In Defense of Popcorn Flicks

Cinema is the most democratic of art forms. Whether you have studied art history or haven’t even started school yet, you’re going to find some kind of film that resonates with you. Our tastes in film tell others about ourselves: that’s why it’s one of the first things people talk about on dates. We’ll tell each other how great the latest serious drama is, we’ll list our favourite actors and we’ll even geek out over cult classics.

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Then there are the popcorn flicks. If you call it a guilty pleasure or say “it’s cheesy, but…”, you’re probably talking about a popcorn flick. They can be big-budget special effects bonanzas or sentimental and romantic. What they all have in common is an ability to get us to stop thinking critically about what we’re watching, so we just enjoy fighting extra-terrestrial robots or unrealistically emotional and dramatic declarations of love.

We often feel the need to justify our enjoyment of these kinds of films, but we shouldn’t. We love these films for good reason, so the next time you feel embarrassed about a silly film you watched, just remember:

Sometimes we just need to escape for a little while.

Films that explore the nature of our relationships and the relative nature of truth are important and good, but we are forced to think about things like that all the time. When your children are ill, your boss is on your back and your bills are piling up, you don’t actually have the ability to care about blood diamonds.

It doesn’t make you a bad person. It just means you have a lot of problems, only a handful of which you can really do much about. If you start adding on top of that things you have absolutely no control over, you’ll go insane. In fact, even focusing too much about your own problems can be bad for you, as it can make your problems seem bigger or worse than they actually are.

Films that allow you to turn off, decompress and forget about everything aren’t just there for you to bury your head in the sand. They give you the space to calm down, so you can think more clearly about what your problem is, how to fix it and how big a priority fixing it even is.

They actually reinforce some of our most basic values.

For as long as we humans have told each other stories, we have done so to teach and reinforce shared beliefs and values. No films demonstrate our collective values as straightforwardly as popcorn flicks.

Take romantic films, for example. You could look at romantic comedies, from Bringing Up Baby to 27 Dresses. You could talk about romantic dramas like The Notebook and Titanic. It doesn’t matter because they are all about the same basic thing: how we value romantic relationships. And we should. Generally, we are social creatures, and we need to have a family of our own. A romantic relationship fulfils both of these needs at once: we have someone to hang out with to share the responsibility of having and raising kids. Romantic movies remind us that this is important to us as a society.

They are often produced by the best and brightest in the film industry.

Did you know that iconic Superman actor Christopher Reeve studied drama at Juilliard? Many of his colleagues thought the role beneath him, as he had studied and worked with Academy Award winners like Katharine Hepburn, William Hurt and John Houseman. Still, he found the duality of the role of Clark Kent/Superman interesting, so he took the part.

There is something about these big-budget spectacles that attracts the best actors, directors and screenwriters in the business. For those like Judy Dench (the new James Bond films), Ian McKellen (X-Men), Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge) and Johnny Depp (the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise), there has to be a special draw, because it’s not like they need the work or the money.

Even some of the best-loved directors have worked on mindless fare. Stephen Spielberg gave us both Indiana Jones and Schindler’s List. Stanley Kubrick directed Spartacus, one of the highest-grossing films of 1960. Christopher Nolan directed mind-benders like Memento and Inception, but he’s most famous for rebooting Batman.

They do it because simple doesn’t necessarily mean uninteresting, silly doesn’t necessarily mean stupid and fun doesn’t necessarily mean lightweight. You can be intelligent and entertaining, and many in the film industry are doing both.

They are fun.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter that popcorn flicks are made by insanely talented people, that they reinforce our values or that we need to relax for our own sakes. All that matters is that they are fun.

The fun of cinema is why films became popular in the first place. It’s why people refer to special effects as “movie magic”. It’s why people will splash out on cinema tickets when the economy is crashing.

We watch films because they are fun, end of. And if you have to explain that to someone, you’re not talking to a movie lover. You’re talking to a snob.

 

Now that you no longer have to feel bad about your favourite films, tell us the ones you love to turn on when you just want to have a good time. Are you a hopeless romantic, or do you like silly comedies? Do you go for action, horror or all of the above? What do you turn on when you want to switch off?