Why do people hate movie musicals so much?

[Jowiko96]

I personally love movie musicals of all types from the very serious (Les Miserables, Chicago, etc) and the extremely fun ones (Hairspray, Wizard Of Oz, Little Shop Of Horrors, etc). So, I don't get why people hate this genre so much. Is it due to the stereotype that only "Homosexuals" like musicals?

Please tell your opinion as I am very curious.

[Strevlac]

Originally Posted by Jowiko96

I personally love movie musicals of all types from the very serious (Les Miserables, Chicago, etc) and the extremely fun ones (Hairspray, Wizard Of Oz, Little Shop Of Horrors, etc). So, I don't get why people hate this genre so much. Is it due to the stereotype that only "Homosexuals" like musicals?

Please tell your opinion as I am very curious.

I just thought that juxtoposition was funny.

Anyway I like musicals, as long as they are good. Singin' In The Rain is probably in my top 10 of all time. I don't see how anyone could not like that one.

[RyanPom]

Hmm my favorite has been Annie, and Rocky Horror, and Oz.

[pmac]

Cuz they're so boring!

Closest I come to enjoying a musical is Sweeney Todd.

[csdot]

they never contain music i would ever want to listen to under any circumstances much less an entire movie. the only one i can tolerate is Wizard of Oz but mostly just out of nostalgia. i watched a ton of musicals growing up because my parents liked them but i hated them.

[majorkonig41]

Do people really hate musicals or just certain people? Musicals can be hit or miss. It all depends on your taste in music. Once is in my top 10 favorite movies whereas, for example, Les Mis is one of the worst movies I have ever had the displeasure of sitting through. I love the type of music of the former. Despise the type of the latter.

[pmac]

Originally Posted by csdot

they never contain music i would ever want to listen to under any circumstances much less an entire movie. the only one i can tolerate is Wizard of Oz but mostly just out of nostalgia. i watched a ton of musicals growing up because my parents liked them but i hated them.

thank you!

[legendarymatt92]

I think men see musicals as something similar to "chick-flicks", and that it's emasculating to sit through one. Personally, I quite like some musicals, but it's hit-and-miss like it is with any other film in any other genre.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

It has to do with emotional expression. As generations pass, human beings are being told that heightened emotional expression is a bad thing and has negative connotations. Even women are being told to "be stronger to be successful" in order to survive in this world. As a form of entertainment, musicals explicitally exploit the hyperbolized and heightened emotional state of its characters to provide its message and plot development. Human psychology is being programmed to have a juxtaposed mentality to that of the form of entertainment known as "musicals."

It's quite sad too, because so much can be learned/experienced/appreciated about the unsuppressed human condition through the power of lyrical narrative.

[pmac]

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

It has to do with emotional expression. As generations pass, human beings are being told that heightened emotional expression is a bad thing and has negative connotations. Even women are being told to "be stronger to be successful" in order to survive in this world. As a form of entertainment, musicals explicitally exploit the hyperbolized and heightened emotional state of its characters to provide its message and plot development. Human psychology is being programmed to have a juxtaposed mentality to that of the form of entertainment known as "musicals."

It's quite sad too, because so much can be learned/experienced/appreciated about the unsuppressed human condition through the power of lyrical narrative.

Uhm, no...they're just boring.

[dallywhitty]

Originally Posted by pmac

Uhm, no...their just boring.

Okay.

Anyway, I think it's largely down to people not wanting to commit to two hours of musical sequences. I guess it's easier to immerse yourself into the story if it's told through more 'conventional' means. It also doesn't help if you don't like the music. Personally, I can think of numerous musicals that I love (Tommy is my favourite), but they take some getting used to.

And then there's guys steering away from musicals because it's not perceived as the most masculine of genres:

Originally Posted by legendarymatt92

I think men see musicals as something similar to "chick-flicks", and that it's emasculating to sit through one. Personally, I quite like some musicals, but it's hit-and-miss like it is with any other film in any other genre.

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Originally Posted by pmac

Uhm, no...their just boring.

You are such a prude!

[yhzmr]

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

It has to do with emotional expression. As generations pass, human beings are being told that heightened emotional expression is a bad thing and has negative connotations. Even women are being told to "be stronger to be successful" in order to survive in this world. As a form of entertainment, musicals explicitally exploit the hyperbolized and heightened emotional state of its characters to provide its message and plot development. Human psychology is being programmed to have a juxtaposed mentality to that of the form of entertainment known as "musicals."

It's quite sad too, because so much can be learned/experienced/appreciated about the unsuppressed human condition through the power of lyrical narrative.

That's quite a in depth diagnosis there doc. Today's culture I think finds it kind of jarring and unnatural to suddenly burst into song after hearing plain dialog which for come seems kind of hokey.

[vega2K]

I enjoy live musicals but I just can never get into them on screen/blu. As soon as the actors start to dance and sing, it just takes me out of the movie and makes it silly... On the other hand, live theater is perfectly fine and enjoyable to me. Maybe it's a mental thing - my mind tells me that musical performances should be intimate, between the actors and the audience, real-time, eye contact, etc... Watching it on screen/TV seems artificial, fake, impersonal, silly, etc... To me, the two mediums are just separate and distinct.

[octagon]

I've never watched but isn't Glee something of a musical? And hasn't it gotten insanely high ratings over the years?

People love musicals. Even people who disdain characters 'singing their dialogue' will often enjoy something like Cabaret (usually while muttering something like 'well, that doesn't really count').

Me? I'm a Guys and Dolls, Carousel kinda guy myself.

[Retroj23]

If South Park Bigger, Longer and Uncut counts as a musical, then I guess I love them.

[Clark Kent]

I love music and I love movies, but I don't think how the two are combined really work that well in musicals. People bursting into song in the middle of a dramatic passage doesn't feel natural to me.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

I love music and I love movies, but I don't think how the two are combined really work that well in musicals. People bursting into song in the middle of a dramatic passage doesn't feel natural to me.

This pretty much hits the nail on the head for me.

[Jowiko96]

Originally Posted by Strevlac

I just thought that juxtoposition was funny.

LOL! I didn't realize that.

Originally Posted by Strevlac

Anyway I like musicals, as long as they are good. Singin' In The Rain is probably in my top 10 of all time. I don't see how anyone could not like that one.

Agreed. Incredible film.

Originally Posted by octagon

I've never watched but isn't Glee something of a musical?

Yeah, I think its like a Jukebox Musical. But, that show is pretty much crap.

[remake]

The only few musicals I enjoy are Across The Universe, Hairspray (2007), High School Musical 1-3, Camp Rock 2, and the most recent Teen Beach Movie.