What Qualifies as Awesome?

*Originally published on 12/16/09



I've sporadically chronicled all the things that are awesome. The question is, what qualifies as awesome? Paradoxically, awesome can cover things on both sides of the quality side of the spectrum.

At first glance, you'd think that awesome things would only cover the high end of the spectrum. Movies like The Princess Bride or Ghostbusters are awesome, books like The Shining and Ender's Game are awesome, bands like Metallica or E.S Posthumus are awesome. All of these are high-quality media that never lose their charm even after repeated viewings, hearings or readings.

Interestingly enough, things that are absolute dreck can also qualify as awesome. This is especially true with movies. Look at movies like Howard the Duck or Batman: The Movie, by all accounts, they're not good movies. Looking at them objectively, they are quite bad. That being said, I love both movies and they are awesome. They're goofy and fun, and that compensates for the lack of quality in other critical areas.

A lot of comic readers lament the Silver Age for being ridiculous and silly. While I prefer the more serious stories, that element of fun made the issues a joy to read, even if they didn't make a whole lot of sense. The best comics to come out nowadays achieve a balance between respect for the character and a sense of fun. I cite Geoff Johns' run on Green Lantern as well as All Star Superman as great examples of what I'm talking about.

Awesome is a surprisingly vague concept. There is no clear line between what qualifies as awesome or just really good. Let the Right One In was a good movie, far above average, but I didn't come out of it with the same "OMG this is the best movie evar!" that a lot of other critics and viewers did.

Heck, quality doesn't even play a role in most cases. The aforesaid movies are examples, the first Transformers movie was highly entertaining despite its flaws. Michael Bay has more than a few haters, but that movie could qualify as awesome.

Also a matter is personal preference. A lot of people love Turkish Star Wars for being as bad as it was. I thought it was one of the most painful movie viewing experiences I think I've ever endured.

Twilight has also become a phenomenon. While I've made my opinions known, a lot of people rave about it. It should be noted that a good portion of the fan base acknowledges the flaws and cites subpar writing, but still love it anyway. That's fine. I can appreciate loving awful things and appreciating it for what it is.

There's a certain je ne sais quois that exists in all things awesome, either good or bad. Something in these works speak to us much more than other works. It is because of this that they become awesome.