6 ms·

It is so easy to criticize food. This is not different than writing or cinematography. This is the same attack against George Lucas. The Phantom Menance wasn't

It is so easy to criticize food. This is not different than writing or cinematography. This is the same attack against George Lucas. The Phantom Menance wasn't written for 34 year olds who act like children playing pretend in costumes, its target audience is 7 year olds. And, the movie is about growing up, leaving the protection of the protective mother (although gender roles have changed so now this includes the protective father) and join the adults. There are probably a lot of people on HN in academia who after publishing popular papers or gained some fame find themselves with targets on their back for criticism. Anyone dealing with the pressure of criticism should read a very small book that contains 10 letters written by Rainer Maria Rilke to an aspiring poet who went to the same German military school he went to called Letters to a Young Poet. [1] It starts with: "I cannot discuss your verses; for any attempt at criticism would be foreign to me. Nothing touches a work of art so little as words of criticism: they always result in more or less fortunate misunderstandings." I did cook professionally for 17 years. I understand what this chef feels. However, I have learned to not care about what anybody feels or says about my dishes. I do not cook for other people. I cook for myself, because I enjoy the process, intensity, and experience of cooking and the food I make is what I would want to eat. Most of the time I find what I want to eat is also what other people want to eat and in the cases it is not they can move along to next restaurant because I don't care what they think. [1] http://www.carrothers.com/rilke1.htm http://www.carrothers.com/rilke1.htm

aaronbrethorst 11y ago
The Phantom Menace is objectively a bad film. You want a good film that teaches this to seven year olds? Try Finding Nemo. The Phantom Menace features offensive racial stereotypes, terrible dialog, A poorly-executed subplot about a trade dispute, and characters that I personally could not and cannot identify with. Is it fair to speculate that you were born in 1992, making you the 7 year old you refer to above? Search your feelings, zappo2938, you know this is a bad movie!
- striking 11y ago
  It's also a historic piece of cinematography with a world that feels vast and immersive to its fans. (I'm not one, but I am empathetic enough to imagine how they feel.) Objectively it's not perfect, but every movie means something different to everyone and registers on a different level with each person. So you're free to criticize it and rate it based on how well or poorly it portrays the things you think it stands for. But other people have opinions too. And unless you're a filmmaker worth a damn yourself, your opinion doesn't count for anything.
  - sgeisenh 11y ago
    I don't want to weigh in on the discussion about The Phantom Menace, but I do want to address the sentiment that in order to have a valid opinion about some craft, you have to be proficient at that craft. When you practice something, you usually don't practice it in order to impress others who practice the same thing. Unfortunately, this ends up happening in many cases (usually with abstract things such as pure mathematics or classical music, where appreciation is difficult without context). But in most cases, you produce things that can be appreciated by others, regardless of their interest in the process. If you knit your friend or loved one a cool scarf, they don't necessarily need to be interested in knitting to enjoy wearing it. And if you're a great baker, someone doesn't need to know anything about baking to enjoy your creations. All the same, ordinary people can have valid negative opinions of things that they aren't proficient in. When a scarf has numerous dropped stitches or a pie doesn't taste quite right, many people can make observations and express their distaste. Just because they aren't knitters or bakers doesn't mean that their critique doesn't "count for anything." They might not be able to pinpoint the part of the process where something went wrong, but that still doesn't invalidate their opinion. In this case, the intended audience of The Phantom Menace was not film makers, it was ordinary people (in contrast to say Birdman, which may be easier to appreciate if you have some insight into the dramatic world). Maybe it was meant to appeal to a younger crowd (I enjoyed it when I first saw it). Maybe it was meant to appeal to fans of the original trilogy. But the fact remains that aaronbrethorst is entitled to his opinion and his opinion is perfectly valid. P.S. I also don't like The Phantom Menace, but that doesn't really matter.
  - zappo2938 11y ago
- pault 11y ago
  Off topic, but I recently discovered the "anti-cheese" edits to the prequels, and they are a huge improvement to the originals, in my opinion. Among other changes, it removes almost all of the Jar Jar Binks scenes, and replaces all of the racially stereotyped alien accents with alien "languages" and subtitles. Of course, the edits make the movie a bit disjointed, but it was much easier to stomach than the originals. You can find them on youtube if you search "anti-cheese".
  - aaronbrethorst 11y ago
    I watched the films in Machete Order[1] with my girlfriend in advance of the premiere of The Force Awakens last week. She hadn't seen any Star Wars movie in 15 years, and the Machete Order worked out quite well. I'd considered watching one of the two hour long "Phantom Edits," but it seemed too difficult to find one of good quality. Do you have a recommendation on a specific edit? [1] http://www.nomachetejuggling.com/2011/11/11/the-star-wars-saga-suggested-viewing-order/ http://www.nomachetejuggling.com/2011/11/11/the-star-wars-sa...
everyone 11y ago
The Phantom menace failed to achieve many basic elements of film. This 7 part review will explain it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxKtZmQgxrI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxKtZmQgxrI or just watch this bit here. Which highlights the soap opera style blocking.. goto 1:20:40 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABcXyZn9xjg&index=1&list=PLJ_TJFLc25JTwinvdLo4PP2rTFfTd9Uhz https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABcXyZn9xjg&index=1&list=PLJ...

