In Laman's Terms: It's OK if Somebody Doesn't Like What You Like

An image from Martin Scorsese's 2006 movie The Departed depicting Jack Nicholson's response to watching Thor: The Dark World.

In Laman's Terms is a weekly editorial column where Douglas Laman rambles on about certain topics or ideas that have been on his mind lately. Sometimes he's got serious subjects to discuss, other times he's just got some silly stuff to shoot the breeze about. Either way, you know he's gonna talk about something In Laman's Terms!

This is one of those rare In Laman's Terms columns that I approach with genuine hesitance only because continuing the discourse around this topic feels utterly ridiculous. There's so many real-world horrors transpiring as we speak, it can't help but feel like a distraction to talk about how it's OK for people to not like Marvel movies. Doesn't seem like such an obvious statement? But if the internet's behavior recently has been any indication, such a seemingly non-controversial stance is, in fact, tantamount to heresy. So let's jump right into examining the discussion and backlash caused by Martin Scorsese and Jennifer Aniston recently saying critical things about the Marvel Cinematic Universe.


In an interview with Empire at the start of the month, Martin Scorsese made comments regarding modern-day superhero movies that described them as "..."I don’t see them. I tried, you know? But that’s not cinema. Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks. It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being." He doubled down on his comments at the BFI London Film Festival over the past weekend, stating "...theaters have become amusement parks. That is all fine and good but don’t invade everything else in that sense. … That is fine and good for those who enjoy that type of film and, by the way, knowing what goes into them now, I admire what they do. It’s not my kind of thing; it simply is not. It’s creating another kind of audience that thinks cinema is that.”

Similar comments about how Marvel Studios fare has changed the modern-day filmmaking landscape  were echoed by Jennifer Aniston, who noted in an article for Variety that "...And then you’re seeing what’s available [for film roles] and it’s just diminishing and diminishing in terms of, it’s big Marvel movies. Or things that I’m not just asked to do or really that interested in living in a green screen...It’s changed so much. I think we would so love to have the era of Meg Ryan come back. I just think it would be nice to go into a movie theater, sit cozy. I think we should have a resurgence. Let’s get the Terms of Endearment back out there. You know, Heaven Can Wait, Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, Goodbye Girl." Both of these comments were met with heavy amounts of predictable rage on the internet, with Aniston especially getting nasty backlash for simply saying she wishes more movies like Terms of Endearment got made.

Really, both of these comments are pretty mundane as far as things go, with Scorsese even taking time in his initial comments to note how he admires the work filmmakers put into them. The monster! I love the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I've enjoyed the vast majority of their movies to one degree or another, but I'd also say I largely agree with both Scorsese and Aniston in their comments, particularly the emphasis both placed on the importance for a variety of films to be made in the theatrical cinema landscape. Recent box office hits like The Peanut Butter Falcon, Hustlers and Judy have shown movie studios that audiences will still turn out for non-tentpole fare theatrically and they should adjust their release slates to better reflect a more diverse array of films instead of just releasing overly expensive attempts to capture the once-in-a-lifetime success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Now, just as it's super cool for people like Scorsese and Aniston to have negative opinions on the way the Marvel Cinematic Universe has impacted the industry. it's also totally OK to not agree with their opinions. There have been a few sound rebuttals against their comments, with one particularly interesting and noteworthy point I've seen crop up on social media is how certain superheroes movies actually do capture "human beings...[conveying] emotional, psychological experiences to another human being..", they just do so with marginalized perspectives of women and/or people of color that typically don't get any screen time in the works of Scorsese. That's actually a salient point that uses these comments as a springboard to contemplate how and why superhero movies do register emotionally in a profound manner with modern-day audiences beyond just the experiences you'd get at a theme park.

But that's the anomaly and not the norm for responses to these comments. Usually, it's just people responding with real vile to the fact that human beings do not enjoy the media and a brand they have an affinity for. The urgent topic of ensuring that a broader amount of genres can be shown in a theatrical setting is brushed aside by such people in the name of brand loyalty. It's utterly baffling to see this kind of response and serves as a great time to remind everyone of this universal truth: it's OK if somebody doesn't like something you like. A variety of perspectives help keep critical discourse interesting, everybody liking the same thing would be dreadfully boring! Plus, using loyalty to a brand owned by a mega-conglomerate like Disney as a reason to decry pretty basic (and pretty on point) comments by Scorsese, that's just icky. 

Let's stop tearing apart Scorsese and Aniston for not liking something a lot of people like and instead concentrate on something else. Maybe the myriad of real-world tragedies plaguing this planet? Or perhaps, if we want to keep this limited to Hollywood, helping to promote high-quality movies that don't have anywhere near the visibility of your average Marvel Cinematic Universe movie? Hey! Did you know Rafiki is now streaming for free on Kanopy? It's one of the years best movies, don't miss it!  Speaking of one of the years best movies, The Art of Self-Defense is now available to rent, you totally should give that a watch! Plus, don't forget about all the movies from around the world that have been restored for public viewing thanks to Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project, lots of great options there!