Things you love so much you don't want to analyze them

[giles]

So... frantically trying to analyze and explain every little thing seems to be a hallmark of nerdiness. There is something that has been bugging me for a while, though.

I know this person who really loves movies. If you ask him, "what was the name of that actor in *X* again?" he will know the answer 95% of the time. He has a huge collection and I have watched movies with him both in the cinema as well as at home.
Here's the thing, though: he doesn't really want to talk about it afterwards other than "It was good/bad". One the best things about watching a movie (for me at least) is talking about what I liked. From cinematography to cool concepts that were explored. Or, if it was a bad movie, why the illusion failed. He doesn't really participate (I'm usually having this discussion with another person who always accompanies us instead).
This always struck me as strange until I noticed that I actually have similar behaviour when it comes to music. I love a great deal of music, I've been to concerts of very different types of music from classical to metal. Music can easily make or break other media such as games or movies for me. It's something I can genuinely enjoy every day. However, I don't care to analyze it. I have this compulsive need to understand and classify the world around me (long story) except for music. I have no idea why that is.


Like I said I'm the curious type so I ask you now, escapists: Do you have something you love so much you don't care to analyze it too deeply? Do you know someone else who fits this criterium? Is this a common thing or are nerds just predisposed to pick apart the things they care about?

 

[Zhukov]

Um... nothing really.

If I enjoy something and think it is good then it kind of follows that I'd want to know more about it. If knowing more about it makes me enjoy it less then that says something about the quality of the work in question.

If I analyse something and find elements I don't like (say, plot holes in a movie or iffy messages in a book) then if I can still enjoy it while acknowledging the flaws.

 

[arsenalabu]

The album "Boys and Girls in America" by The Hold Steady.
I have never been blown away by any piece of media like I was when I first listened to this album. It just sounded so... big, as if it was being played by an orchestra in a stadium. I've purposefully avoided learning any of the lyrics, chord transitions or anything else in the music that I wouldn't be able to discover by just listening to it. I don't want to have to think "this section is actually just the Axis of Awesome chord sequence, that's so clichéd."
One guitar teacher I had (who has a Masters in music, teaches music at an Institute and trains with some of the world's best Jazz guitarists) said that he couldn't hear music anymore without analyzing song structure or chord transitions, he missed just being able to listen to something and have it go through you. That's what I'd hate to happen with the album.

 

[Flutterguy]

Nothing.

If I like something why would I not want to find similar things? The novelty will fade eventually, so take the opportunity to learn, strike while the iron's hot. If it really is great and has a message you truly wanted to hear you'll only like it all the more.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Only one thing really comes to mind for me:

Star Wars. I love Star Wars. The original movies captivated me even when I was four years old. I remember because I still have this drawing I drew about the space battles. That franchise even taught me that reading could be fun, because when I found out that there were Star Wars books, I couldn't get enough. I soaked up everything I could before the prequels came out, and I was crushed when Disney said, "Nope, none of that ever happened."
Now, I greatly enjoy talking about the Star Wars universe when we are discussing stuff in-universe. Like lore, or characters, or speculation about what will happen or what caused this certain thing.

But nothing shuts me down faster than the type of person who picks Star Wars apart. There shouldn't be any sound in space. Why are the ships banking? The whole Kessel Run thing (which was explained as best as possible in a book). Lightsabers don't work like that. Why are they using those stupid long-leg assault craft? The entire ship goes down because the bridge gets destroyed? Why is there a trench leading right there?

Shut. Up. I don't care. I get it, you feel smart picking it apart, but I don't want to hear it. It drives me nuts when someone has to tear away the suspension of disbelief so completely. I want no part of that. You want to know why the Super Star Destroyer went down like that? Because it was awesome!

I feel this way about Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit as well, but not nearly as strong.

 

[Colour Scientist]

I actually tend to analyse things I love more than things I don't like.

You should hear me talk about Doctor Who, a casual eavesdropper would think that it's my most hated show of all time rather than one of my longstanding favourites. That or the book House of Leaves I absolutely love that book but I've picked it apart because it frustrates me. It doesn't mean I love it less, if anything it's a good sign that it has interested me enough to make me want to put in the time to look deeper.


There's nothing wrong with acknowledging the flaws in the things you love.

