Thinking Out Loud: The Substance of Style

I went to see Kill Bill: Vol. 2 last night with silvertide, kenficara and his partner Maya. The only scene that gripped me was David Carradine, as Bill, explaining the meaning of the Superman story. I thought the movie was otherwise heartless: an exercise in comic book violence without consequences. It had its funny moments, and some clever dialogue, but I never had any emotional investment in any of the characters. kenficara and Maya had similar objections, if I can take the liberty of summing up their reactions here. silvertide, on the other hand, said he liked the movie, an opinion he may have been reluctant to offer in the teeth of my unequivocal and flamboyant critique. When I asked him what about it he enjoyed, silvertide said he liked the movie’s style. That stopped me in my tracks (well, it turned off the engine, anyway: my mouth took a while to coast to a stop).
I’ve had the almost identical experience with kijjohnson: she has responded warmly to the style of a film or book that left me cold. Now silvertide and kijjohnson are two of the smartest people I’ve ever met, and I don’t say that lightly: they’re both quick and subtle. If they see something important and worthwhile in a work’s style, it’s hard for me to dismiss the book or film as stoopid.
I have to admit, to my complete chagrin, that I’ve been thinking about style versus substance in exactly that way: an either/or proposition in which style is the enemy of substance. Style, in my mind, is all about surfaces, about looks. That world view isn’t just limited to books and movies, either: it’s an intellectual vanity that’s infected a lot of areas of my life. I suspect the root of this anti-style nose thumbing is envy. The truth is that I prefer attractive surfaces, in books, films, clothing, and material possessions. And people.
I would find it snobbish, not to say mean, if someone were to make fun of Molly Ivins because she’s not a raving beauty. Why would it be okay to mock Gisele Bundchen because she’s not an expert on national politics? Probably because I look more like Molly Ivins than Gisele Bundchen, and I know it. This all sounds terribly squishy and self-absorbed. But what’s interesting to me is how easy it is to make supposedly intellectual arguments for emotional reasons.
I don’t know if I’m ready to become a convert on the question of style versus substance, but I should probably think about calling off the jihad. What do you think?