I Begrudgingly Respect The Minecraft Movie

What do you mean it’s called A Minecraft Movie? No, that doesn’t sound right at all. I’m keeping my article's title as it is… But please, don’t misunderstand me - the emphasis is definitely on “begrudgingly”. I hated A Minecraft Movie. I streamed it (ahoy, matey) at 2x speed, and even then I only got through the first 30 minutes before I was feeling so repulsed that I was certain I was going to vomit. Sure, I only lost 15 minutes of my life to it, but let me tell you, it felt like years…

And yet, I can’t hate it. At least not all of it.

Look, I’m constantly complaining about films that try to appeal to everyone. It’s almost impossible to achieve unless you want to make the blandlest, most meaningless slop possible, and yet studios these days don’t seem to consider that a problem. A Minecraft Movie, though, is different. It makes no pretensions of broad appeal. They know their audience is 6-12 year old boys, and by god they’re going to target that demographic.

Now I can’t say for certain that they’re successfully targeting that audience - it might come as a surprise to you, but I’m not actually a prepubescent boy. Still, from everything I’ve read online, it seems like the kids are loving it. This is what I’ve been asking for all this time, so I can’t whine about it now without seeming like a hypocrite… But perhaps more importantly, I don’t want to whine about it, because much as it pains me to say it, the world needed this film. Not all of us, and certainly not me, but still - just let me explain.

In case you haven’t noticed, things suck right now. But I’m not here to talk about every issue the world is facing right now, because A Minecraft Movie isn’t trying to do that either. No, instead I want to talk specifically about men’s issues.

If you’ve read any of my other articles, you probably know I’m a feminist at this point, and maybe you don’t trust me to talk about something like this. But the reality is, while men’s issues get less focus, it’s not because they don’t exist. I’m not a man, so maybe I’ll never really understand it… But from my perspective, what a lot of men are missing, the source of so much of the pain they face, is a lack of community. I don’t think anybody really feels like they belong in life, but women and non-binary people at least have more of a community that can validate those feelings and help guide people through tough times.

Men though? They’re told not to talk about their feelings, because apparently that makes them weak, and so they end up isolated. So they crave community… So they look for masculine role models that can guide them… So they find the manosphere, a toxic wasteland of content that reduces the meaning of a man’s life to money, bitches, and muscles.

But that’s exactly what I appreciate about A Minecraft Movie. It provides an alternative approach to “being a man”, one not focused on being an alpha male but rather on pursuing one’s passions, finding creative outlets, and coming together as a community (side note : watching the film in the theatre is kind of a community experience for young boys). Jason Momoa may look the part of an alpha male, but he’s not chasing some ambiguous, impossible idea of “success” - he just loves games and wants to keep his store afloat. Steve (Jack Black) looks like anything but an alpha male, but we still see how he’s a hero, not through strength or wealth but through knowledge or creativity.

As horrifying as A Minecraft Movie is from an artistic, intellectual, even spiritual perspective… If it’s what appeals to young men, if it can capture their attention for even just one and a half hours… Well, I’m not going to claim that it’s going to change the world, but if it can inspire even just a few members of its audience, I think it’s worth it.

Do I think the boys who are apparently losing their minds over A Minecraft Movie are thinking about the deep philosophical concept of manhood and what it means to them? No. I think they’re enjoying all the references I don’t get and basking in the blindingly flashy visuals of it all. But change doesn’t have to be conscious, and that’s what I’m hoping A Minecraft Movie is achieving.

So in the end, should you watch A Minecraft Movie? Well, given that you’re literate enough to have read all this way, I’d say almost certainly not. But if your son or nephew comes over… Well, if 1.5 hours of suffering is what it takes to keep them from turning into a monster, I think it’s a worthy sacrifice. And hell, even I have to admit that it’s nice to humour a kid every once in a while.