pop conventional wisdom

Some pop culture artifacts that have such unanimous approval that they become unimpeachable. Once ensconced in critical and social praise they become mummified by it and take on the air of holy relic: valuable, important, untouchable. One dare not question their legitimacy for fear of being labeled too dense to understand such a transcendent work of art.

Now I'm not a contrarian on principle. Its not like I write for slate.com. But there are some of these cultural artifacts that I just don't understand the praise for. The most recent being Pan's Labyrinth. Good movie. But not the masterpiece that I kept hearing it was. I even kept my expectations low since I knew the movie was getting so much hype. But now the dye has been cast and the movie will be revered as a classic for generations to come. Hot Topic will sell posters to each new generation of college freshman to hang on their wall so they can get some insta-cred for liking such a critically acclaimed foreign film. And the people who don't subscribe to the conventional wisdom will bite their tongues to not offend or else speak out and be labeled a dullard for not liking such a valuable and important film.

Others on my list:
I don't mean to say that I don't understand the social or historic importance of the following, I just don't understand why they are loved. Jar-Jar Binks, as the first all-CGI main character in a film, was an important innovation in film history, but I can't think of anyone who would say they love or revere him. Or maybe I just don't want to.

• The Godfather Trilogy
• Pet Sounds
• 2001: A Space Odyssey
  
• Scarface
• E.T.
• Ernest Hemingway
  
• The Sopranos
• Six Feet Under
• Arrested Development
• South Park
• The Catholic Church
• The Blues Brothers
• Led Zeppelin
  
• Missy Elliot
  
• Superman I & II
• Moby Dick
• Chocolate Cake