#it's funny because IRL people often misjudge me in the opposite direction. assuming that cheerful = airheaded and shallow

[longsufferingcritic]

I like sarcastically saying No Fun Allowed as much as the next Tumblr user, and believe it or not I do like having fun myself, but honestly, there comes a point where certain people wanting to shut down any and all criticism of Hollywood blockbusters because "Why do you have to be so negative? Can't we just have fun?" borders on genuine anti-intellectualism. It certainly shows a dearth of media literacy to imply that you should only ever have positive things to say about works of fiction. So jokes aside, it's legitimately kind of concerning that a not-insignificant number of grown adults are vocal about this attitude.

Some adult fans of animated movies will say "it's just for kids, it's not that deep!" as a way to imply criticism is automatically petty and unreasonable BUT praise is just fine. I recently saw someone trot out "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" in response to people criticizing Disney's colonialist/imperialist/racist messages. Because otherwise you might hurt the feelings of the $200,000,000,000 multinational entertainment conglomerate "who worked really hard on the movie". That person was dead serious.

In reality, mass media is not an elementary school play, it's an industry created by adult professionals and used to generate profit for multinational corporations. It is neither unreasonable nor unfair to say negative things about movies -- yes, even movies that you personally like, or that are intended for children. (Children are people who deserve high-quality media just as much as adults, if not more considering they are more vulnerable to media manipulation and marketing.)

Perhaps people should apply the "don't like, don't read" mantra to critical analysis instead of just to (fan)fiction itself. If people online saying not-nice things about a movie annoys you or makes you feel insecure, that's on you to deal with, not on everyone else to stop being critical; you have a right to your own opinion, not a right to demand that others keep quiet about our own opinions. It's fine to disagree with criticism or to enjoy a movie anyway, but decrying any and all criticism as invalid and mean-spirited by default is just bad faith.

And at the end of the day, toxic positivity and sycophancy is an incredibly shortsighted and damaging way to navigate mass media, even when it's dressed up as "let people enjoy things have fun." So sorry kids, No Fun Allowed.