I was reminded of it recently when some cable station was advertising Revenge of the Sith. That summer, two movies came out only a few weeks apart which both had a variation on the Tenor curtain call: Sith, and Batman Begins.
Now, I liked Batman Begins. I don't think it's as good a movie as some seem to think, and I also don't think Sith is as bad as many seem to think. But I had the exact same experience in the theatre with both films. The audience sat there in respectful silence for 2 hours during which interest waxed and waned… until the final moments when both films evoked images of the movie we had WANTED TO SEE. The twin suns of Tatooine and the Joker card got exactly the same response from both audiences. A spontaneous cheer-the first real signs of life those 200 people had exhibited since the lights went down-that continued into the closing credits.
I've told this story numerous times, and every now and then it gets a surprising response. "But I thought you liked Batman Begins."
Yes, I do. Telling that story as an example of a flawed work raising its final score by pulling a Tenor doesn't mean I hated it. Admitting the movie has flaws doesn't mean I hated it. There seems to be a growing segment out there that can't distinguish between a lack of fawning admiration and 'die plantkiller die'.
This must stop.
We are not BINARY! We-and just about everything else in this world that's not an electron-are more complicated than that.
I like Babylon 5, doesn't mean I despise Deep Space 9.
I give you a Wonder Woman who has a character flaw, that doesn't make her Josef Mengele.
I prefer David Huchet's Hercule Poirot to any other. That doesn't mean I hate Peter Ustinov's or Albert Finney's.
There are a few absolute 0s out there. There are a few perfect 10s. There may even be a virgin riding a unicorn. Today is about recognizing that those are all equally rare, and acknowledging the vast and nuanced in between.
