I love when the lights dim in the theater, the projector fires up and the movie starts playing. I love going to the movies and I love watching movies at home. I write a lot about movies on this blog because watching movies is one of my very favorite pastimes. Whether it’s a new move in the theater or an old standby at home, I love the experience.
Which is why the level of cinematic cynicism on the Internet upsets me.
Perhaps you’ve seen the YouTube channels for Honest Trailers, Everything Wrong With… or How It Should Have Ended. These channels produce videos about movies, pointing out what was wrong with them or what should have been different.
I watched a few of their videos early on but decided that I didn’t want to watch any more. I want to enjoy watching a movie and rewatching it; videos like those help me see everything that’s wrong instead of everything that is right.
I know the people behind those channels probably love movies just as much as I do and are having some good-natured fun. Videos like that, even when made with the best intentions, feed the Internet’s cynicism.
The Internet is a Cynicism Monster, with people complaining about everything from their food to the weather. I added my own cynicism and complaining on Monday when I posted a picture of the mayonnaise packets Chick-fil-A gave me instead of the mustard that I had asked for. We often go out of our way to point out what’s wrong or broken in our lives, feeding the Cynicism Monster, who is already too big and still growing.
There is so much good in the world and I’m of the attitude that we should point out as much of it as we can. I’ve said before that it’s easy to be cynical; it takes more effort and intention to see the good around us. And while I know Everything Wrong With… is just having fun with movies, it and sites like it are still making us focus on the negative instead of the positive.
The Internet likes to focus on the negative with everything: movies, TV, video games, food and news. While it may be easier, we need to fight that trend and starve the Cynicism Monster. Because if we don’t, we’ll start to see another Cynicism Monster growing in our hearts as well.
What helps keep you from feeding the Cynicism Monster?
Jesus’ statement, “take the log out of your own eye before taking the splinter out if your brother’s eye” is a profound check against cynicism. Also the Examen is a discipline that guards against cynicism without sacrificing discernment.