![\"chloegregjohn\"](\"http:\/\/smugfilm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/chloegregjohn.jpg\")
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If you didn\u2019t catch the latest episode of the Smug Film podcast<\/a>, in which John D\u2019Amico and Greg DeLiso get into a heated argument about film and film criticism, you should, because it\u2019s important.<\/p>\n Having read the site for as long as it\u2019s been around, I believe what sets it apart from most film blogs is that everyone here has a very unique and personal perspective on film\u2014and that individualistic honesty is on full display in this episode.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Even if a reader doesn\u2019t agree with one of our perspectives on a particular film, they still gain perspective by reading it. Hearing why Greg thinks Field of Dreams<\/a> and Signs<\/a> and Back to the Future<\/a> are the greatest movies ever made is fun. You get to be\u00a0inside his brain for a little while, and see things through his eyes. And from John, a reader can learn a plethora about the literal context of films, and its place in the art form\u2019s history. And that’s fun too. These guys\u2019 pieces are very valuable to me.<\/span><\/p>\n There were times listening to this episode where I absolutely agreed with John and wanted to get mad at Greg (especially when they\u2019re on the topic of my boy Charlie Chaplin). But there were also times where I felt John was absolutely missing Greg\u2019s point about why he writes the way he does. And that’s fine\u2014they don’t need to agree, just like we don’t need to agree with them. Because i<\/span>n hearing those opposing sides, we on the outside are able develop a perspective all our own.<\/p>\n Often times, when I watch a movie, I hesitate so much when it comes to writing a piece on it, not just because of my own personal hangups and struggles with the writing process, but because I\u2019m busy asking myself the same fucking questions that these guys were asking each other during this episode. Well, not exactly the same, but stuff like, \u2018Is this important, is this relevant, is this worth people\u2019s time, am I polluting the internet, am I bettering the internet, does it matter’? You can practically have an existential goddamn crisis just trying to write something as inconsequential as a movie review.<\/span><\/p>\n Hearing their argument reminded me that above all else we need to just be true to ourselves, and our own unique takes, and put them out there, naked, for others to see. That seems to me like what Smug Film is all about. All of the writers here have a duty to do what they do as much like themselves as possible.\u00a0The goal is not to have people agree with you, but to give people the chance to see things in a new way from your honest assessments of what you\u2019ve seen.<\/span><\/p>\n Way back in\u00a0Episode 3 of the Podcast<\/a>, Cody and John started to discuss why the site is called Smug Film, but then trailed off into jokes and never fully explained it. I can\u2019t speak for them, but I think it\u2019s called that almost as a disclaimer\u2014that we\u2019re going to proudly say what we think about movies, even if at times we sound like dicks, and we\u2019re not going to apologize for that.<\/span><\/p>\n Other sites are rarely this ballsy. They\u2019re often metascore-y<\/a> and politically correct and most of the writers suffer from timidity. But none do here. Here we speak with our own voices, and do so proudly. That\u2019s a rare treat to read, and an honor to be a part of.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n