Are Audiences DUMB? (Or Does Quality Matter?)

[@realjesterbell]

Be sure to like, comments, and boost this on the almighty algorithm!

[@matityaloran9157]

I will

[@JohnHenrysaysHi]

Oh, taaaay!

[@doro626]

This "Sally was a clown" thing is really taking off in the comments. People are digging it. Will it be a Sister Act style comedy where Sally is hiding from the Mob in a circus? Will it be a period piece about the first woman clown who tried to enter The Ecole Internationale de Mimodrame de Paris Marcel Marceau? Will it be a Secret of my success style movie where Sally is a single mother who does parties as a clown to pay the bills then gets mistaken as one of the VP's of a childrens toy company and helps them have a record year of sales? Or maybe Sally is an assassin that dresses like a clown, then kills people.

[@rinwesley3092]

“A person is smart; people are dumb…”

[@_ENOVA]

George Carlin?

[@psychodrummer1567]

@@_ENOVA Men in Black (the original one), Tommy Lee Jones' speech to Will Smith, before the latter joins the organization.

[@aheartforgod]

I’m the dumb person Jesterbell referred to in the thumbnail. Thanks for the shout out! 😝

[@JDoe-gf5oz]

Thanks for all the terrible Blumhouse movies, bro.

[@G2Quiznos025]

I've always liked to compare Film and Video Games to food. A steak dinner will more than likely be something of quality, but it's not always gonna hit the spot the way a greasy cheeseburger will. Sometimes, you need that 7/10.

[@TheCinematicReviewer]

Perfectly described 👏

[@deathbysloth]

I have 2 favorite movies: "Brazil" is, to me, the greatest cinematic achievement of an artistic vision "Kuffs" is, to me, the perfect movie to throw on when I just want entertainment. There's room for high art and low art in the world.

[@deathbysloth]

@@alien777 Correct opinion

[@willwidrick8039]

The issue I suspect is people are not taught to critically think anymore. Also the average movie viewer just thinks that when it comes to entertainment just turn your mind off and enjoy the ride is the best (or right) way to enjoy a film or show. Something is wrong here, if the goal of modern entertainment is just to turn off your brain then I question the point and quality of modern entertainment. But more likely it’s that the modern audiences have forgotten something. That entertainment is usually telling a story with a point. And we humans use stories to share a life truth and lessons. That’s the true value of engaging in entertainment. Thanks for the video.

[@axelwust9376]

Saying the audiences are dumb is disingenuous to me, because thats saying these people are bad for liking simple stuff. When in reality, even simple stuff can be artistic. For example, Tom and Jerry or Looney Tunes are simple and easily consumable and people love them to this day. But to say they are of low quality is just blasphemous. People are not dumb. They just want to get entertained, not be constantly forced to watch Oppenheimer 24 hours a day

[@mrscruffles801]

I genuinely believe that internet reviewers (specifically ones like Ralph and YMS) have ruined a lot of people's ability to enjoy movies that aren't "artistic" anymore. It took me a while to get out of that phase and just walk out of a theater having formed my own opinion on what I just saw.

[@axelwust9376]

@mrscruffles801 I honestly find people like YMS as someone who has a taste for the artistic, but that shouldn't mean that there's no quality with what he likes less. As with most reviewers, they are there to give recommendations, not control your opinions

[@mrscruffles801]

@@axelwust9376 Something a lot of us need to be reminded of. I don't likte the idea that being "accessable" means "for idiots." Movies and games are supposed to be fun above all else.

[@Dinoslay]

It is one thing to give people something to think about. It is another to tell them what to think.

[@Scalesthelizardwizard]

I see it like this not everyone wants to be a critic or at least doesn't want to be one all the time and that's ok while trying to force people to be a critic or feel like shit for not being a critic is a not okay

[@Prototype-357]

I feel like the audience is big enough that we can have different types and levels of movies, the problem is that Hollywood wants to cater only to the lowest common denominator, their movies have to appeal to *everyone* and that's why most of them come out so bland and generic, they aren't allowed to stand out or be unique. It's ok that the audience has different tastes, it's ok that not everyone likes everything.

[@MonsterKidCory]

That's okay, Hollywood has been overcorrecting by making films that appeal to nobody.

[@StrawhatOtakuDrew]

To a degree, I concur with your opinion. I don't think we're headed in the direction of Idiocracy (where the highest grossing film of the year was 90 minutes of watching a butt farting). However, I DO believe that the films modern audiences flock towards are gravitating away from complex narratives and well developed characters and more towards flashy explosions and eye catching gimmicks. A good movie with a deep narrative driven by characters who grow and evolve over the course of the story will still generally be recognized by critics and film buffs, but it USUALLY won't pull the numbers associated with a flashy effects driven extravaganza filled to the brim with cool fights and a lot of stuff blowing up. I was genuinely surprised when the new version of Dune achieved the level of popularity it did as the Dune story is far more cerebral than I expected today's audiences to get behind (then I watched it and saw that the story was padded out with those flashy effects that pull in the audience and I understood). So you are indeed right about today's audiences knowing what they want to see and generally sticking to it; the problem is that what they want is a movie that doesn't challenge them or make them think . . . the exact kind of film that I personally see as a guilty pleasure (flashy and fun while you watch it, but with no real substance that will stay with you after the credits roll). That means that more and more money will get put into those flashy bits of nothing while less and less will be put into the actual GOOD films that challenge the audience and leave you thinking about what you've just seen. So, do today's audiences know what they want to see? Absolutely! Are they stupid? On an individual level, not all of them, but as a group, money talks and where that money is going tells us, " Yes, they are!"

