[JTN]

I seem to get the impression from the comments that people think that everybody will like an intelligent, well-written movie 100% of the time, no matter who they are, and that everyone in the world secretly wants to always see those movies all the time.

The fact is, mindless entertainment has been around for thousands of years. Freak Shows, Gladiator Battles, Animal Fighting... It's not like it's a new phenomenon that started with television. There's always gonna be an audience for that stuff that is more than willing to "turn their brain off" for a while and just watch things moving. It doesn't make them any more stupid than you and me; it's just a basic human need to take one's mind off of the cares of the day that actually DO require your brain. That's where dancing and sports come from.

Not that I'm saying it's healthy to watch those all the time. I have a sister who has watched a little too much MTV and it has kind of leaked into her personal life as she has a bit of an overdramatic outlook on relationships (though, of course, that might just be her personality). I've seen it happen.

I guess I'm collecting from Boogie's article that All movies should be intelligent and well-written. "Turning your brain off" is not necessarily a bad thing. Like chocolate and other sweet foods, it's fine for you to watch it along as you don't make it the center of your life. The fact that that kind of entertainment exists does not indicate any stupidity on the part of the watchers; it's just an indicator of what's happened for thousands of years.

For clarification, I think Dane Cook is a hack, that "The Hills" is the worst television show ever made, and that the writers of the "(genre) Movie" franchise should be arrested.