See It Before You Size It Up

     It's an expression we've probably all heard before:  "Judge not, lest ye be judged yourself."
     In my work as a movie blogger I think I those words have kind of fallen by the wayside when it comes to my conclusions about movies.  It took two incidents to change my mind.  The first was the recent film Silver Linings Playbook.   SLP was a film I'd already prejudged going in.  I assumed it was going to be your standard rom-com with cookie cutter acting and blase directing.  I couldn't have been more wrong and I've since written quite the mea culpa in my review, especially to Bradley Cooper.
     The second incident was the "Sandy Hook Conspiracy" video that was circulating on YouTube.  Now at first I was hesitant to watch it because my initial reaction was of someone trying to capitalize on a tragedy to forward their own interests.  Many people I know refused to watch it just for that fact alone.  However, I felt it was necessary to watch the film because how can I justifiably condemn anything (books, music, movies, politicians, etc) without experiencing it first.  It just seemed to me like wilful ignorance and I personally think there is too much of that already in this world.  While some of the points raised were interesting, there were also a ton of holes.  And it just so happens that one of the things he pointed out (that strong evidence suggested no assault weapons were used) turned out to be right.  The bottom line is that I wouldn't have known these things had I not watched the video.  Again, although I didn't agree with the majority of the things in the video, I do appreciate the sentiment that one shouldn't take anything (especially in the media) at face value.  It is necessary to question and it's also human nature.  Even if the information is something you find reprehensible and anathema to your moral fiber, it's at least advantageous to know your enemy and their strategy.
     Bottom line is that I've decided I won't prejudge a film anymore.  I reserve the right to say, "this LOOKS awful" but I'm no longer going to say "this IS awful" without having seen it first.  If I haven't seen the film I'm going to say so up front.  So if this month at the Oscars an actor, actress, director, or film wins an award and I haven't seen it, I will flat out write that I can't assess the situation's merits without reviewing it first.
     I leave it to you, Constant Reader, to keep me honest.