Quote:
Originally Posted by relentlessflame
I was confused what you were referring to, so here's the original post in case anyone else is looking for the source.
https://forums.animesuki.com/showthr...87#post4276687
All in all, I don't think there was really much point in doing a point-by-point rebuttal to someone's review from 9 years ago. Even if you had given the rebuttal at the time, it's not like you're going to change their mind anyway. The movie was simply not for them because the whole franchise was not for them. It's not written in such a way that they can appreciate or engage with -- a fundamental mismatch of expectations and results.
Basically what you're trying to convey in your rebuttal is this whole show is about the characters and their developing relationships with each other. All the other "stuff" that happens is the setting and a catalyst to develop the characters -- it matters in as much as they tried to bring some authenticity to it, but it's not really the point. At the same time, that's exactly what the person you're back-hand-replying to hated about it -- that's why they called it "disingenuous."
Really, this is the whole nature of subjectivity -- viewing the same thing but seeing it in a different way. There are definitely other people who will watch K-On and have the same reaction he did because they are just wired a certain way or experience media in a certain way. In that sense, his review is not as "misguided" as you think -- to people on the same wavelength, what he's saying will make sense to them. But it's just one perspective. I'm not really sure that much of what he said was objectively untrue (if overly strongly-stated, perhaps), but to those who enjoyed it, it's like they experienced something completely different -- because they did, when you take perspective into account.
No matter how pointed or strongly-worded someone's review is, it's just an opinion. And sometimes finding someone whose perspective is the most opposite of your own can be just as useful as finding someone whose opinions you tend to agree with. |
So that's where the original text was from: thanks for providing the context. My objective wasn't ever to convince those who intrinsically dislike
K-On! to change their minds with my rebuttal, but rather, to give the people in the middle, who may be swayed by Recokoner's impassioned rant, another perspective to look at, and also to show that not everyone here is so vehemently opposed to
K-On!. Having now had a chance to read through the thread, I actually do wish I'd been there sooner, specifically to get a better understanding of those who enjoyed the movie but did end up agreeing with Reckoner's rant.
The topic of subjectivity has been discussed
ad nauseam, and I've never had a problem with hearing thoughts from different sides. However, I do disagree that there is value in agreeing with pointed and poorly-worded arguments. Picking certain words and taking a certain tone means closing the door to discussion, and while it might be interesting to see what another side says, when the tone is in that manner, usually, one would expect people with a different opinion to simply read it and move on. Conversely, if one were to be a bit more civil, there'd be room for a conversation. Reckoner certainly didn't need to go out of their way to attack the studio or the staff for the film: there are ways of being critical without being insulting, and what's useful to me is someone who can successfully do that, to convince me of the merits of another side without resorting to petty insults.
Looking through the old thread, what baffles me is that there were a lot of forum members looked like they were treading on eggshells when they replied to Reckoner. On one hand, they wanted to disagree, but given the way they worded their replies, they also wanted to avoid something and ended up giving an ambivalent response that leaned towards agreement with the rant (e.g. "I liked the movie, but Reckoner convinced me not to like it"). Since I joined shortly after, I'm not sure why so much caution was being exercised – this is a forum, after all, and it struck me as very strange that it sounds like some people were self-censoring. I vaguely remember that a large change happened around here some time after I joined, too, and can't help but wonder if prior to that change, something about Reckoner was probably preventing people from speaking their minds? As it stands, however, it's probably best to not dig too much deeper. The thread leaves me with more questions than answers, and the people I'd like to chat with most to understand the disconnect between their unexpected shift in opinions are now inactive.