[@ProxyHaxOO]

We're totally heading towards an idiocracy. People are still wearing crocs in public xD

[@MonsterKidCory]

@@synical13 I would agree... People have always wanted well-rounded entertainment that has gravitas and levity, action and romance, drama and comedy... Hell, I watch a lot of movies from the 30's and 40's and people even wanted SINGING in it too back then. Bemoaning that people just want big dumb action isn't quite right, as we can see from the recent collapse of big dumb soulless effects-driven spectacles. If people were THAT dumb, then The Marvels and Madame Web should have done well. There is a threshold of dumb that people are willing to put up with if the film is rounded enough and offset in other ways. Irredeemably dumb films never do that well.

[@markey412]

"...The audience isn't stupid. You can sell em alot of sh**, but that just means you're a good *con man*. That doesn't mean the audience is stupid." - Lemmy Kilmister

[@DzustComics]

An amazing take. Especially relatable to me too. As a kid, I've watched the animated Spider-Man series from the 90s a lot and I feel in love with the character of Venom, because that character taught little Dustin, that anyone can change, if they try. In 2007 Spider-Man 3 came out and I HATED that movie, mostly because of how Venom was written in it. So when the Venom movie came out in 2018, I loved it, because it did the character slightly less dirty and I still love that crappy film, despite it being objectively bad. I feel for the crap Hollywood pulls all the time now, by falling into a nostalgia trap and now I feel hypocritical for pointing out member barry garbage, because obviously it works on me too.

[@sidwalk]

People tend to treat movies as a social event. Sometimes the average joe doesn't care about the quality unless it is very boring or bad (madame web)

[@bacht4799]

That is so true…!

[@josvoi2854]

Audience expectation is a bit different from them being dumb. Though I will say, if you’re given movies that require you turn off your brain every time you watch, the bar for perceived quality/value gets lowered significantly. Filmmakers seem to treat viewers like they’re dumb of late.

[@JcgLounge]

Godzilla X Kong was a success because it gave the intended audience(Godzilla fans)what they wanted most. Pure Kaiju chaos. The film is pretty much a callback to the Showa era Godzilla films, which yeah do have varying levels of quality, but those movies were over the top, bombastic pieces of cinema that are important in the Godzilla legacy. “But you guys need to have higher standards.” I know my standards Jess. And considering I watched Ant-Man Quantumania last year, and watched all of Echo, and Ahsoka, I think I can say that I’ll take bombastic monster action that KNOWS what it’s trying to be, rather than Mediocre, or just straight up bad shows or movies that have worse writing and they DON’T know what they’re trying to be. I’d rather be entertained than watching MID content.

[@matityaloran9157]

1:04, “the fool’s multitude that chooseth by show”

[@Lion_Patriot]

I want to make a counterpoint of people “not have standards” in terms of GxK and people really either don’t know or are purposefully ignoring it for their own narrative. The director of Godzilla Minus One, Takashi Yamazaki, loves the GxK and the Monster’verse as a whole. There’s an interview with Takashi and Adam Wingard (director of GxK) where they explain why they’re fans of Godzilla and why the two love the respected movies they directed. If it weren’t for the Monster’verse, we legit would never have Minus One because Toho initially saw no reason to use Godzilla after the Big G’s last movie Godzilla: Final War back in 2004. They were willingly have him and their kaiju to rot on the shelves if it was for Legendary Pictures and the late Godzilla vs Hedorah director, Yoshimitsu Banno, who he was also the executive producer to Godzilla 2014 and the other Monster’verse movies (in posthumous). GxK is a love letter to the late Showa era Godzilla movies and to treat anyone who likes GxK having “low standards” is just misunderstanding why Legendary’s Monster’verse is beloved by Godzilla fans, Toho, and Japan as a whole

[@jerr0.]

Audiences are a mixture of smart, average and dumb people. Trying to get all of them to agree something is good is the magic trick. Taking a complicated plot/theme and making it digestible for "dumb" people is a skill. Creating something that seems simple, but leaves "smart" people asking questions about it's themes and imagery is also a skill. Quality is something that can vary depending on the project. We don't need Oscar winning sets in a comedy and sometimes lack of quality can add to it. Star Trek TOS looks cheesy as hell and appears to be lacking in quality, but it hits you phenomenal writing, asking you philosophical questions in a way even a "dumb" person can understand. Authenticity is also important. Smart, average or dumb, people are pretty good at know whether something is bullshit or soulless.

[@matityaloran9157]

To be entirely fair, the original Star Trek looks that way at least partly because it was made in the 1960s

[@floydthibodeaux1844]

Funny thing is I did not even hear about Godzilla -1 until after it was over, and I could not find it for streaming. I was so pissed, because it seems like a movie I would love.

[@floydthibodeaux1844]

@@jeremiahmorris1852 Just did not come up on my page, and I don’t get commercials.

[@ProxyHaxOO]

When the movies insult people's intelligence, it's generally not a good thing. People use that excuse of "oh, it's for kids, so the show is simplistic and nonsensical." The cartoons and movies I grew up with had depth and an actual story with likeable characters. The funny moments were actually funny, the serious moments felt serious and there were real stakes involved, and at the time, things weren't being played as safely as they are today. There was creativity, limited budgets which forced directors and the team to think outside the box. I loved it as a kid and I can appreciate it even more as an adult, especially considering that I can re-watch these movies and develop a new appreciation for them because of references I was too young to understand, but can grasp now.

[@matityaloran9157]

“A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is a bad children’s story” C.S. Lewis

[@tajcee]

Hey Arnold is probably one of the few cartoons that I can appreciate even more now as an adult because of its depth.

[@MonsterKidCory]

Them: "Stuff for children can just be dumb and nonsensical because children are stupid lol." Me, a 46-year old man who STILL cries when Optimus Prime dies in the 1986 movie:

[@MiqelDotCom]

Yes, of course audiences are dumb, and that's not an elitist thing to say. The level of education, critical thinking, and media literacy in the U.S. is terribly low.

