Bieber Fever Comes to the Big Screen: Start the Angry Mocking
by Linda MooreJustin Bieber: Never Say Never" longdesc="Justin Bieber: Never Say Never" src="//cfm.yidio.com/images/article/images/artcile_110.jpg" style="margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; float: left; width: 300px; height: 372px; " />So, I have a question. If I say I don’t think I’d hate the new Justin Bieber movie, how many cool points would I lose? Lots, I bet. If you’re over the age of twelve you’re not allowed to say positive things about Justin Bieber. It’s the law.
Most of Beiber’s music critics come from the teenagers who left “tweendom” so recently, they fear anything that reminds them of how silly they acted only a few years ago. Then again, some of his critics are, you know, actual music critics, who generally dislike sugary pop. The thing is that while I agree his music isn’t groundbreaking or revolutionary, I do think it’s basically harmless. It’s annoyingly catchy, and a logical choice for a young girl’s first foray into pop music.
Having said this, when I first heard they were making a “Justin Bieber Movie” I was not impressed. I originally thought that the movie was going to be some kind of biopic; that they were going to try to tell the “life story” of a sixteen year old through a written narrative, which seemed utterly ridiculous.
In actuality, "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never" seems to be mostly concert footage with some home movies and YouTube videos thrown in for good measure. A little bland maybe, but no worse than any other “concert movie” like Miley Cyrus’ or the Jonas Brothers’. With one positive difference; this movie seems to be focusing on the way in which this ordinary kid managed to achieve an incredible dream.
Now a lot of people will say that his “incredible dream” career is bound to fizzle out, and they may be right. Some people will say that by rights he shouldn’t even have a career because he’s nothing more than an internet sensation. But try telling that to his legions of fans who, even if they eventually outgrow his style of music, will look back on their adoration of him with nostalgia.
More importantly, in an age when children are being bullied in new and technologically advanced ways, the message he seems to be sending through this film is a good one. He used technology as a catalyst to a career instead of just a hi-tech way to be cruel. Also, his songs don’t perpetuate violence or treat young women like pieces of meat. He’s a kid who created his own success by finding the drive and talent inside himself to go for it and to ignore any naysayers. Isn’t that something we want our children to hold onto as they grow; the idea that their dreams are what matter most? Don’t we want them to have the belief that they too can achieve the things they set out to do? All they have to do is “Never Say Never”; which is, of course, the title of the film.
I know that it’s cheesy and cliché and by the end of the film I’m quite sure I’ll have heard the word “baby” more times than I could ever possibly want to. But I’m just saying, I don’t think I’d hate it. Does that make me a bad movie lover? Probably. Will it redeem me at all if I say that I think it’s ludicrous that the film is in 3-D? No? Just asking.