aaronbrethorst 11y ago

The Phantom Menace is objectively a bad film. You want a good film that teaches this to seven year olds? Try Finding Nemo. The Phantom Menace features offensive racial stereotypes, terrible dialog, A poorly-executed subplot about a trade dispute, and characters that I personally could not and cannot identify with. Is it fair to speculate that you were born in 1992, making you the 7 year old you refer to above? Search your feelings, zappo2938, you know this is a bad movie!

striking 11y ago
It's also a historic piece of cinematography with a world that feels vast and immersive to its fans. (I'm not one, but I am empathetic enough to imagine how they feel.) Objectively it's not perfect, but every movie means something different to everyone and registers on a different level with each person. So you're free to criticize it and rate it based on how well or poorly it portrays the things you think it stands for. But other people have opinions too. And unless you're a filmmaker worth a damn yourself, your opinion doesn't count for anything.
- sgeisenh 11y ago
  I don't want to weigh in on the discussion about The Phantom Menace, but I do want to address the sentiment that in order to have a valid opinion about some craft, you have to be proficient at that craft. When you practice something, you usually don't practice it in order to impress others who practice the same thing. Unfortunately, this ends up happening in many cases (usually with abstract things such as pure mathematics or classical music, where appreciation is difficult without context). But in most cases, you produce things that can be appreciated by others, regardless of their interest in the process. If you knit your friend or loved one a cool scarf, they don't necessarily need to be interested in knitting to enjoy wearing it. And if you're a great baker, someone doesn't need to know anything about baking to enjoy your creations. All the same, ordinary people can have valid negative opinions of things that they aren't proficient in. When a scarf has numerous dropped stitches or a pie doesn't taste quite right, many people can make observations and express their distaste. Just because they aren't knitters or bakers doesn't mean that their critique doesn't "count for anything." They might not be able to pinpoint the part of the process where something went wrong, but that still doesn't invalidate their opinion. In this case, the intended audience of The Phantom Menace was not film makers, it was ordinary people (in contrast to say Birdman, which may be easier to appreciate if you have some insight into the dramatic world). Maybe it was meant to appeal to a younger crowd (I enjoyed it when I first saw it). Maybe it was meant to appeal to fans of the original trilogy. But the fact remains that aaronbrethorst is entitled to his opinion and his opinion is perfectly valid. P.S. I also don't like The Phantom Menace, but that doesn't really matter.
- zappo2938 11y ago
pault 11y ago
Off topic, but I recently discovered the "anti-cheese" edits to the prequels, and they are a huge improvement to the originals, in my opinion. Among other changes, it removes almost all of the Jar Jar Binks scenes, and replaces all of the racially stereotyped alien accents with alien "languages" and subtitles. Of course, the edits make the movie a bit disjointed, but it was much easier to stomach than the originals. You can find them on youtube if you search "anti-cheese".
- aaronbrethorst 11y ago
  I watched the films in Machete Order[1] with my girlfriend in advance of the premiere of The Force Awakens last week. She hadn't seen any Star Wars movie in 15 years, and the Machete Order worked out quite well. I'd considered watching one of the two hour long "Phantom Edits," but it seemed too difficult to find one of good quality. Do you have a recommendation on a specific edit? [1] http://www.nomachetejuggling.com/2011/11/11/the-star-wars-saga-suggested-viewing-order/ http://www.nomachetejuggling.com/2011/11/11/the-star-wars-sa...

everyone 11y ago

The Phantom menace failed to achieve many basic elements of film. This 7 part review will explain it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxKtZmQgxrI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxKtZmQgxrI or just watch this bit here. Which highlights the soap opera style blocking.. goto 1:20:40 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABcXyZn9xjg&index=1&list=PLJ_TJFLc25JTwinvdLo4PP2rTFfTd9Uhz https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABcXyZn9xjg&index=1&list=PLJ...