Why It’s OK to Love Bad Movies

Abstract

Matthew Strohl’s Why It’s OK to Love Bad Movies is a deeply personal, philosophically sophisticated, and thoroughly enjoyable book. Written devoid of unnecessary philosophical jargon, the book is accessible to non-specialists, a trademark of Routledge’s Why It’s OK… series. However, with novel and nuanced arguments, the book is more than merely accessible and will be interesting to cinephiles and philosophers alike. I want to start by summarizing why Strohl believes it is OK to love bad movies. I will put these reasons in two camps: personal reasons and film culture reasons. Personal reasons for watching good-bad movies include deepening your cinephilia, building social relationships with others (e.g. bonding with strangers through audience participation rituals), and the pure joy of the hunt for the overlooked gem. Watching good-bad movies also promotes creative engagement. We know the outline for appreciating serious art-house movies. Good-bad movies break us out of these scripts, forcing us to engage in less familiar ways. Loving good-bad movies also provides benefits to the film culture at large by working against stagnation in the culture, re-earthing overlooked gems, and promoting a diversity of taste.