Accountability, by Tyler Smith

In the most recent episode of the podcast, I spoke for about an hour about James Cameron’s Avatar. When I finished recording, I was rather pleased with myself. Not being a huge fan of the movie, it was imperative that I get across the specific things about the film that I thought were sub-par. Thinking back on the episode, I was pretty sure that I had done that.

However, upon listening to the episode itself, I realized that my tone was not in keeping with that of “More Than One Lesson.” One of the things that I’ve tried to do with this podcast and website is adopt a general tone of reconciliation and understanding. I wanted to allow people that didn’t agree- on movies, religion, etc.- to feel that they could voice their opinion with full confidence that somebody would actually listen to it.

The tone of episode 19, I think, did not accomplish this. Listening back to the episode, I got flashes of high school, where I was always out to prove my intellectual superiority through sheer stubbornness. While I stand by the specific points that I made in the episode, there is no doubt in my mind that I could have made them in a somewhat gentler tone.

Listening to that episode, one might assume that the host of the show allowed no room for any opinion but his own. Using words like “easy,” “terrible,” and “stupid” to describe a movie that millions of people truly love was more than simply hyperbolic; it was dismissive. The implication in using such terms is that all those people are wrong; I, and I alone, am right.

Don’t get me wrong; I still don’t like the film. But I know plenty of people that do; people whose opinions I respect. It is possible for two parties to disagree on a film without either one getting particularly ugly. I feel that my points were well thought-out, but that doesn’t mean that those of an Avatar fan are not.

If you are a fan of Avatar and my comments rubbed you the wrong way- perhaps even personally offended you- I apologize. It’s easy when talking into a microphone to get a little high on yourself, and people’s feelings are often the first thing to get tossed away.

As we approach twenty episodes, I promise that I will try to be a little more sensitive when expressing a negative opinion- and there is no doubt that I will express one sooner or later. I need to try to remember that this is a Christian podcast, and there has been quite enough stubborn yelling and dismissive opinions in the name of Christ already.