I'm provoked to do something that will likely prove more annoying than provocative in the way I desire.
But this type of provocation always proves temporary, so not to worry.
In reading the netflix reviews of one the more trendy-cool-quirky-hippie Christian films made in recent years (very few fit in that box), I saw two words repeated to the point that I felt I no longer had a grasp on what they meant: propaganda and preachy.
"This movie is religious preachy Christian Jesus freak crap. Don't waste your life watching it. I wanna get those 2 hours of my life back, blah blah blah".
"They tricked me. It's propaganda. I'm insulted. I wanna set netflix on fire. rah rah rah."
They throw around terms like "bait and switch" and "close minded". They wag their fingers at netflix for not properly categorizing the movie. They're really angry.
And I'm so confused, left asking - what, exactly, makes a movie a tool of propaganda?
Enter my temptation towards ineffectual provocation.
Maybe I should write a review of a film or tv show featuring characters who engage in casual sex or simply fornicate without a second thought, and give it 1 star and write "bah hum-bug, this film is a propaganda tool promoting promiscuity, wearing the mask of entertainment. I found the over-sexualization of the characters insulting to my personal morality and I am offended and the directors should be ashamed and what do they take me for? I'm too smart for your tricks, netflix!"
There are so many options. That's probably the majority of films or tv shows on the site. Including some of the ones I enjoy.
Some might disagree, but I am of the mind that media is almost never neutral. And I say "almost" to be generous and cover my bases. But I just don't see how it can be. Humans are not neutral.
So just as the reviewers were offended by the telling of this particular story - a person's real life journey - and, were apparently insulted by the fact that the subject came to conclusions that differed from their own - I was offended by their condescending responses. I have rarely read an amateur review on a site like netflix in which the reviewers are just so angry with the character's personal story. God forbid my boring life was made a movie. Would they write angry reviews, outraged at the shocking lack of sex? They'd think it was unrealistic and that me and my friends live in a time warp, even though we have cool hair and wear trendy clothes. That won't stop the tomatoes from flying. I think we would offend them by having convictions.
My conclusion is, I will embrace the term propaganda. I think it just means you're actually owning the fact that you believe and stand for something. Everyone believes, not everyone owns it.