[@oldman5247]

A competent movie or incompetent movie is really truly the only way. That people can usually agree that a movie is good or bad. Competent movies can/will have problems. If the movies strengths outweigh the weaknesses then people can be forgiving and move on. If an incompetent movie’s weaknesses outweigh the strengths of the movie. Then people won’t be very forgiving and forget trying to believe a story. Granted there are many ways people can interpret, react, or analyze a movie. However general competence is usually the only most people can generally agree-ish on the overall product. When it comes to people being dumb, it doesn’t take a smart person to know. When something or someone is or isn’t competent.

[@matityaloran9157]

5:13, I’m assuming that Sally was coulrophobic and deliberately exposed herself to clowns to make herself more comfortable with them and it worked so well she became a clown herself. That’s my headcanon for that one.

[@gamingguru2k6]

I'm surprised how often people will just ignore basic logical contradictions in writing. It's not stupidity, but I think people aren't paying attention.

[@doro626]

Training. These writers need more training and the need to read ( or be around) better quality writers. Unfortunately, there are so many tropes and acts of idiocy in the shows that people consume that they think that is how you're supposed to write. One final thing is time. We never know how much time a person was given to write something.

[@luna-hw9li]

I would probably say: yes, audiences are dumb, but not as dumb as the studios think they are.

[@phil4986]

5:06 This just in. Disney has trademarked the title, 'Sally was a clown.' The plot has yet to be written, but the rumors are, that Sally wanted to be a clown, so Sally became a clown. Numerous Hollywood heavyhitters are lining up to play the lead, in this soon to be, classic movie. Shooting is set to begin in Paris, France in June of 2024. Disney has set the shooting budget at 345 million dollars. Release is set for June 2025. Disney management thanks it's brilliant crew of writers who created the concept and the plot. The trade buzz is that 'Sally was a clown' will easily cross the billion dollar mark as soon as it is released. The word on the street is that 'Sally was a clown' may well grow into the top grossing movie of all time.

[@matityaloran9157]

I’m just hoping they do a good job portraying Sally’s struggles with coulrophobia

[@andystiller3793]

I've heard that the Disney writers are struggling with the complex plot and the idea of character development.

[@kloassie]

5:06 yes! I see the story inconsistency! How did she *_become_* a clown when she was a clown already?

[@matityaloran9157]

Maybe she was a metaphorical clown and became a literal clown

[@EternityKingdomsHeadHoncho]

Jokes on you, I’m a Toydarian!

[@FinanceMan]

Audience doesn’t matter if you are making a movie and show it only at art shows and movie festivals. But, audience absolutely matters when you are trying to make a profit. You need these “stupid” people to like what you make so that you make money, which is your goals for mass distribution.

[@kamukameh]

5:05 - I want to know more about the story "Sally wanted to be a clown, so she became a clown"!!! What happened next? Did she like being a clown? Did she have good working conditions? How was her clown-working? 😉 What's the problem in my opinion is, that there's often not the question "What movie should I make" but "What brand of movies hasn't had an outing lately?". I imagine the conversation for writers as following: "We need a Fantasy-story about dragons, with a female protagonist (important) fighting the patriarchy, and there has to be a black and an asian protagonist in it too (and a small guy!)." That's not the way great stories work... because a character doesn't work because he/she is white/black/blue/striped, but because he or she works as a character.

[@matityaloran9157]

Definitely. They have to be characters first

[@BobTheism]

"Someone might enjoy something because it's badly made [...] if it's laughable or something like that..." Me and the boys laughing through the whole runtime of Madame Web.

[@JohnHenrysaysHi]

Great bouncing clowns, JesterBell! "Sally was a clown, and she wanted to be a clown, so she became a clown." How deep does your Harley fandom go? It may be bad art from the perspective of a work, uplifting our hearts and minds, to sustain us rather than novelty to entertain us, but, it's funny! As well as your opening "low blow." Still stoked for your Star Wars prequel video. I wrote a massive novel but went over the comment limit. Sorry, want to write more but gotta go! Thanks again! Looking forward to your short film!

[@rcguitarcovers8614]

You dont understand why people like godzilla x kong jesterbell? Go watch the entire filmography of the old japanese godzilla films, and you will understand. There's a reason why godzilla is the only giant monster who has a star in hollywood, there's a reason why him and kong are icons. How many godzilla films have you seen? 1?2? Maybe minus one is even your first ever godzilla film? That's why you dont understand. did it ever occur to you jester that maybe the movie your calling dumb is not actually dumb for others? maybe they're there because they wanna see the character developement of not the humans, but kong, or godzilla, maybe they're interested in the character of skar king, and they should be because skar king is a very interesting villain, or maybe perhaps they are there because it allows them to become a kid again. your repeated statement that people like gxk because its dumb is just bland and doesnt have any context to it. it feels like just because you're a writer feels like you think its required for you to hate these kinds of movies. when infact even takashi yamazaki himself praised the movie, and the director, he himself seems to be a fan of the monsterverse he admittedly liked godzilla vs kong. you know why? even for a director like him praises the monsterverse? its because it reminds him of that time,as a kid, when he used to watch godzilla on tv everytime a sports games telecast was cancelled, films where to show everytime games where cancelled. those times are precious to him, chris stuckmann, a famous youtuber and a director liked gvk and gxk more than the previous monsterverse films because it reminds him of that time when he was a kid when he used to watch those rented tapes of toho godzilla films. so no jester, people dont just go to these godzilla and kong films just because its dumb. they find joy in these films, some are just looking for entertainment, some are invested in the characters in it namely the titans not the humans, and some are just there because it brings out the kid in them, its not nostalgia, its just what this brand meant to them at one point in their lives.

