Attatchment

Why do people attach themselves to a game or movie and defend it like it were family?

In my Scarface thread I was actually thinking of retorting when people said the movie was over-rated even though I knew they were your own opinions.

What's the big deal with movies, games, consoles and music that causes people to get so moody?

My theory is that when someone purchases something, they always suffer from a little bit of disappointment. In most cases, the disappointment does not outweigh the pure satisfaction from the item purchased. However, when confronted by someone with a dissimiliar opinion who easily tears through the object and exposes flaws that the other person might be aware of, a defensive mechanism kicks in and the person feels like they have to defend the item. No one wants to believe or feel that what they just spent their money and time on is wrong/bad, so they find it much easier to defend it rather than admit their product isn't flawless.

A simpler reason is probably from differences in opinion. Some people honestly feel that their favorite object truly is the best, and anyone who disagrees is wrong. However, it's been my experience that usually the person who defends their product has doubts about it. I've learned to try not to defend something to the best of my abilities. How does another person's opinion render my experiences null, or ruins the fun I might have had? It doesn't, so I continue to enjoy whatever and admit that although it might not be perfect, I've still had fun, so it's worth the time I put in.

For some fleeting feeling of self-worth? It helps create and maintain some sort of identity?

remember, it's not just "movies, games, consoles and music" that people attach egos to. It can be anything really. Even things such as culture and language.

Snarboo said:

My theory is that when someone purchases something, they always suffer from a little bit of disappointment. In most cases, the disappointment does not outweigh the pure satisfaction from the item purchased..........

can't tell you how much i agree with that. after all i deal with it every day. as much as i want to point and laught that someone bought an HP or compaq i can't. i mean why would i shell out money for something that uses cheap parts, comes preinstalled with spyware and other problems, doesn't include a "pure" version of windows and that is gonna be infested with spyware and viruses in 6 months? give me a good reason to. or why would i use AOL, the worst major ISP tha ti can think of.

so as you can see i deal with junk like that at work. people need to get 2 things strieght. One, shit happens, its a fact of fucking life. get over it you worthless retards. Two there is no such thing as a perfect product. never is and never will be.

I may have my choice products but even i know they have some flaws. Its not like i have never made a bad purchase before, who hasn't?

I think the defending of a position arises when the person defending is really just defending another "I" of himself. Think about it...you'll always believe your opinion to be right. An opinion would also be part of the ego, hence another "I", so people will want to further defend it. It's just another way to assert one's ego and prove existance.

Or at least that's what I got out of a conversation my friend and I had about Gurdjeff and Ouspensky last year.

If you were to ask me who writes the best hardcore techno, I'd promptly reply with either Omar Santana or Da Predator since that would be the way to defend opinion, defend my ego and my self (the other "I" that creates the whole "me"), and ultimately prove I exist to myself.

Kind of another way to look at the comments already stated in the thread.

Imagine how boring EE would become if everyone agreed to disagree without it being the last resort to 5+ pages of discredit and outright flaming. No one comes here for the aura of diplomacy, I'm proud to say.

It's actually pretty simple. If you insult something that someone loves, they will often feel like the insult was directed at them because they enjoyed it.

Think about it this way: If you think something is intelligent and somebody else says that it's stupid, in essense they are calling you stupid.

I've definitely been guilty of this way of thinking.

However, I usually like it a bit more when people are quick to defend something (even though they often come off as a complete moron) than when they are quick to insult something. I find often people will simply dismiss a movie, game, or whatever as bad, because among other reasons it makes them look smart.

Person A says "I really liked [insert game]"
Person B snorts and says "The levels were too linear, the music was too repetitive, and the final boss was way too easy"
Person A feels insulted, and tries to convince person B that the game is good, usually by simply talking about what he thinks are its saving graces, or about the game's popularity.
Person B might see some of the arguments as sort of valid, but decides that he seems more witty if he appears to be "above" such arguments and then goes on to brag to his friends in the "I Hate Everything Club" about how he made Person A look like an idiot. And the sad thing is, he did.

Numbermind said:

Imagine how boring EE would become if everyone agreed to disagree without it being the last resort to 5+ pages of discredit and outright flaming. No one comes here for the aura of diplomacy, I'm proud to say.

Which is why I posted in that Aphex Twin thread. :D

http://www.winternet.com/~mikelr/flame94.html

And yes, there will always be people who take it too far.

It seems like we are terribly attached to Doom, so think about why you love doom so much, and you will get your answer.