force. It's my opinion to offer, but it is entirely up to you how that is received, and in turn interpreted.

So I often find myself in a bit of a mental crossroads. Everyone knows my favorite film, and favorite director. The very mention of either gets me immediately tagged on facebook, twitter, and linked in posts. So is it even possible for me to avoid the stigma of being the hard sell man on my favorite film? Probably not. But perhaps I should try. While I don't deny that I would love for everyone to see my favorite film. I'm sure everyone would love for me to see theirs. And if truth be told, that's probably not going to happen. Too many birds in the trees trying to chirp the loudest.

But this contradiction, compulsion, and insinuation isn't limited simply to favorite films. It reaches out to encompass all films we, as individuals or a collective, hold dear. This is the very reason you see so many reviewers struggle to differentiate their opinion from the opinion they've heard so often and vehemently. The conflicting inner war between personal opinion, group acceptance, and amicability. Which of course leads to the inevitable question of what exactly we expect from movies that are considered all time greats? However, that's for a different topic all together.