Analysis

I'm a very analytical person. If I go into a movie and enjoy it, I still come out with a broken-down list in my head of what I liked about the plot/dialogue/cinematography/etc.--and what was (possibly) a problem. I see problems in lots of art I absolutely love. Gilead, for example, has very little plot until around page 99...but it's one of the best-written books I've ever read, and I absolutely adore every word. The Incredibles is funny and entertaining and some of the best characterization I've ever seen--but I'm a little uncomfortable with the "you have to be born super to be a hero" message (anti-Batman?!? I love Batman!). I know analysis can be overdone, and I'd be scared to have a super-critical analytical person read my books just in case I accidentally put in something offensive. I know it can be annoying. In fact, my husband is a blessedly kind person to put up with my post-movie analysis (you should ask him about X-Men: First Class).

But. I think analysis is important. I think breaking down the ways we think and seeing if there's actually ugliness there--there's value in that. I can like something that has problems, so long as I recognize those problems are there, and if I point out hidden racism/sexism/Batman-ism it won't lurk unnoticed in my mind. Which is good, right?

I bring all of this up partially because of the video I posted last time--I'd never seen it, I put it on my blog, I watched it...and it disturbed me. There's a lot of debate about it now, whether people are being too sensitive, whether Florence should apologize, and I've been considering my position. I'd love to know what other people think, too, if you're awesome enough to leave a comment. To sum up what I think right now: analysis is important, but being mean to artists is bad.