OK, I guess I\'ll address this to mm:
Much of the mass culture is crap, that is definitely true. However there are still people making good films outside AND inside the Hollywood studio system. I\'m surprised you\'re picking on Tarantino so severely. He\'s made a total of four films at a very slow pace, and none of them were typical of the modern Hollywood formula for successful big budget releases. They were like nothing else issued by these Hollywood studios. The only films that were in any way similar to them in modern Hollywood were made by those imitating him. He still retains his own unique and recognizable style. To me that one definition of an artist; a recognizable, definable style or "voice" to state it as a cliche.
Everything Tarantino does references and constructs from earlier genres. You say it\'s an "insult and a mockery," as if it was your own art he was mocking. That is not the case. In fact, it\'s hard for me to understand such bitterness. Every piece of art man has ever made was an extension of the predecessors that artist learned from. It has always been this way, but it seems you would prefer that it were not. I don\'t understand that. What an empty world this would be if all we had to look at were the FIRST filmmakers to ever create a certain genre or a certain style. We would all be watching the same films by Kurosawa or Jean Renoir or Sergio Leone or Arthur Penn over and over and over. Nothing new ever created, only these old classics preserved in formaldehyde forever.
So now I\'ve given some clues about the directors I love and respect. Maybe you can find fault with some of them given a little effort. You should know however that I am also a huge appreciator of Jim Jarmusch and Wim Wenders. These are modern filmmakers, not members of the old school. They got where they are by using visual language invented by their predecessors. I will agree that Jarmusch is a more talented director than Tarantino, but the difference I think is that I recognize that it doesn\'t matter. There will always be some artists that are better than others. Some more capable of sustained, consistent brilliance, while others have to be satisfied with occasional sparks of brilliance and imperfect creations. I take it all in and enjoy the parts that are there to enjoy. Just because Tarantino isn\'t as good Jarmusch doesn\'t mean his films are automatically crap.
You may still believe they are crap, either because they are financially successful, or too unsubtle, or too expensive, or whatever. You\'re entitled to that opinion. I just don\'t feel you have the right to damn the rest of us for liking his stuff, and assume that we all have no taste because of it.
Seek to understand before making yourself understood.
Best wishes and regards,
- "a film aficionado"
