Should We Stop Complaining About Plot Holes?
"You're watching movies wrong"
If you search plot holes, you'll inevitably find yourself sifting through thousands of sites detailing all the mistakes in any film you can think of. For some, this is a good way to provide criticism of a movie, for others they don’t matter in the overall viewing of a film.
You’ve probably heard somebody say, “you’re watching a film about living toys, it doesn’t matter that Buzz Lightyear freezes when Andy enters the room, even though they established he believes he is a real space ranger”. Okay, maybe not that exact quote.
Nevertheless, if you’re currently on the trending page of YouTube, you will see a video by Patrick (H) Willems titled ‘SHUT UP ABOUT PLOT HOLES’. This video has received a lot of criticism, in the comments alone there is an abundance of people stating their own opinions on this debate. The main argument of the video is that plot holes don’t matter, we complain too much about them, and we’re watching movies wrong if we are looking for them.
There are three key arguments made in this video. Firstly, Willems claims that people misunderstand what a plot hole is and mither about things that happen off-screen. His understanding of a plot hole, is a point in which a story breaks a previously established rule. A prime example being the aforementioned Buzz Lightyear plot hole.
Secondly, humans make mistakes and people are searching for logic when they shouldn’t, movies aren’t maths and they shouldn’t be treated as such. He points to John McCane making mistakes you could consider plot holes, but the point of Die Hard is that McCane is a regular man thrown into an unbelievable situation, so the mistakes are naturally human.
Finally, if you were to fix the mistakes in these films you would be removing the drama, conflict, and tension. If everybody horror films acted logically and didn’t make mistakes, then the film would be an hour and a half of people in a locked room with a fully charged telephone not tripping over.
Altogether, these points have a level of validity which could convince you to actually shut up about plot holes. Willems is certainly right that you can search through any film and find plot-holes, but the real point of the film is to tell a story, convey emotions, and entertain. Maybe then, he is right to suggest that we should, to an extent, give it a rest.
However, certain plot holes cannot be avoided and should be discussed. As one commenter on the video suggested, the plot holes which genuinely frustrate fans are those that occur for no reason at all but are there to further the plot. For example, why does the entire crew in Alien: Covenant not wear protective gear when landing on an unknown planet? The obvious reason is that if they did have this gear on, the guy who is intended to get infected would not, derailing the story completely.
That’s what this argument is really about, are the plot holes making it hard to truly believe what is happening? Film is about escaping into the world on screen. If you are confused about why certain things are happening it takes you out of the world.
It’s also a great form of criticism, by pointing out these mistakes, you’re providing the most direct form of constructive criticism. There are directors who pride themselves on making the plot points as logical and as reasoned as possible. By suggesting that they don’t matter, you dismiss the skill it requires to create a film without significant plot holes.