The Big Picture: Fair Game

[maximara]

It's the anonymity of the internet that creates this, not just from allowing inexcusable behavior with no repercussions (as from greater internet fuckwad theory), but from the distrust of the source of the information. You don't know if a poster is a honest fan praising Killzone for its virtues, or a viral marketer for Sony trying to sway your opinion. We can't trust the source of opinions because we know nothing about their source, so our natural fear of the unknown causes us to assume the worst by default. That?s why sites like gametrailers can pan games without it being seen as fanboyism, because we know where they?re coming from and trust that they?re not pushing any agenda.

But that sort of thing existed BEFORE the internet took off as many of the early console magazines were aimed at that brand (Nintendo Power vs Sega Power) and to the same degree you STILL this in the computer world with magazines being to a large extent Mac, PC, or Linux biased.

Let's be honest NO ONE hits the bulleye (or even the target for that matter) all the time. Sturgeon's Law and the old saying "one man's trash is another's treasure" go hand in glove here. Some people like MYST style games while other can't stand them and prefer first person shooters and still others hate both and prefer stealth based open world games. Personal preferences of game types plays a big role in reviews.

As for movies the long list of failures in the Superhero genre (The 1990 Captain America, Superman III, Supergirl, Superman IV, Batman and Robin, 1997 Justice League of America TV pilot, X Men III, and many more) prevents me from getting too excited about any future comic character to movie project.

 

[Gunnyboy]

Part of me believes this is in response to the reaction Bob receives when he discusses the new Spiderman movie. Almost every thing he says about it, seems like he wants it to fail

 

[Atmos Duality]

Only one thought out of all of this springs to my mind:

Political commentary sure has become more skewed since the repeal of the act.

This isn't a complaint about the act being repealed (it's better to be able to speak and say rubbish, than not be able to speak at all), but an observation that mankind will always find some way to devalue anything given enough time.

They weren't saying much before, and now they're saying just as much ("speaking in nothings", as it were) because when an issue DOES have more than one side the media will always pick the side that rouses the crowd, no matter how unfair, rabble-rousing or flat out deceptive.

Why? Sensationalism brings in those Nielsen Ratings.

 

[MasterChief892039]

There's another issue of "fairness of opinion" on the internet (and in daily life) where people automatically accept, without question, that both rival opinions are equivocal and legitimate without taking the time to examine them.

Example? The assumption that because a certain group of people believe in Intelligent Design, it is therefore just as valid as the Theory of Evolution and should have balanced representation in schools.

 

[Faerillis]

We can dream Bob, we can dream. Admittedly asking people to qualify why one is better than the other, instead of hiding behind vague terms is a different story. I cannot stress how often this occurs. Family Values, RPG Elements, etc... This is another issue that comes up to undermine debates. You can't argue with vague and undefined ideas.

On the "Fairness Doctrine", I think we need a Factual Doctrine. You shouldn't be able to out and out lie on a News program, and some light form of fairness bill could certainly be of use. Don't believe me? Watch Fox and Friend's discussion on "the name of the "Job-Killing Healthcare Bill"" Of course the Republican was allowed to misconstrue it, but the Democrat wasn't allowed to cite a fact without getting cut off.

 

[binvjoh]

I fucking love The Big Picture!

..not to say that Extra Credits and Zero Punctuation aren't great too.

 

[Dansrage]

I entirely agree with everything Bob said, but try telling any of that to someone who uses 4chan, Xbox Republic or Youtube...
It's all good to strive for intelligent, unbiased debate, but very rarely does anyone even attempt to meet you half-way.
Also, it's only really by seeing the flaws in the things you like that you can truly say you appreciate them, it's very likely that someone who glorifies one side of an argument while ignoring the other is oblivious to the facts, nothing is ever completely one-sided.

 

[Fr]anc[is]

So if I love Moviebob I have to hate Lisa's show? I can live with that.

 

[Jorias]

In regards to trolls, the only reason they get any merit what-so-ever is that most people take the time to acknowledge them (to include myself from time to time) the worst thing you can do to a troll is completely and utterly ignore what this person is typing in a forum. However, it won't happen cuz opinions are like assholes everyone has one and it's gonna open up sooner or later.

