The Bard Posted June 14, 2011 Posted June 14, 2011 I'm always sceptical whenever someone responds to a question regarding preferences with the idea that they like "everything" or are "open minded," since the structures of our brains are designed to foster an increasingly embedded series of predispositions. The older we get, the more entrenched and encultured our minds are. Open minded with severe inherent limitations would be a better description. I like to try things, sure, but I often make up my mind very quickly upon first exposure - to a food or a band for example - although I'm not disrespectful of other peoples predispositions, unless they're glaringly small minded. ...more vagaries.
Mundi Posted June 14, 2011 Posted June 14, 2011 I'm always sceptical whenever someone responds to a question regarding preferences with the idea that they like "everything" or are "open minded," since the structures of our brains are designed to foster an increasingly embedded series of predispositions. The older we get, the more entrenched and encultured our minds are. Open minded with severe inherent limitations would be a better description. I like to try things, sure, but I often make up my mind very quickly upon first exposure - to a food or a band for example - although I'm not disrespectful of other peoples predispositions, unless they're glaringly small minded. ...more vagaries. Exactly. I cringe when people start spouting out about how they are open minded and give everything a chance and never judge anyone and always have a positive attitude towards new stuff and in love with all the colors of the rainbow. Gives me the image of a Disney cloning vats releasing these people. I put it just down to ego stroking.
dwarf Posted June 14, 2011 Posted June 14, 2011 I don't think it's ego stroking, I think it's just a good way of showing that comparatively you're not an utterly judgemental prick like the majority of the world's population. I heard a couple of people in Sixth Form discussing books they were required to read and they were describing them as disturbing and 'not normal', going on to say they thought they were bad books. I think it's better to analyse something for what it is and note its merits rather than dismiss it because the ideas were presented strangely. Like others I think this is a really good topic and it feels like there's infinite things to discuss.
Paj! Posted June 14, 2011 Posted June 14, 2011 When people something 'is bad' because they don't understand it or find it 'difficult' or whatever...that is the worst. A defining trait of a BAD person. Makes me a little bit sick, and instantly just cuts them from my mental roster of potential friends. Clearly there's a part of their mind that is just simple.
dwarf Posted June 14, 2011 Posted June 14, 2011 (edited) ^ I think that's semi in response to me, but anyway there's something I wanted to add. Here it is: This fairly intelligent but nerdy guy followed up by saying 'It's weird, why would people want to read this?'. Chunder inducing. Edited June 14, 2011 by dwarf addition of a question mark for y'all
Paj! Posted June 14, 2011 Posted June 14, 2011 Yes, sorry, it was a thought formed by bouncing off your previous post.
chairdriver Posted June 14, 2011 Posted June 14, 2011 Pet hate: when people derate [not a word] films/music/books because they're "depressing". [i use quotation marks, because most times people use that word to mean sadness-inducing. Which is very different from my understanding of the word depressing. I mean, I'd call Lost In Translation one of the most depressing movies I've ever seen, but nothing [i]sad [/i]happens in it. 9/10 movie too.]
dwarf Posted June 14, 2011 Posted June 14, 2011 ^ That was the precise situation. I told him to live a little and to stop pretending the world his parents made for him was in any way real.
Fierce_LiNk Posted June 14, 2011 Posted June 14, 2011 Pet hate: when people derate [not a word] films/music/books because they're "depressing". [i use quotation marks, because most times people use that word to mean sadness-inducing. Which is very different from my understanding of the word depressing. I mean, I'd call Lost In Translation one of the most depressing movies I've ever seen, but nothing [i]sad [/i]happens in it. 9/10 movie too.] That's funny, because I find it pretty uplifting, romantic and sweet at parts. It's one of my favourite films, too. I agree with your point, but about music. For example, when somebody dislikes, say, Radiohead because "all of their songs are depressing." This makes me pull the FUUUUUU face. Also, when somebody watches you play a 30 second part of a game and decide that it looks boring. For example, my housemate came in whilst I was playing Muramasa, saw me running across the land after a boss-fight (she didn't see that fight) and decided that it looked boring. Gaaah.
