MovieChat Forums > The Cider House Rules (2000) Discussion > the problem with imdb

the problem with imdb

posted 17 years ago by golden_iceman
9 replies | jump to latest

I think this goes for all movies but especially for those that treat a sensitive subject, such as racism or in this case abortion. Why are over half the threads about something else than the movie? I mean, if you want to talk about abortion, I'm sure there are boards for that. I don't think for instance that abortion is the main thing about this movie. I believe that this movie is about growing up, independence, love, doing the right thing.. Not about abortions or incest. I just think that it would be much more interesting to discuss relationships between characters or things of that nature than these never-ending, moral debate over subjects that aren't really that important.. Anyone agree?

[–] SamanthaWho88 17 years ago

I wish that there were more people like you on these boards

*I saw in your eyes that you hate the world, I hate it too...*

[–] cata_caterpillar_girl 17 years ago

I do agree but I also think it's a good thing these things are talked about. The point of the film and the book, I think (if indirectly) is to generate dialog about these sensitive subjects, and at least they're being talked about somewhere. If you wanted to talk about the thematic elements, then start a threat about them! I'm sure there would be plenty of people who would like to discuss those with you. The fact is, the more controversial subjects will ALWAYS appear more interesting, whether it's here, or in the news or in other forms of literature.

[–] geoh777 17 years ago

Why are over half the threads about something else than the movie?

IMDB boards are not like a movie or a novel where you start at the beginning and go through the middle and arrive at the end having "experienced" some author's or movie crew's take on a story, but rather a compendium of various people's reactions to these works. If you don't like the subject of a particular posting or thread, click back out of it. If you don't like clicking back out of what you don't like, you may find your time better invested in visiting another Web site. Otherwise, IMDB is a unique source of information on movies, actors, and, yes, even common people's opinions and remarks on the various story elements that appear in these movies.

Sorry. I felt I had to state the obvious.

[–] dan-750 17 years ago

As for stating the obvious...

The problem airing these issues on the imdb board is that they give the impression of a debate, without actually allowing one.

For instance... I can sit here, in my little liberal ghetto, with Che Guevara on the wall, Noam Chomsky on my shelves, and atheists.org or whatever in my bookmarks. I'm pro-choice, and nothing you say will convince me otherwise.

Whereas, you may be sat in a room with Jesus on the cross and the virgin Mary looking down at you, a Bible open on the table next to you and Hymns playing softly in the background. You have an unshakable faith in the correctness of whatever you've been told the Bible means, and I'm not about to change that.

Now, to enter into a realistic debate, you and I are gonna have to do some compromising. Maybe there's a way we could find agreement, but it's going to involve both of us letting go of our dogmas and taking a walk in the real world.

You see what I'm getting at? If either of us manages to shake the other's beliefs a little, we can just look around us for reassurance. It's like a war fought with harsh language instead of conventional arms.

Personally, I see the 'debate' as a vast number of isolated belief-ghettos, where any message coming from the other side is spun to fit the rationale.

But as for film discussion, imdb.com is the perfect place. Bring it on. Personally, I found TCR to be shallow and unconvincing, and it was the race issue I found the more unsettling. The black characters only existed to present the leads with moral choices, and were paper-thin. Not a patch on Halstrom's earlier film, 'Mit Liv Som Hund'.

Apologies for length of post, but I kinda like ideas that don't fit into soundbites.

[–] SwimminWithBowleggedWomen 17 years ago

"If you don't like clicking back out of what you don't like, you may find your time better invested in visiting another Web site."

That might be the most ignorant thing I have ever seen someone type on these boards, and after reading most of the boards on any given movie, that is saying something.

The OP stated his dissatifaction with coming onto A MOVIE DISCUSSION BOARD, and seeing posts about religion, politics, abortion, etc.

I think the people who post about such topics on movie discussion boards should be the ones who take refuge on a different website.

We are here to talk about the movie, the actors, the directors, scenes, music, and the like. We do not come on here to read the thoughts on abortion of a random 16 year old.

Again, just to make it clear where I stand, you're thoughts are moronic.

OP, I couldn't agree more.

[–] nuggit2__ 17 years ago

Isn't this now a subject other than the movie?

[–] CaptainSurly 17 years ago

Hahaha, it sure is! But in any event, the themes and issues presented in a movie are part of the movie, just like the acting, directing, cinematography, etc., so it follows that they be discussed in the movie boards. It could be considered an examination of the script for relevance, correctness, incorrectness, or appropriateness, could it not?

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It's a trap!

[–] sliptdisk 17 years ago

Reading these "pro-life, unless we don't like you" posts makes me wish that abortion were retroactive. These flag waving-pinheads are ruining this country.

[–] tonywayne 17 years ago

I don't agree with your assessment that "over half the threads are about something else than the movie".

First of all, posts about moral issues arise from the fact that the issue was taken on in the movie being discussed. Asking people to refrain from posting about the plot/story/themes of a movie is asinine. The plot/story/themes of a movie are just as open for discussion as the acting, direction, cinematography, costumes, etc.

As it relates to this movie, maybe the movie isn't ABOUT abortion, but it's certainly a central theme. It's ludicrous to ask all of us to just ignore the issue simply because YOU don't like having to sift through those posts.

If you want to discuss movies without discussing the varying plots points of a given movie, start your own website and filter out posts that you don't like. Otherwise, hit the "back" button and move on. It's really not that difficult to ignore posts you don't like. I skim through dozens of posts before finding one I want to comment on.