Wes had a nicely written post that I would have replied to except that I thought that posting just to quibble on details would denigrate what I think is an intelligent, well-reasoned, and eloquently stated post. I mostly agree with it and respect the parts I don't agree with.

Nyperold posted something snide and indignant, and the only way I thought of to reply to that was to point out how refuting a figure of speech with a dictionary entry is indicative of the type of frustration I had in the first place.

But, ok, you made a post addressed specifically to me, rather than on the issue, so here I go.

I do have adamantly defended opinions about issues of taste. I think about mid-way between a critic and a consumer, and so I think both in objective and subjective terms and think about what I watch enough to have supportive arguments for either type of position I form. I do, however, respect the opinions of others. This is one of the first times -- if not THE first -- that I've ever come out on RinkWorks and insisted on an issue of taste. Many times I've insisted on an issue of quality or artistry, conceding that one need not *enjoy* something but should probably recognize its greatness. (If you think Shakespeare sucks, you've lost the indulgence of my ear -- such a statement says more about you than it does about Shakespeare -- but if you say you don't *like* Shakespeare, fine.) I crossed that line when I talked about Mary Poppins, and I crossed it very deliberately, fully conscientious that I was making an exception to my general rule.

The source of my irritation had a number of contributing factors. One was that so many people seemed unable to distinguish between objective quality and personal taste, or cast blissful disregard for the former, or, worst of all, were not culturally educated or discerning enough to understand that Mary Poppins has substance and style to it that a gaudy pathetic cheeselog of a movie like Labyrinth wouldn't know if it dined on bone china dinnerware right in the bog of eternal stench. Dislike something all you want -- that's your prerogative, and it shouldn't be any poor reflection on you to like and dislike what you please -- but if you can't at least understand art and craft at its finest, you're shortsighted or culturally uneducated. I was disheartened to hear so many people coming forth dissenting *opinions* without the least little bit of acknowledgement that maybe just maybe this was a great work of art that they just didn't care for.

The second reason I replied as harshly as I did was not so much the fact that people don't like it but the reasons why. As I asserted in my original post, which I now completely regret making in the first place, someone who can't appreciate Mary Poppins is either hanging up on a personal, uh...hang-up...or is too cynical, jaded, or grown up to be able to sense that euphoric bit of childlike innonence that we should retain within us all, always, yet which even some children get crushed out of them these days. So you don't like Citizen Kane. So what? It's a great movie, but it's a gloomy, deathly serious one that isn't always what people find diverting. But if you don't like playing in a grassy lawn, or reading a good book, or receiving a warm hug, well, that's your prerogative too, but it's pretty depressing for those of us who value the important things in life and think the world would be a better place if other people did, too. (Heck, that theme is what Mary Poppins is all ABOUT.) Disliking Mary Poppins is admittedly not as tragic as disliking grassy lawns, but this is the direction I'm coming from.

But, in full compliance with my attitude about facts vs. opinion, if you disagree with me about my stance on this issue, fine. Like I said before, I thought Wes' post was very nicely thought out and composed. That he thought enough about the issue to be able to formulate an intelligent reply to me is the greater good here. And while I *stauchly* disagree with what Wolf has said about musicals in this thread, she, too, has obviously allocated the matter some cerebral investment. If everybody did that for every post, I'd never have to cull anything from any thread, so I'm not about to engage them in too much quibbling over the specifics of their opinions when all was stated before anyway, especially after being so ruthless in this post and the one we're talking about. Discouraging intelligent thinking runs exactly contrary to my goals for this forum.

I guess the bottom line of my frustration is that if you're going to differ with me on something, put at least as much thought into the matter as I have. I don't think that's unreasonable to ask.