[[2026 Cafe Posts]] The new **Mario** movie came out and it’s trash. Which is fine by itself. What I want to talk about is its reception from critics, and the discussion I’m already seeing by people who should know better. It’s the same thing every time nowadays. A thing comes out. The response by critics is negative. Super-fans of that thing — or people who have already convinced themselves the thing will be good even if they haven’t touched it yet — get upset by the response. Cue the usual suspects: - “I enjoyed it, so critics are wrong!” - “So what if it’s not **Citizen Kane**, it’s not supposed to be!” - “Just let people enjoy things!” I don’t think I will, actually. “Let people enjoy things” is a phrase that has been poisoned by people who don’t understand the intent of the phrase in the first place. It has ruined people’s ability to see things critically. Now, I’m not a critic by trade, but I do think about media a lot, and review my time with almost all of the media I engage with. And I pay for the privilege, because I’m normal. With all that being said, I’d like to believe that I have some understanding of what a critic’s job should be, or at least what it isn’t. And I can say with confidence that a critic’s job is actually *not* to judge everything based on whether you’ll have a decent time with something. It’s to simply comment on the quality of what they’re engaging with, based on their own tastes and biases. That last part is important, and something I’m very conscious of. It’s why I think **The Last of Us** is trash, but someone named *NaughtyDogLover420* probably won’t. I’m tired of hearing “let people enjoy things” because it exists as a reactionary response to valid critique. If valid criticism “stops you from enjoying things,” then the issue isn’t the criticism, it’s your own lack of confidence. I remember explaining my issues with the direction **Kingdom Hearts** took as a series somewhere between **Birth by Sleep** and **3D** to a superfan.[^1] Their response was to tell me everything wrong with **Gravity Rush**, which they knew is my favorite game series of all time. I could only reply to that with “yes.” Because I am secure enough in my love for the games that I can very easily list off all of their flaws, from the dogshit stealth sequences to the fact that all of the plot is in the last tenth of the second game[^2]. “Let people enjoy things” is about letting people enjoy things *for what they are*. If you can’t admit that you like something despite or because it’s dumb, flashy, nostalgic, or visually captivating at the cost of something else, that is simply a conversation you have to have with yourself. There is no such thing as objectivity when it comes to the appreciation of art, but attaching your identity to whether others enjoy it as much as you do is objectively (heh) a bad idea. [^1]: And I don’t even have time to get into the fact that this criticism came from a place of love for the series! [^2]: funny enough, something it actually has in common with **Kingdom Hearts III** lol