Posted by Joshua Tyler | Updated
A few months ago, I coined the term “slop eater” to describe people who mindlessly consume content without considering whether it's good. That word is used a lot because it is clear that people who eat slop are a problem, and they reduce the quality of viewing pleasure because they do not conform to the standards.
However, people who eat slop are not the only problem. Because there is another group that is doing a lot to destroy everything you see on the screens. They are called Conseclods.
Conseclod a term I recently coined to describe someone who has a tendency to ignore or disregard the consequences of actions, decisions, plans, or ideas, focusing on immediate gratification, appearances, creativity, goals, or other higher-level considerations.
Try saying it out loud; very sweet. KON-suh-klod!
There are many ways to describe a results oriented person, and they are all insults. Maybe you have used some of them yourself. Words like wet blanket, buzzkill, and Debbie Downer. Until this time, however, there was no single clear word to describe someone who does not care about consequences at all, and they are not only the biggest group but also the biggest problem.
How Conseclods Are Not Movies
Conseclods corrupt complete the world around you in many different ways, but this is an entertainment site so let's focus on how they ruin entertainment. They are people who, when someone raises an objection to the way the media we consume can have a negative effect on our brains, do something as non-controversial as “discredit” the perceived criticism.
The Conseclods are obsessed with the art of whatever they are looking at. Their thoughts on the content they consume are limited to how well it is made, whether it evokes any emotions, and how fun it is to watch. Those things are worth discussing, but given the proven ability of screens to influence people's minds, they are small details in a much bigger picture.
If the film treats the idea with carelessness, Conseclod does not examine the criticism. He simply says that criticism is illegal. “It's just entertainment,” so no one has the right to question what entertainment motivates, excuses, celebrates, or makes emotionally appealing.
That gives filmmakers the perfect escape. They deliberately engineer every image, line, musical cue, and emotional benefit to manipulate the audience, then hide behind the claim that none of it means anything. If anyone notices what the movie is doing, Conseclod comes to accuse that person of taking movies too seriously.
This produces lazy storytelling. Writers no longer have to defend the ideas embedded in their work because Conseclods will insist that those ideas do not exist. A filmmaker can glorify brutality, reward stupidity, glamorize dysfunction, or turn destructive behavior into heroic rebellion without facing the consequences.
Conseclods believes that if a movie does not immediately make everyone who watches it copy its characters, they conclude that it has not affected anyone. But entertainment rarely works that way. It shapes relationships, expectations, empathy, language, and ideas gradually.
Conseclods somehow never make these same arguments about advertising. Everyone, even Conseclods, agrees that advertising on screens is deceptive and influences people.
Studios spend a lot of money putting products into movies because seeing something on screen can change how the audience feels about it. No one believes that James Bond has to stop a movie, stare into the camera, and order everyone to buy an Aston Martin before the placement counts as persuasive. Yet Conseclods pretends that the same approach stops working when movies sell attitudes instead of cars.
The Conseclods are the main protectors of the Odyssey
It's happening now with The Odyssey. The film's director, Christopher Nolan, recently admitted in an interview with UK's Channel 4 that one of his main goals in making the film was to persuade his audience to abandon what he sees as “cultural prejudice.” Nolan made it clear that he wanted to “dispel some of those ideas.”
Meanwhile, many attempts to discuss the way The Odyssey he does the same thing and is blocked by a flood of Conseclods who laugh at the idea and call the people who work with them to kill happiness. Those same Conseclods then redirect the conversation to what a cool Cyclops looks like.
Conseclodding lowers creative standards. Treating movies as mindless distractions promotes disposable entertainment designed only to deliver familiar characters, simple stimulation, and temporary emotional release. If nothing touches the screen, then the filmmakers have little reason to do anything thoughtful, coherent, authentic, or responsible.
The result of Conseclodism is entertainment that needs to be celebrated if it says something important but is said to be meaningless if someone contradicts what it says. Filmmakers seek credit for shaping culture without accepting responsibility for the culture they help shape. Conseclods make the cover that makes this possible.
By insisting that nothing matters, Conseclods gives entertainers permission to stop caring not only about whether anything is good but whether it's good for you.