[@tiborkovacs5317]

Great vid & I agree from simple to complex its the story well written well structured, a though whilst listening even selling the story is telling a story in a way. Goodstuff thanks.

[@JP-1990]

I don't know if they're dumb, but audiences definitely aren't being trained to develop good taste.

[@sgste]

At the end of the day, whether a film (or anything, really) is successful or not entirely depends on what you set out to achieve. If you set out to make a film with the goal of making a butt-ton of money, they no, quality doesn't matter. Michael Bay doesn't care that no one remembers the Transformers films anymore. His goal was met - that being the acquisition of money. It's like what Michael Caine said about making Jaws 4. "I've never seen it, but I have seen the house it bought me."

[@drfoto2673]

When taking the merit of financial success into account you also need to take a look at how the current market works. Especially when evaluating movies by theatrical box office numbers. When you own a huge segment of the market you could make almost anything seem more successful that it actually deserves to be. Or less successful, depending on how you weild that power. Disney holds a lot of power over movie theatres given that they decide who they grant the rights to screen movies. Theres so much more to this than just marketing. I would also add that you can have a movie that is good, or even great, by most objective metrics, but still be disliked or have audiences apathetic towards it. There is also something to be said for how you judge quality, and thats where I would argue subjectivity comes in again. A great example here is Spiderverse. A lot of people sing the praises of the use of what I consider to be choppy animation. Just because you can give a personal motivation for an artistic choice does that make it good? At the same time this does not mean smooth animation is automatically good either. But how can you objectively judge the quality of animation? Similar cases can be made for characters, story, or any othe part of the medium.

[@mabusestestament]

Yes, audiences are dumb.

[@americansoccerunited]

I have explored the concept of subjectivity vs objectivity in art for years. But the fact I've come across this video talking about it now is interesting and ironic. Most of the time, I agree with the idea of the importance of objectivity in film. I agree that plot consistency and character consistency matter and the presence of massive plot holes and contrivances are bad. Yes. However, I've recently had a very unique experience with a film. I re watched 2003 Hulk. I watched this film as a kid when it first came out and enjoyed it thoroughly. But having watched it as an adult, I've had a completely new and different experience. The whole point of the movie is exploring the psychological effects of repressed childhood trauma and father wounds in particular. It's explored through both the characters of Bruce and Betty. And this subject matter is extremely personal to me so I had a very visceral experience with the film as a result. And from beginning to end that's literally all I focused on. I honestly didn't even pay attention to plot. So for all I know it probably has massive holes and contrivences and that's probably why it has a 29% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes but the plot simply didn't matter. It was wholly irrelevant to me which was a strange and new experience for me. So its a rare case where the subjective elements of a film completely override and overshadow the objective ones. And a result I love a film that so many others hate and think is a bad movie. But the question that arises from this is: Does that make this movie well written or not? How important is plot when determining the quality of a film's writing?

[@stillaboveground2470]

I am not dumb enough to give Hollywood money to insult, belittle, and talk down to me. I want entertainment, not lectures. I will not spend time and money to be told how to think. I research a movie before going to see it to make sure it is not an "agenda" film.

[@pjdougherty6442]

I tend to talk about the subjectivity of art, mostly because there’s art out there I know is good but don’t know how to argue that with people who think it’s bad. Something like Neon Genesis Evangelion is a masterpiece to me, but I often see people who don’t understand it’s appeal or hate it cause it “makes no sense” or that it’s “boring” and other similar non-arguments that they treat as objective facts. I don’t know how to argue that it does make sense, and even then, I loved the parts I didn’t fully understand, but I know what the series means to me, because once it went off the rails and went full artsy and weird, it hit on emotions I understood and related to on a deep level and helped me confront my issues with depression.

[@thelastattempt666]

People aren't dumb buy they are a bit lazy. Most don't have time or interest in looking for something good unless they see others watch it. Hence, the cultural event aspect of it. They don't have the time or the interest to find a rare gem and share it.

[@1SciFiGeek508]

Yes. Quality is important but people go to movies to relax & forget life for 2 hours.

[@resistancepublishing]

The idea that quality doesn’t matter is half stupid. Why? Because the human race only exists now because of the quality of stories that were told to us by others since our creation. The stories that warned us about survival as humans. If we learned nothing from stories we read, movies we watched, poems that moved us then we would be brain dead animals as a species. Good stories, good movies moves us,teaches us lessons. Teaches us about changing. About us about ourselves as human beings. Entertainment is one of the biggest aspect of modern society. if every part of entertainment is dumb then the people who consume this form of entertainment would end up being just as dumb because consumers are easily manipulated and brainwashed by what they consume

[@Mythic_Zach]

The reason why I like GxK isn't just because the fights are great. Once you ignore the human parts, you're left with a movie that did a fantastic job at making you understand the thoughts and intentions of all the Kaiju, even though they never speak. Everything the Kaiju were thinking was PERFECTLY conveyed through body-language alone. That not only takes serious talent to do, but proves, once and for all that we can finally have what we've been BEGGING for this entire time: Monster-brawls with NO HUMANS. The fact is, we do not go to see these movies for the human stories, and now they've proven that the humans don' t need to be there. The next series that I think should adopt this style of storytelling is Alien vs Predator. You're right: Sometimes, all we want (and need) is to just watch monsters fight. The human element has worked a grand total of ONE time in a monster-brawl, and that was the first Pacific Rim. We DO need humans in monster-DISASTER movies like Godzilla Minus 1, but not in monster-brawls, and they've finally proven it. #NoMoreHumans

[@Mythic_Zach]

@jeremiahmorris1852 in her defense, that's only 1 of maybe 4 moments where the humans weren't being completely stupid.

