Taste Makers

Out of boredom, I got into a spirited debate on taste with a friend.

By definition EVERYONE has taste. You can't deny that. I like Doritos, don't like potato chips. I like it colder in a room, someone else likes it warmer.

That being said...you HAVE to have preference. That is also taste.

I was accused of shitting on "things that are cool" THIS is a subjective term and obviously..."cool" is a term about "taste" and therefore...his statement is false. He does have taste and also is part of the society that offers its opinion on what is good and what is bad. Or in this case...what is cool.

To their defense, everything has a different degree of cool. And to be honest...this is the audience member ALL studios wish they had. But, from a filmmakers standpoint you HAVE to have taste. Otherwise you can't make choices. As a paying audience, none of that matters. I love people who have this mindset BECAUSE you don't have to put much effort into your product. Which is what a lot of comic book movies tend to be. They follow a template set up by previous powers that be. And also, it's made by committee of tastemakers. Studio movies are strictly that. Consider the new "Star Wars" movies. Made by committee of tastemakers.
Here's some insight on movies by committee...a young executive will put in their opinion when one wasn't needed, simply to illustrate his importance. Money grab movies like these require many heads to blame if it fails.

You do have to have SOME taste IF you want to make films. The best ones do. Russ Meyer liked big tits. Tastes.

But I get his point. Most people who dissect movies to say what works and what doesn't aren't academically armed to do so. To me, these are the ones that get to the core of taste. The people who are willing to spend money to watch your film. Which is then catered to that audience. Or they just want to tune out and just go for a ride. Perhaps their lives are miserable that escape for a few hours is through films. That obviously have values.

Human interest stories interest me. The reason? People fascinate me. Because there are no direct lines to behavior. But, when making movies you attempt to draw lines. A possible motive or empathetic tale. I watched John Sayles' brilliant "Passion Fish" again. A successful, yet drunk and miserable, soap opera star gets into a car accident that leaves her a parapalegic and returns home to rebuild her life. Along the way, she befriends a nurse with a past that leads to a unique friendship.

Again, my pal doesn't like these types (taste). Human behavior. Which baffled me, since human oddities are what makes the movie. Human behavior is much more interesting that spectacle because you can relate. Or perhaps being introspective at the movies isn't to everyone's...um...taste.

Now here's a synopsis of a friend's movie "A tribe of cavewomen sacrifice one of their members after it is revealed she is having an affair with the tribe leader's man. They leave her body in the wilderness and it is discovered by a prehistoric beast who falls in love with the dead cavewoman and vows to avenge her death. The monster, known as "The Butcher", hunts down the cavewomen responsible for her murder."

If I were at the video store, I'd definitely pick the latter to watch (taste).

The one thing we definitely agree on is that any endeavor in movies is an effort. For that, I appreciate the ones who care about what they do. And you can tell. Appreciating effort and liking everything are two different things. You can appreciate the effort and know what it took to create but NOT have to like the end product. I appreciate ALL filmmakers.

But I also get that everyone has tastes and all are different. It's okay to acknowledge that simple fact. I also do agree that we can't have everyone dictate what is good and what is bad for that reason. This conversation alone is stupid. For one thing, the perspective isn't even the same. One is an audience member, the other a filmmaker. These are opposite viewpoints. The second, the paradoxical nature of the statement. You have to taste even to say people shouldn't dictate taste.

To be perfectly honest, I prefer audience members like my friend. They don't care what's put in front of them as long as it's moving.