10 Movies You Only Like Because Everybody Else Does

When it comes to these movies, we're all just a bunch of sheep.

There's a strange and curious phenomenon that occurs within the realms of movie culture which denotes that, should one person deem a film to be totally brilliant with a moderate amount of conviction, other human beings - despite their own opinion - will follow suit.

"How did you find the movie?" asks one patron to another, expecting a stale or middling response. "I loved it!" replies the other. "Yeah, uh, me too..." lies the first patron. But for what reason? Well, perhaps said person becomes afraid that they've missed something and - instead of risk sounding stupid - decides to just agree. Or maybe they refuse to go against the masses; perhaps they don't want to be seen as an outsider with a different opinion.

Thing is, such a response ultimately means that this opinion will spread, regardless of what everybody really thinks. It spreads until everybody on the planet has agreed that something sub-par or lacking is actually great, and then it's too late. This can also occur when a bunch of critics declare a film to be a bonafide masterpiece; despite their inherent reservations or gut feelings, the public feel compelled to agree, afraid to go against an "expert" opinion.

All of which is another way of saying that there are motion pictures out there that folk only like because other people do. Movies that everyone has tricked themselves into believing are awesome because they think that's what they're supposed to think. Movies such as...

Contributor

Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.