[@Mythic_Zach]

@@jeremiahmorris1852 I don't understand. Why's that matter?

[@mego73]

For the marketing and theater count Godzilla -1's gross was miraculous. Imagine if it was wide released and dubbed.

[@codinghusky5196]

Audiences are dumb by choice; and quality does matter. What people miss in these analysis is that sometimes people wanna go for a true, nutritious home made meal, but sometimes, they just wanna go for McDonald's. That said, not even McDonald's can just put literal shit on the food and expect people will like it. That said, GxK brought ONE thing that was new in action movies in past 5 years - it had ZERO on the nose wokeiola. Sure, the Mandaroty Yevil Whyte Man dies before even being a viable comic relief, and the Awesomest Character Who BLAKKK!!!! fails totally at being anyhting but a waste of time, but goodness gracious, it was GREAT to finally NOT be a subject of Hollywood's virtue signaling. That said, G-1 is an awesome well made movie that, aside of being a well crafted drama, also left the tired action movie audiences free of wokerieous crap. It wasn't mercilessly slaughtered by forcage of black, latinx, lationois, brown, slightly browner, less brown and bidipiepoc characters in what's naturally a single-race cast. It was allowed to focus on the actual subject matter instead of BLM ideology. It allowed a woman to be a true hero by doing things she's realistically capable of doing while remaining an actual woman, without making her a hilarious toxic man who can bench press a car. It didn't lose focus of the movie because one of the male characters triggered a gaydar; it just remained being itself. AND it hit right in the nostalgic feels of effects of the past instead of the boring CGI glitter.

[@doro626]

5:08 . A minimalist masterpiece.

[@matityaloran9157]

Like The Ugly Barnacle

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

FWIW: The only thing I was really concerned about regarding watching *GODZILLA MINUS ONE,* a movie which JB mentions in this video, was keeping up with reading the on-screen subtitles. I found that to be NO PROBLEM WHATSOEVER. The only thing I as a non-Japanese speaker had a bit of trouble with was keeping track of the names of the Japanese characters. But that did not in any way detract from the movie for me. If you have not seen *GMO* yet, WATCH IT.

[@kimcampagna9383]

Very entertaining; good job!

[@dearthofdoohickeys4703]

It’s not that audiences are dumb, it’s just that some audiences like to be dumb. They like not thinking, and they make movies the time to do that. But there’s also lots of people who like thinking during movies, and get pretty insulted when a movie can’t even hold up to basic storytelling. If you’re the person who likes turning their brain off, fine. But quit defending movies that are bad. I can’t stop you from eating Mac Donald’s, but no way am I going to let you tell people it’s a responsible and healthy choice.

[@PsiCorps85]

Hardly anyone pays attention to anything other than their phones, by design; so the quality of films in theaters is generally going to be irrelevant when everyone is mesmerized by their espionage devices of doom.

[@angelarch5352]

Am I stupid? Are you stupid? Are we stupid? Am I stupid enough to think that I am not stupid? whoa... what was the question?

[@Monkeytheluffy56]

Also this was an amazing video regarding the subject matter, as usual.

[@notyouraverageharleyquinnstan]

Love this thumbnail😂👍

[@aryoph9224]

I've wanted to talk about this stuff all the time. Now, I believe that simple stuff is good, because sometimes we like the simplicity of movies and shows but still enjoy them. One of the reasons I like Demon Slayer is because it's quite simple, but really fun to watch nonetheless. Same with the movie Black Adam, not anything ground breaking but still fun to watch nonetheless. Now, I will say, simplicity is good BUT movies, tv shows, comics, manga, anime and so on shouldn't always stay within those simple methods. People want to see more depth in characters and in the story. Nothing wrong with simplicity, but it shouldn't become the norm, so every other piece of fiction will start doing simple stuff. Had wanted to say something like that for a long time now and if anyone is confused as to what I wrote(not the best when it comes to english) any question is welcome.

[@MonsterKidCory]

People don't tend to think more deeply about it than "I liked it therefore it's good." And it doesn't help that our society reinforces this by conflating critique of a film's objective formal characteristics with mere subjective taste. Art itself is not at all subjective... There is objectively good art and objectively bad art. Taste and whether or not you like it is subjective. There are good films I don't like and bad films I do like, but I never mistake a bad film I like for a good film. And when you find a truly great film... a good film you also like... that makes you sit back in breathless astonishment that a movie can be THAT good, have direction and cinematography and characters and dialogue and story and editing and a soundtrack THAT good... it's like finding an oasis in a desert. It's like a theophany.

[@MALICEM12]

Short answer People ARE dumb, but quality is still a factor..... usually.

[@markanderson7236]

12:33 People still go back to them. TikTok's full of memes about the CGI characters in Michael Bay's movies, and there's loads of comments. Also, the 2007 movie was actually good and got decent reviews from critics.

[@DanCoder-h2u]

If audiences were stupid people wouldn’t be able to poke holes in Disneys Star Wars movies

[@mishynaofficial]

Some are smart, some are dumb. Know YOUR audience. I feel like Zack Snyder knows his audience very well.

[@quis9795]

Absolutely yes.

[@rfhextra]

I Just Watch A Movie, And Just Chill.

