I used to do theater reviews and would sit there with a pad on my lap taking notes and looking all over the stage. Inevitably, if I had a date, she'd ask later, "How can you enjoy it when you're tearing it into all these little pieces?" What makes a play great? A fine script, great actors, and a director who knows how to bring the actors into their roles. I can tell when that's not done. There are problems you can blame on the actor and others that the director's responsible for. Poor lighting can have you squinting and bring your attention to the wrong part of the stage. Bad costumes can make the whole thing a joke. I firmly believe my knowledge of plays means I understand them better than someone who just goes and takes it in.
Okay, so what does it mean?
The first thing to get over is that one isn't better than the other. "I liked that" is a perfectly acceptable response as is "That was very good." In fact, "I liked that even though it sucked" isn't a contradiction. Take The Three Stooges. They're terrible; the movies are stupid, repetitious, and insulting. I love 'em, but they're not "good."
It also means you vary your aesthetic filter to the experience. If one approaches a 3-star Michelin restaurant in Paris with the same expectations of a trip to TGI Fridays, one is going to be very unhappy. When I was reviewing theater, I used different standards for a community group than for Long Wharf Theater in New Haven. How can you hold a part time group of actors to the same standards of one of the best Repertory theaters in the country?
This doesn't mean all opinions are created equally. People study various taste genres to develop a sophistication that allows them to appreciate it at a level denied to us who won't put in the time. If you take a three-year-old to the best restaurant in town, whose opinion would you pay more attention to: the kid's or a restaurant reviewer you respect?
Finally, why is it so important?
As a chocoholic, I'll eat and enjoy just about anything, but if you take a piece of chocolate out of a Godiva box and compare it to one from a Leonidas box (a Belgium chocolate maker), you should be able to tell with one taste why the Belgium chocolate is three or four times more expensive.
Article comments
1 - Mark Schannon
I think I forgot to mention: I love corn dogs & I can wax lyrical about oreos.
In Jameson veritas
2 - Katie
Great article..... I too love oreos. But next time I talk about it I will have to remember 'like it' vs. 'it's good' thing. ;)
3 - alessandro Nicolo
Sometimes it is fact. Certain foods don't compliment. If we have Natural and Economic laws there are food laws. The "Three Stooges" analogy was perfect.
4 - Nancy
Very illuminating. I never thought about the difference between "like" & "good". Now I will. I feel the same way when I see period/historical movies where the costumes & hair, etc. aren't absolutely correct. Nitpicking, perhaps, but it detracts & distracts no matter how good the acting or cinematography. Thanks, Mark.
5 - Leslie Bohn
Of course, Godivas ARE Belgian chocolates (kinda-- they have a plant in the US and one in Belgium, but it's a Belgian company), but your point (that they're nowhere near as good) is well taken.
6 - Mark Schannon
My goodness, usually I start a land war in Asia when I promote this theory. Obviously the foodies at BC are a cut above the average.
Nancy, good point. The more you know, the more likely you're going to be distracted by something that's just off--but hey, when the highs are higher, the lows are lower. Worth it.
Leslie: Lady Godiva was from Belgium. The company is among a nest of small chemical plants in Northern New Jersey. It's easy to get them confused.
In Jameson Veritas
7 - Mark Saleski
very true that this stuff can be learned. i mean, i grew up on very simple fare, diner food, etc.
but i've learned to really love some of the food at foodie-type restaurants (though as the formality of a place rises, i can get kind of uncomfortable).
this doesn't mean that i've given up on diner food. a person can love both.