maybe i haven't been following his career closely enough, but i thought he was one of the more polarizing filmmakers in hollywood. the pop culture references, the violence, the snappy dialogue, the fascination with black culture, the complicated relationship with the N-word-- i thought he was a love-him-or-hate-him guy. i knew he had his stans certainly, but i didn't realize he had earned anything close to a pass or his films were being elevated beyond their worth. i mean, if this is the case, where are all his statues for the kill bills and jackie brown? three well received films, three entertaining films that were mostly ignored by the awards circuit. where was the elevation?

i'd always seen tarantino as a really talented guy who put it all together for one film and got rightfully recognized for it, but hadn't been able to get back to that mountaintop since. then he made inglourious, and the recognition returned. again, rightfully so. but nothing about that series of events suggests that his next film would be universally lauded no matter what he put out. no, django is being lauded because it's a fantastic film. tarantino is one of the most unique voices in film, and he's clearly hit his stride with his last two films. that's where the acclaim is coming from, not groupthink. for me personally, "the mind behind pulp fiction"-- which i loved-- has always also been "the mind behind reservoir dogs"-- which i didn't. so i just take tarantino's films as they come (which is how i take all films, really; the phantom menace was the death of hype for me), and i assumed most everyone else does as well.

whatever. anyway, all this is to say that i just don't think groupthink applies to QT. i think his last two films have been embraced because they're the best he's made. i also think the word "groupthink" around here is just code for any film/performance that's receiving accolades that doesn't line up with people's personal agendas. O_E has used it with the slavery caking flick and the affleck beard and coat show, and basically any well-received film that he started hating on two months before it came out, thus exposing his moronic guessing game for what it is. there is definitely groupthink in hollywood, and argo (a really good film that i wouldn't put in the conversation of 2012's best) appears to be the latest beneficiary of it. but let's not mix up actual groupthink with O_E's hipster conspiracy version of groupthink, which is really just plea copping for failed agendas.