Interesting topic. I like some types of "pretentious" art but this presumes it's intellectual in some way. When a film promotes itself as "art," I question the label, because it presumes. Although, some films will be more provocative and obviously more intellectual than others, it should be left to the viewer to make a judgment about the quality of the film, and it's ultimate intellectual value.
Julia said:
I'm not entirely sure what you mean by pretentious art. I think of that as art that is elitist and association with it provides some sort of social status?
I think I should re-state slightly. My purpose in sparking this discussion is not to ask "what is art?" although it's a nearly inevitable side-effect, and I'm supportive of exploring the theme. Also, I said "art" instead of "film" because I was interested in exploring the question across various media.
My intention is this. I expect none of my favourite films made more than $50 million in worldwide box office money. This isn't exactly the point either, but I can recognize that my tastes are pretty rarefied (way more Ni than Ne, if you will). And one person's "rarefied" is almost invariably the next person's "pretentious". Just like, as Shai was helping me illustrate, one person's "box office sensation" is the next person's "mainstream snore-fest". Even if I see something as deserving as "The Dark Knight", I want to know they thought about how many directions they could take the Joker that didn't rely solely upon director and actor, rather than just make him . . . really, really evil. Which was all he was. Don't get me wrong. Heath knocked that performance out of the park, creating something few could have, considering there was absolutely zilch in the way of character development, motive, background information, logic, a screenplay, anything that action movies typically lack.
See, if I were to take that further, and post something "rotten" about a lesser movie, "pretentious" is only what happens when Ns like me start describing movies for Ss in far more disparaging terms than these, so I'll stop right there. I'd be hard-pressed to find a film pretentious.