 

[SuperSuperSuperGuy]

For me, that idea is an oxymoron. In order to properly love something, I must know and understand why I love it, and what could have made it better. There's no better thing to do for something you love than to suggest how to improve it. I don't mean nitpick everything and deconstruct every little logistical error; suspension of disbelief is an important part of enjoying fiction, and it doesn't stop you from analyzing what makes it work. In fact, looking at your state of disbelief can be important to the analysis. If your suspension of disbelief suddenly shatters, then the work did something wrong. If it remains, however implausible or impossible something may be, then the work is doing a good job. However, if someone actively stops their suspension of disbelief in an attempt to be "smart" or "analytic", they're never giving the work a chance, and thus can't really offer an "untainted", so to speak, impression of it.

Analysis does not equal negativity. One can analyze a work with a sense of child-like wonder and energy and still be just as valid, if not more so, then a snobby, old, high-end critic who does nothing but spew negativity unironically.

 

[davidmc1158_v1legacy]

There shouldn't be any sound in space. Why are the ships banking? The whole Kessel Run thing (which was explained as best as possible in a book). Lightsabers don't work like that. Why are they using those stupid long-leg assault craft? The entire ship goes down because the bridge gets destroyed? Why is there a trench leading right there?

My responses to your friend:
1. When a craft explodes, the expanding atmosphere within the craft carries sound. While inside a vessel, you will hear your own weapons fire and the effects of other vessels' weaponry hitting your own shields/hull.
2. Light speed jumps require you to not go through heavy mass objects. Therefore plotting a course requires you to go point-to-point in straight lines avoiding stars, planets and black holes. Being crazy enough to plot those points closer than anyone relatively sane would do cuts down on the length of your trip, as measured in parsecs.
3. Lightsabers are a column-shaped force field holding plasma in place. Interactions between the force fields and objects (and the plasma contained within) causes them to act the way they do. (Plus they're cool and get a pass regardless!)
4. Legged carriers allow the APCs to cross terrain that wheeled or tracked vehicles can't.
5. The Empire is so paranoid that it constructs its vessels with all control functions directly wired to the bridge to prevent someone from seizing control of the ship from another location. The downside of that is, of course, when the bridge goes, the ship's controls are all destroyed. (That's why they put the ship generators right on top of the bridge.)
6. It actually isn't a trench, but a ribbed effect along the rotation axis of the Death Star to increase its resistance to torsion effects as it is turned. Plus, lining the fold with guns as a defense measure seemd like a good idea at the time.

OT: When I first watch or listen to something, I mentally turn off the analysis until later. Suspension of disbelief first time around to see how well I will enjoy something and save the rest until later. It just works better for me that way.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Pokemon.

However, with the review series I've started writing I'm MAKING myself take off the nostalgia goggles.

...

Mostly...

 

[Jess2449]

Horror movies, especially ones i enjoy because of the really creepy ghosts/demon/etc and jump scares

 

[L. Declis]

My experience is this; if you love something, you already spent a huge amount of time talking about it and thinking about it.

For example, I love Warhammer, I love history and I love politics. But when the majority of time people ask me about these things, I just start to get sick of having to constantly explain things.

Your friend, the film guy? He probably does know all about that but he just doesn't want to talk about it. Believe it or not, in depth analysis of subjects is not always fun and it's nice to discuss other things, not just the same points hashed out.

Also, as someone who has studied film at university, do you know how tiring it gets everytime you leave the cinema and people just look at you and say "So?"?

Yeah, I can talk about the director, the cinematography, the writing, the acting, the use of colours, the underlying themes and so on, but I was thinking about them as I was watching the film and frankly, there isn't much to say besides "It's not very good" because when you go into the specifics, people's eyes just glaze over and it's a waste of breath.

 

[Chemical Alia]

Mostly just hot dogs for me. Best not to think too much about it.

 

[Scarim Coral]

My formers friends were like that although they make fun of me and bro for given a more detail of a film then just saying "it was good/ bad".
As for the topic, nothing really come to my head. I mean sure I do anaylze some stuff but at the same time I can toss it aside and enjoyed watching, playing, or reading for what it is.

 

[AnarchistFish]

i don't ever wanna play the first three mass effect games again cos the story i experienced in my only playthrough is entrenched in my mind


guess this applies to a lot of music I like that I'd otherwise find trashy

 

[Something Amyss]

I actually tend to analyse things I love more than things I don't like.

