Suspension of Disbelief

A film fan is a study in apologise. What the hell does that mean? It means I'm tired of my girlfriend pointing out the minutiae of a film's detail to be lacking verisimilitude. She's smart so she asks very pointed questions like, "Where the hell did Aragorn get that flaming torch? There just happened to be one there? C'mon!" And I have to answer quickly yet determinedly, "He's a Ranger. He probably just found one on the ground and then lit it in the cave. Totally reasonable."

The thing is, her questions are valid. But I either hadn't considered the continuity issue or hadn't considered it to be a problem. I have a high tolerance to disbelief, meaning that when I'm in the throes of a film's transport from reality, I don't recognize the fact that because River is a seer, she probably should have seen Wash get a huge pole violently driven through his midsection (In "Serenity").

Suspension of disbelief is a necessity in all films, especially action/adventures -- as opposed to romances --- when so much of the storyline otherwise spent on character development is trumped by explosions, sweat and faces contorted in anger. In these cases, the fan must understand that things happen behind the scenes, motivations for behaviors are hidden. They, of course, must be small leaps of faith, which I can make, my girlfriend cannot.

And she voices her concerns. And I exasperatedly and ineptly answer with, "BECAUSE!", more upset that I know she's corrrect than anything else. Every time I now watch Serenity, I question like three different things I had previously suspended, a subconscious treat which I usually savor. Perhaps I'll get back to that oblivious state someday, but until then I'm going to stop suggesting my favorite films for us to watch, in fear that my apologise will not suffice to convince her that Anakin turned to the Dark Side so quickly because of all the hidden angst he held back from us but we're to assume he carried and buried.

Serves me right for only enjoying the company of intelligence. Love you baby!