Finding some positivity in the emotionally and intellectually rotten world of the internet is a rare occurrence, and all the more valuable for that. Chasing Amy and Clerks writer-director Kevin Smith is a common source of joy among the chaos, but in a perfect microcosm of the online experience, he can’t talk about something he liked without someone accusing him of being fake, or worse, selling out.
After coming to the defense of the use of CGI in The Flash to bring back dead actors for quick cameos, Smith was accused of “shilling” for the film by a Twitter user. As we’ve come to expect from the filmmaker, his response was swift and grounded as he explained that he doesn’t enjoy speaking on things he isn’t a fan of, and instead prefers to use his time to comment on the movies and shows – or aspects thereof – that resonate with him.
Smith has earned quite a reputation on social media for posting photos of himself crying after watching a particular piece of media, usually involving superheroes or sci-fi. In what might be the biggest achievement of our current cultural climate, he’s even become the star of the “Kevin Smith Crying” meme.
Still, the frequency with which he posts these types of photos doesn’t mean they’re not genuine – some people still allow themselves to be moved by the things they watch, without an unhealthy dose of cynicism and misery clouding their judgment. As Smith himself has explained, it might look like he loves everything all the time, just because he doesn’t usually share negative opinions to balance it out. “If I don’t like a thing, why would I highlight it at all?,” Smith told another disgruntled fan. Oh, how wonderful the world would be if everyone was even a tiny bit more like him.