That'd be a better argument if it followed logically. What makes you think it's "intended to be seen" any other way than to simply be enjoyed? - What makes you think it's not "intended" to be analyzed, or understood? They say when you converse with someone your brainwaves start to sync up, being able to figure out what happens next might put you on the same wavelength as the creators. It's also a bit authoritarian, isn't it? In a literal way you're saying "accept what you're given and don't question it." Further, I fail to see how this explanation does anything to justify your categorization of these people as "dull." Is there actually anything inherently "dull" about not appreciating something "as intended?" There are lots of things that don't even come off as intended, can I criticize those? And, again, who's going to referee my experience as I watch, because I'm pretty sure I can have any reaction I want.
Also if something is "intended" to surprise me and it just isn't surprising, I'm not at fault. Now, I'm one of the few people who makes a distinction between what is genuinely unsurprising and what I can guess at, so doesn't personally surprise me. Either way, I can't actually help the process of my brain. If you plant seeds for a future event in your narrative, because you're a good writer, and don't want it to come out of nowhere, don't be surprised if I can figure that shit out. And if you're a terrible writer and your idea of a "surprise" is "it turns out the murderer did it" then I'm sorry, you don't get your Chocolate Frosted Kudos.
There are also many different ways to appreciate a piece of art, outside of taking in its "surprises." There'd be no reason at all to watch a movie more than once otherwise. Plot twists are largely a superficial parlor game, rarely capable of supporting a narrative on their own merits. If you're to rely on them as the "intent" of your story, you better damn well be trying to make it a game of one-upmanship to impress your audience with how much you know they might know. Relying on audiences to accept what you've got as "surprising" because that's your "intent" is just an excuse to avoid putting in the actual effort of being surprising. It's disrespectful to an audience that (presumably at least) paid to see you be clever. On the flipside, as a viewer, you tell writers it's okay to be lazy, because you're basically a sucker anyway.
If there's one kind of person I find dull, it's someone who thinks not thinking is the best way to do anything that isn't meditation.
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There's no such thing as the establishment. Everyone knows that!
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