If you just said that a movie “epitomizes the spirit of our era,” people are allowed to say you’re reading too much into it.

If you just pointed out that a movie’s minority characters are offensively stereotyped, do not allow people to tell you you’re reading too much into it.

If you just referenced a writer—especially Hemingway—people are going to tell you you’re going too far, and they may well be right.

If you just referenced a director, people should get the hell off your back.

If you said that from the standpoint of genetic biology, X-Men is impossible, people are allowed to roll their eyes at you.

If you said that the plot of a Vin Diesel movie makes no sense whatsoever, that’s fair. Even “dumb action movies” need to be coherent.

If you say you miss the days when the Rambo movies were social statements about the Vietnam War, that’s going a little far.

If you ask how Rambo managed to completely cover himself in mud without an invisible third arm, that’s totally fair.

If you say that a movie is sure to cause eating disorders, that’s ridiculous.

If you say that no actual human being could look like Megan Fox or Channing Tatum without an ironclad fitness regime, an expensive diet, good genes, and a makeup team, that’s true.

Most importantly: under no circumstances should you let someone tell you you’re not reading enough into a Miranda July movie.

– Jay Gabler