[@doro626]

Back around 96 me and a pal went to the movies pretty much every week. When you go every week, you pretty much watch what's out. We kind of stayed away from the heavy Shindler's list type stuff and went more for the Armageddon type stuff. We saw a ton of mid level stuff too. Some I don't even remember seeing like 1999 light it up! Slower more dramatic movies we watched on DVd ,like Michael Clayton or Primal Fear. I go to movies less frequently but also post pandemic, I dropped down to one or two movies in the theatre a year. I have family members that think animated movies are only for children, so they go see that Disney live action dreck ( they have never seen the original animations). I think this question leaves out that a movie can be quality and be simple. Just because a movie is cerebral doesn't make it higher quality. I have watched many a "try hard" film that is overly complicated and inaccessible for most. I have watched a simple story that just has a beginning , middle and end and everyone has a good time. Maybe it should be" Are movie studios lazy or does quality matter?".

[@DearChibico]

Love the thumbnail 😂

[@KrokPanther]

I am stoopid

[@ClassicHarleyQuinn]

Quality does matter, of course it does. That is part of the reason why stuff like LOTR is so good. TV shows is the same. I'm currently rewatching The Walking Dead. For the most part you can see the quality is there because the people behind the show care including the creator of the comics himself, Robert Kirkman. Also whoever is in charge of casting has pretty much got all of the castings spot on from Andrew Lincoln as Rick, Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan and Samantha Morton as Alpha as some great examples. Oh and Ryan Hurst as Beta is one of my favorites. If I was to rate the main story arcs it'd go like this. 1. Newbury/The Governor 2. The Whisperer War 3. All Out War (Negan/The Saviors) 4. The Commonwealth 5. Terminus.

[@junaidazam12]

A movie can be complicated ,but had to be easy to understand . For example , a movie like tinker tailor soldier spy is slow , meandering and the flow seems confusing at first , but it ends in a conclusion that makes sense and was satisfying even if it was depressing .........just my point of view

[@Kahless47]

I don't think a good movie necessarily has to be easy to understand. A good film can be challenging and require an effort on the part of the audience to make connections that aren't explicitly pointed out. Indeed, the best movies improve with repeat viewings when you are able to pick up details that did not previously seem important. What makes a good movie to me is one that is internally consistent, and makes a coherent statement using a series of logically interconnected events, and characters that respond to those events according to their established personalities and knowledge. This applies even if not every audience member will understand it.

[@junaidazam12]

​@@Kahless47, Yes , what you state is the exact inverse formula of what I stated, which is also another way to make a good movie I believe. Basically a movie can be challenging to understand but has to be inherently coherent OR it can be inherently complicated but must be easy to understand . One must be sacrificed for the other in order to end up with something entertaining.......in my opinion

[@Monkeytheluffy56]

Aahh, LORD OF THE RINGS, maybe i need to re-watch those in a movie marathon coming weekend. it's been over 3 years since i re-watched it last time.

[@matityaloran9157]

5:52, it’s still pretty good

[@kylewilson9260]

No. But sometimes we like dumb things. I like the Transformers movies. All of them. I like Godzilla, especially the goofy 60s and 70s ones. I like trash sometimes. The difference between bad trash and good trash, I think, is intent. Say what you will about Michael Bay, but that man wants you entertained. He's not incompetent. He's a talented, shallow man that loves explosions. So give people some quality trash, and it will find an audience.

[@matityaloran9157]

I don’t even think it’s fair to call (most of) Bay’s Transformers movies trash. Different movies are trying to be different things and are to be judged by different standards. Like a comedy should be judged by how funny is and a tragedy should be judged by how sad it is. And cautionary tales should be judged by how well they communicate their lessons.

[@kylewilson9260]

@@matityaloran9157 Oh no, even his first Transformers movie has Bumblebee peeing on a guy and characters like Barricade just disappearing with no resolution. It's terrible filmmaking from a technical perspective. But it sure is fun.

[@matityaloran9157]

@@kylewilson9260 I don’t know what “from a technical perspective” is even supposed to mean. It had jokes that were written for an adolescent audience and the humour of the movie really has to be judged by if it’s funny. And even if it forgot about some of its supporting characters, they weren’t the main focus. With the characters of Sam, Mikaela, Optimus and Megaton, the first movie actually did a good job telling a story.

[@kylewilson9260]

@@matityaloran9157 Barricade was one of the main Transformer characters and the first to fight. He should have had some kind of payoff by any good storytelling perspective. I'll give another example. In the sequel, the twins did nothing. Skids and Mudflap accomplished zero things. If they had actually nutted up and been crucial in taking down Devastator, that'd be one thing. But you could excise them from the movie entirely and nothing would change. That is terrible writing.

[@matityaloran9157]

@@kylewilson9260 I’ll grant you that for the sequel

[@tonyg9775]

5:12 no no, actually 6 year old you was a genius, you were unwittingly breaking conventional norms of storytelling in an avant-garde way while also maintaining the 'thesis-antithesis-synthesis' narrative form as a statement on how all readers want is to see their characters achieve their dreams instead of the struggles behind it Lolk

[@matityaloran9157]

Yes. Sally was a clown was highly underrated

[@aleco444]

Sometimes the audience is dumb as hell💀with the state of media literacy, we all can say that yeah, some movies are BAD. However, some films are not straight to the point. So when people say, “the story was bad!!!Cuz it doesn’t make sense!!!” It’s like, did it not make sense? Or do you think it’s woke?

[@biggsducklighter6171]

Really think you're short changing Godzilla x Kong. Human characters are thin, but Kong is the real protagonist and he has a great arc. There's a level of intelligent filmmaking that's necessary to make lengthy scenes with no dialogue or humans entertaining and emotionally resonant. Even if you didn't find anything to connect with, clearly a lot of people did, and as much as I love Minus One, it doesn't really treat Godzilla as a character. Which is fine, that's not what the movie set out to do. But GxK did, and it succeeded. The writers weren't too worried about logical consistency, they wanted to make something fun and entertaining with great action and some beautiful cinematography that harkened back to a different era of Godzilla than Minus One. There's just as much love for the monster characters in GxK, it respects them unlike something like Dial of Destiny or the Star Wars sequels which dismantle their legacy characters and tosses them to the side. I think GxK deserves some level of respect. Just because a movie doesn't make perfect sense or have deep human characters, that doesn't make it bad. There's more to the cinematic art form than good dialogue.