Rummy Posted June 14, 2011 Posted June 14, 2011 Pet hate: when people derate [not a word] films/music/books because they're "depressing". [i use quotation marks, because most times people use that word to mean sadness-inducing. Which is very different from my understanding of the word depressing. I mean, I'd call Lost In Translation one of the most depressing movies I've ever seen, but nothing [i]sad [/i]happens in it. 9/10 movie too.] What about if people prorate [not a word] films/music/books because they're really 'fun' and 'feel good' and 'fucking hilarious'. Pricks. Again, where's the difference?
The Bard Posted June 14, 2011 Posted June 14, 2011 Pet hate: when people derate [not a word] films/music/books because they're "depressing". [i use quotation marks, because most times people use that word to mean sadness-inducing. Which is very different from my understanding of the word depressing. I mean, I'd call Lost In Translation one of the most depressing movies I've ever seen, but nothing [i]sad [/i]happens in it. 9/10 movie too.] People just don't like things that make them ruminate, or that hold up a mirror to their ugly, banal lives so that they can confront and contemplate their depravity. In other news, Lost in Translation is my favourite movie, so maybe I'm not licensed to make that call.
Fierce_LiNk Posted June 14, 2011 Posted June 14, 2011 In other news, Lost in Translation is my favourite movie, so maybe I'm not licensed to make that call. I'm predicting a threesome with...the three of us. The Bard. The Chair. The Link. After Chair gets all Hu Hu Hu with the ending, we could lean in to offer words of comfort, and then...and then... The rest is porn.
chairdriver Posted June 14, 2011 Posted June 14, 2011 Lost In Translation is like the most stunning thing I've seen. Left me feeling driven through the whole week after watching -- the fact that two people who are "successful" in capitalist terms (ie. rich enough to spend an extended period of time in a ridiculously fancy hotel in Tokyo) live such empty lives, and then when the film finally culminates in the kiss, they pull away and go back to their separate lives, because to love two different people simultaneously is the be-all-end-all sin in our society. Like, genuinely left me feeling ripped open and sword-seared.
Paj! Posted June 14, 2011 Posted June 14, 2011 The best is the fact you don't know what he says in her ear. Sofia, you are güd.
Ganepark32 Posted June 14, 2011 Posted June 14, 2011 The amount of love for Lost in Translation in the last few posts has made me a very happy man. Absolutely love the film. I personally see it in a more positive light, in that two people, whose lives have become so mundane, can find solace in one another's company in a completely strange and foreign environment. To me, it feels like it's saying that even through a sense of alienation in a strange place, there's always something or someone who can make you feel human again. ------------------------------ Anyway, this thread isn't about the film but rather about openness to new things. I'd like to think I've started taking a few more risks in trying new things in recent years, more so with music, tv and film than anything else as it's all to easy to fall into a routine of favouring things which you're comfortable with. Food wise, I do tend to opt for the same kind of things and don't experiment as much as I'd like to. But I don't say I don't like something unless I've tried it. Nowadays, I'm always saying I'd like to try something and it's only after trying it that I'd decide whether or not I like it. As others have said, it's impossible to be truly openminded about something. Our brains and our personalities just don't allow it. I think a heightened sense of tolerance best describes how we deal with new things or situations and whether or not we like them.
jayseven Posted June 14, 2011 Author Posted June 14, 2011 A lot of the idea of this thread is actually about acceptance of other people's difference of views. It's easy to belittle someone else's interests or tastes, or excuse them for not liking something so obviously likeable. True open-mindedness doesn't mean that you are some sort of malleable putty who is able to enjoy anything - it's more that you ought to be able to understand the aspects to something which someone may find appealing. I mean, there's more to things than mere freedom of speech - that's easy. The tricky bit is in comprehending and accepting why others are different. AND STUFF TOO MUCH SAVE IT FOR SUNDAY.
Happenstance Posted June 14, 2011 Posted June 14, 2011 Wait what? I thought this thread was about eating pizza with a knife and fork or with your hands???
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