You should hear me talk about Doctor Who, a casual eavesdropper would think that it's my most hated show of all time rather than one of my longstanding favourites. That or the book House of Leaves I absolutely love that book but I've picked it apart because it frustrates me. It doesn't mean I love it less, if anything it's a good sign that it has interested me enough to make me want to put in the time to look deeper.


There's nothing wrong with acknowledging the flaws in the things you love.

I am pretty much the same. I would actually think this to be the natural state of things, mind. Something like Doctor Who I'll watch over and over, and see all the flaws in even the best episodes/serials. I spend a ton of time dissecting Harry Potter ruthlessly with my girlfriend or one of my oldest friends.

Good movie? Probably watched it enough I can recite not only the lines, but the mistakes.

To that end....

One guitar teacher I had (who has a Masters in music, teaches music at an Institute and trains with some of the world's best Jazz guitarists) said that he couldn't hear music anymore without analyzing song structure or chord transitions, he missed just being able to listen to something and have it go through you. That's what I'd hate to happen with the album.

I don't get why you can't really do both. It's totally possible to technically understand music and still be moved by it emotionally. I've been hearing chord progressions since I could walk (though I didn't have theory terms to work with), and hearing chords and structure has never stopped me from enjoying music. Hell, it's actually made me want to see how the songs I love tick in greater detail.

Hell, I've got several Queen songbooks somewhere because of my fanatical obsession with their music.

...Okay, all my examples have been British. Ummm...Did I mention I actually sit down sometimes to transcribe out 90s Boston-area musical acts because tabs and such don't exist anywhere? See? America.

 

[visiblenoise]

I only analyze something in depth when I am deeply affected by it, and I'm also trying to apply some insight from that thing to whatever I'm working on. Otherwise, I am quite happy with setting my brain on autopilot while consuming anything. There's a lot of stuff out there that simply doesn't merit that much pondering.

 

[happyninja42]

I actually tend to analyse things I love more than things I don't like.

You should hear me talk about Doctor Who, a casual eavesdropper would think that it's my most hated show of all time rather than one of my longstanding favourites. That or the book House of Leaves I absolutely love that book but I've picked it apart because it frustrates me. It doesn't mean I love it less, if anything it's a good sign that it has interested me enough to make me want to put in the time to look deeper.


There's nothing wrong with acknowledging the flaws in the things you love.

Yeah, pretty much the same for me. Me and my friends enjoy picking things apart, even things we like. I can't think of any sacred cows that I have in the context of this thread, but there might be something that I just can't think of.

I do try and let it slide when friends do it about things I like, or dislike something I like. One of my friends is several years younger than the rest of us, and he's just got a totally different flavor of nerd to us. He grew up watching different cartoons, movies, etc. His point of reference is totally different from ours, even though it's still a nerdy/geeky point of reference. And sometimes he just doesn't get why we like certain things, and that's fine, I don't push him to like it, or really explain why he doesn't like it. He's got things that I don't like, and it's cool. We just both enjoy our stuff, and meet in the middle about stuff to talk about and enjoy.

 

[TakerFoxx]

Jurassic Park is a weird example, because I love to analyze the shit out of all the problems that took place in the story because of some lingering childlike desire to solve them and make a dinosaur theme park actually work, but I prefer to straight up ignore the fridge logic even though it's kind of obvious, such as the infamous cliff inside of the t-rex pen.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

There shouldn't be any sound in space. Why are the ships banking? The whole Kessel Run thing (which was explained as best as possible in a book). Lightsabers don't work like that. Why are they using those stupid long-leg assault craft? The entire ship goes down because the bridge gets destroyed? Why is there a trench leading right there?

2. Light speed jumps require you to not go through heavy mass objects. Therefore plotting a course requires you to go point-to-point in straight lines avoiding stars, planets and black holes. Being crazy enough to plot those points closer than anyone relatively sane would do cuts down on the length of your trip, as measured in parsecs.

Wait a second, are you saying you actually read that Han Solo book and you know what I'm talking about? Because if so, that is awesome!
Sadly, I try to explain those very points the way you did, but they always just roll their eyes and say I'm trying too hard or it's not in the movie.

 

[beastro]

Prefer to analyze things and love shows and games that encourage that, even if it's only good once around.

Case in point is the movie Signs. Despite its premise it's really thrilling the first time around when you know nothing and the sinister foreboding is strong. After that when the visceral emotional impact is gone after it's over and on reviewing it's nothing but a silly sci-fi movie.