[@Cinemadiction]

I don't think I would call people dumb but some of the best movies of the year like may december or the zone of interest arent exactly what I would call audience friendly entertainment,they are thought provoking masterworks

[@1001johny]

I dont like the way she uses the words dumb and bad to describe films like Super Mario or GodzillaxKong. Even something like Killer Klowns can't be called bad, because it was made to be what it was and it wasn't trying to be anything more. Demanding a simple or fun story to be more than it is, is an exhausting thing to listen to. I dont want to eat gourmet food every meal, pancakes and blueberries are all you need sometimes.

[@kylewilson9260]

Oh no, those movies are bad, but you can still be entertaining while technically being bad.

[@1001johny]

@@kylewilson9260 No they are not bad, and its not that its fun to laugh at bad things. They set out to do exactly what they meant to do. That is good, not bad like "The Room", Wiseau was trying to make a serious movie, not a funny movie, that is why it's bad. Mario was trying to be Mario, that's good.

[@kylewilson9260]

@@1001johny Okay, look at Mario from a storytelling perspective. What is the warp pipe room? How did baby Peach get there? What are power ups? Why are power ups? Why are they in question blocks? Why do they travel by pipe? And there's tons more questions anyone telling s story should ask. But people didn't want a story. They wanted Mario. So they got Mario. And it was great! But from a pure storytelling perspective, it was bad, and has as many plot holes as a movie like The Room.

[@1001johny]

@@kylewilson9260 Those aren't plot holes, they are part of Mario. They are not explored because that won't help Mario rescue Lugi, knowing why they are there doesn't help tell the story. If you want to know, but the story won't tell you, that is on you for not going along with what the story is about. If you need an answer, and can't enjoy the story until you get one, you've missed the Forrest for the trees. Harrison Ford is quoted by Mark Hamill saying to him when Hamill thought Star Wars had a continuity issue "Kid, it's not that kind of movie". Your not having fun with the movie, you feel you need to say the movie does thing poorly otherwise you can't consider yourself serious.

[@nightwish1453]

@@kylewilson9260 this is kind of a thing the disney remakes end up doing, explain every nook and cranny of everything and it actually backfires because it doesn't really enhance anything but instead diverts the focus on unimportant stuff it just ruins the magic where beauty and the beast not every object had a human equivalent (the animators at the time didn't think they needed to explain it) including how many objects were in be our guest and the remake was like "no not ever object is a living being" with belle talking to a hairbrush you also have a lot of tell not show like the narration in the remake sounded like it was trying to cover up any minor plot hole

[@TheRandomViewer-zv4bv]

Dumb people never like to be told that they are dumb. So please don't tell me that! Seriously, i think it is a mixture of complex but also straighforward. You highlighted Godzilla Minus One, and the Moonkay and ZillaGod go Grrr differences and why one did well and the other struggled. But the general audience isn't looking at films with such a lens as we might. For many, it is a quick break. For others, it is a chance to be with friends again. The quality of the film is less on their mind as long as it just passes the time. Heck I watched the whole first Season of The Rings of Power simply because i was bored and had nothing better to do. Yeah...i regret that big-time as i knew it was awful way before i reached the final episode, and i deserve to be called out, but hey, sometimes we just need something to switch off to.

[@bigtoken90]

Yes Godzilla vs kong was stupid....news flash alotta showa era Godzilla films were stupid and thats ok sometimes its fine to just see some fun shit they dont have to think about to deep its called escapism something that's sorely lackin cause everyone wanna be fake deep

[@PhilRiveraMedia]

Wow...well this topic certainly is quite the can of worms. The answer, obviously, is it's complicated. There's context and emotion and money and etc. etc. so many different ways to look at things. Art is an objective burrito stuffed with subjective filling. Some people will gorge fast food and roller coasters, but most will tell you it's probably not good for you. It's an oversimplification to say audiences are dumb. All you can really say is that they are human.

[@ubaldoarias5653]

I wanted to see Godzilla minus one but it wasnt even released in my country (Dominican Republic).

[@jamierussellville101]

Entertainment is the key, and is the movie entertaining to people. Theres lots of good or fun movies that bombed at the box office that people love now. Cult classics are some of the weirdest movies. One of my favorite movies, The Fifth Element, was not well received at the time, but now is a cult classic. Other movies I like, like Battleship or John Carter, were hated, but they are just fun movies to me that I enjoy. Art can be subjective, or it can just be straight out bad. I dont understand or appreciate most modern art that is just shapes and splotches. But that kinda stuff doesn't interest me. Artsy movies like Poor Things just sound morally disgusting to me, but clearly, other people liked it. Oh well, so what. It's their right. People like what they like when it comes to entertainment and art.

[@kevins7030]

Wrong! Those really weren't the droids I was looking for. I was looking for a fussy golden man and a rolling trash can, so, not even close!

[@AnonymousAnonposter]

We live in an era where a mediocre and disrespectful show is hailed as the best adaptation ever made (Fallout). The embrace of mediocrity is one of the biggest problems today, not just on media. And I like bad movies, but I'm not going to delude myself that they're great and you're not allowed to criticize them.

[@Kahless47]

Could you explain more about your opinion on the Fallout series? I'm trying to get some opinions about it before I decide to spend the time watching it. I've been very disappointed with recent adaptations (especially from Amazon) and don't want to waste my time. Thanks!