 

[dragonburner]

I'm not so sure that's how "fanboyism" works... I call fanboy when someone says "X is amazing and Y sucks just because it's on the [homophobic pun] system.

 

[saintchristopher]

I've always been bothered by the apparent state of affairs among internet discussions, insofar that any statement such as "I only own a Playstation 3" somehow is mass-translated into "FUCK THE XBOX AND ALL WHO OWN THEM!"

Guys, we're better than that.

having said that,

[HEADING=2]Huzzah![/HEADING]

Come, let us all embrace our hatred of the things we hate! Damn the reprisals!

 

[kinggamecat]

I agree with Bob, I believe we're each entitled to our own opinions without judgment. Also ya can't ALWAYS compare something to something else, at least not as an equal. I mean, I like the ps3 but I STILL like the 360 and even the Wii to some extent. I love games but it doesn't mean I hate Movies or TV or the Internet as sources of entertainment, Bob, here's to you for being so insightful, same for those in Extra Credit!

 

[ryukage_sama]

Well, Bob is a lightning rod for debate since he has two webseries, so I'm pretty sure he has a different perspective from the majority of his audience, myself included. In recent memory I can't recall being persecuted for stating my opinions, so I feel that MovieBob is overstating his argument. I have observed people confusing person A, "Killzone 2 is my favorite FPS of all time," with person B, "Killzone 2 is my favorite FPS of all time AND nothing ever released on the 360 COULD EVER be as good."

There are people who have biased opinions as a result of self-induced ignorance, but there are others who share some of those opinions through rational thought and personal experience. The problem exists because of both those unwilling to be convinced of anything other than what they currently believe despite the availability of new information and those who project bias onto people who don't proactively demonstrate a lack of bias.

I appreciate the ability to ignore either of those parties in online forums by simply not reading their posts. Its much more difficult in other situations (radio, TV, actual 1st person social interactions).

 

[AvsJoe]

I'm a biased Big Picture fanboy, AND PROUD OF IT!

Actually, what would Big Picture's rival be? Extra Credits?

 

[ph0b0s123]

Those mentioning the BBC. The word you are looking for is impartial. That is what they do. This is different to being fair or balanced.

To the topic at hand. First good work Bob as usual. But I actually don't mind people who advicate for their side. You know where they are coming from. I know Bob has a lot of love for Nintendo, whereas I grew up most playing on computers. This comes over quite obviously from Bob's other work. And there is nothing wrong with it. That does not mean I don't enjoy his analysis as it is not obnoxious or always one sided. The behaviour that drive me mad is not fanboy's, but the zealots and zealotry. Those that argue that the sky is red when quite obviously it not and just looking up would prove that.

The way I can tell Bob is not like that is he also calls out Nintendo and others when they have been bad. This is also why I like people like John Stewart. No argument he is left leaning. But he is quite happy to call out the left when they are being dicks. That is why I have more trust there than with the Fox news zealots who will never call-out their own side.

I maybe a PC snob, but I always try to not gloss over the bad points of my chosen system. I have quite happily recommened PS3's, Xbox's and Wii's to my firends depending on what they needed.

 

[Ap0ca1ypse]

While I admit automatically calling somone a fanboy for there opinion is annoying, it doesn't mean there aren't those annoying stereotypical fanboys. For instance, I'm in high school and there's this guy who always sits at my lunch table and every day I hear about how the Xbox is moving away from hardcore gaming and that I need to get the godlike masterpiece PS3 like a true gamer. I'm ok with his opinion "I hate Xbox, I love PS3", but he's always goin, on about it.

 

[Stephanos132]

What is an objective opinion?

What that guy said.

Also, I'm presuming Bob has been on this website enough to know that the fanboyist 'counterarguements' are by no means universal. If it's 4chan he's thinking of, then he should know better than to go there seeking a reasoned debate. In either case, I've not seen many examples of all this above the usual level of ignorance that would berate your life choices anyway.

But, then again, this won't be the first time I've thought Bob pulled something out of his arse.

 

[Furrama]

THANK YOU.

EDIT: Wait, I just read the guy above me, (and some others). Are you guys serious? That's some of the dumbest crud I've ever read in light of the subject. You yourselves are providing the fodder for his thesis and you can't even recognize it.

 

[Ewyx]

I'm a Movie Bob (Can I buy you a beer?) fanboy... not just big picture related.