I saw the above meme-tweet posted on Tumblr and it kind of blew my mind. It honestly did not occur to me that someone could watch a movie and not know whether the movie was good or bad. How do you not know if you've enjoyed something or not? It really is as simple as, if you enjoyed the movie, the movie is good, to you. If you didn't enjoy the movie, the movie isn't good, to you. It's a completely subjective distinction. I can't tell you if you are going to like a movie or not, I can only recommend or not recommend a movie based on my subjective opinion.
The only difference between you and a film critic is a willingness to confidently state an opinion and support that opinion with rhetoric. That's it. There are complexities, shades of gray, and other things that separate a professional film critic from an average moviegoer, but it really does just boil down to a willingness that people like me have to state our opinion with confidence, plant a flag on a particular opinion, and withstand the scrutiny of our position.
I think one of the reasons people don't want to take a stand on whether a movie is good or bad is the idea of having to defend their opinion. Most people have a strong desire to not be considered wrong. There is a deep seated anxiety over the idea that confidently stating an opinion could render someone an outsider. People have a strong desire to belong, a strong desire to relate to others and a good way to go along and get along is to keep your strong opinions to yourself.
Going along to get along is a default position for many, many people. Being different can bring unwanted attention and having an opinion about something is a quick way of making yourself different from the crowd. Think of it like this, if you have a group of friends that loves Marvel movies, are you willing to say you don't like Marvel movies? Or are you more likely to just nod your head and listen to them talk? Most people, I would argue, prefer that second position.
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