[@yourturn5059]

I would say people are drawn to whatever they like. Godzila x Kong was not a movie for me after watching the trailer. Did it help that Godzila minus one got people hyped for the franchise? Maybe? Are people just so fed up with propaganda movies and remakes that ruin their childhood classics that they would rather watch mind numbing movie about big monsters destroying cities and killing millions of people? Parhaps... all that being said, my guilty pleasure movies are the Jason Statham action classics!😂

[@_ENOVA]

wait. Is this video 480p? wow. Like - "u should listen it, not watch it". I got it

[@robchuk4136]

Studios certainly hope so...

[@jamesabernethy7896]

I love some of these subjective vs objective debates. GodzillaxKong was dumb, and I could name a dozen issues with directing and writing that I didn't like, I definitely things the others are better. But... I still had a blast watching it. I also love movies that are known to be bad movies, Alien 3 is my favourite of the Alien movies, but I can understand and accept why 99.7 percent of fans would prefer Alien or Aliens. I also prefer Wings of the Apache to the original Top Gun. Objectively it's propaganda about the American War on Drugs. Subjectively it's a story about a man who doesn't need his best friend to die to become a better man. Movies and particularly binge-watched shows are having to adjust to TikTok brain. I work with young people and they admit themselves that they cannot retain information or maintain concentration.

[@KrytoRift]

What does "godzilla minus one" even mean?

[@DanCoder-h2u]

It takes place shortly after ww2 where Japan isn’t starting from square one, they are starting from negative point as in minus 1

[@KrytoRift]

@@DanCoder-h2u gotcha. Thanks!

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

FWIW: I I'm one of those people who can sit through a movie and, unless it is OBJECTIVELY BAD, I can at least be entertained by it. That said, during my one-and-only viewing of *THE FORCE AWAKENS* I could tell {as I commented under another JB video a little while ago} *TFA* was just _a giant rehash of_ *A NEW HOPE.* When something is so blatantly obvious that I -- RocKITEman -- can see it, you know there is a problem.

[@psionicdreams]

Ah yes, Killer Clowns from Outer Space. I don’t like horror films much (there are one or two exceptions) and I hate clowns, no exceptions, but I decided to watch his movie. It was terrible yet, somewhat enjoyable 😅

[@Dave_McKansas]

The audience isn't homogeneous, thus Genres exist. I didnt need a good story in Barbie because the Actors were fun. Some found serious notes in it, I thought it was a Cartoon.

[@makhina8839]

So I’d say the audiences are dumb but movies still fail to hit that low standard. Even in your essay, the example of Minus 1: people didn’t watch it because it required reading 😑

[@rcguitarcovers8614]

Or maybe they just didnt even know it existed because minus one was not promoted that much international. Or maybe, they just prefer godzilla as the ancient alpha titan who balances the natural order over godzilla minus one version in which he is just some mindless radioactive monsters who occasionally wrecks havoc, some godzilla fans will also say, they prefer showa era over hesei era. So no, people are not dumb, people just find joy in these films, its not nostalgia, its just the reason that these franchise, these brands (godzilla and kong films) meant something at one point in their lives. You think calling them dumb makes you feel smart dont you? You people. You know what's dumb? Calling people dumb just because of their preferences in movies. Now that's top tier stupidity.

[@matityaloran9157]

12:39, they were good at the beginning but the franchise just went on too long

[@verngriffiths5933]

An audience as a mass of people aren't dumb, they want quality and generally enjoy it when they see it. Individuals like familiarity, and when going to the cinema with your family can easily cost the best part of £100, they will lean towards safe bets, hence the odd bad Marvel film in the run up to Endgame (Thor 2, Iron Man 2, Captain Marvel) make a lot of money, and it takes a long run of lacklustre D+ shows and shitty movies for the box office to nose dive. Art is subjective, quality is objective, Jaws is good, Jaws 3D is bad, but people can enjoy both. I don't think quality is always the most important thing, intention is, I can enjoy a poorly dubbed, badly written action movie from the 70s, if the filmmakers intention was to make the best film they could. If the intention is cynical, it doen't matter how slickly made a film is, it'll probably leave me cold. Movies can be fun, but they don't have to be stupid to be fun, The Princess Bride is brilliantly written and is seen as a classic, and is a joy to watch. The Marvels is poor on just about every level, and will, in time be forgotten, that's what happens, that's why people know Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin, and have forgotten the dozens of other silent and early sound 'stars' who were inferior or derivative. An audience is malleable, but filmmakers should look out when they start to talk down to their audience, or think they are cleverer than them, as they will soon make their opinion felt with their wallets.

[@Sarahmint]

Avatar last Airbender live action was good. It's only avatar fans who were disappointed bc no way can you make a better remake then the original

[@alexforce9]

There is good dumb and bad dumb. Godzilla vs Kong is good dumb. Borderlands is bad dumb. People like the good dumb movies.

[@PhilipAJones]

Ok but your "Sally was a clown" story has potential layers to it. See, Sally knew she was a clown before she even became a clown. She already identified with her desired occupation before she was ever considered a clown by anyone else. The lesson: You don't have to "make it" to "be it".

[@DarthBobCat]

Also, would the Mario Bros movie have somehow made LESS money if it was actually meaningful?

[@victorcates9330]

If you have a likeable lead or earn goodwill, then you can pave over a plot hole, I think. So you put Chris Pratt in a movie and don't have political messaging that breaks the sense of immersion, you're up. Unless you're David Lynch having a narrative that makes sense seems like something you should probably aspire to.

[@alibrennan5977]

Another way to call it is that it’s the case of “the hive mind mentality”.

[@DVDhoarder]

It is ok to like bad movies, just dont tell that movie is good just because you were entertainet. Like Hudsonhawk (1990) ... stupid movie but sooo entertaining 🙂👍