Don’t feel stupid! That’s a normal issue that a lot of people have, myself included. I think a lot of that comes from the fact that maybe we try to analyze art and writing because we think there’s supposed to be some kind of hidden meaning, when really the author or artist did what they did just for the heck of it, not to “create a certain atmosphere or purpose." And so, instead of simply analyzing it, we end up overanalyzing it.
But I think that in order to gain a better understanding of things like poems, films, writing, etc, you should start off by looking for specific cues in the text or the film. For example, look for moments of figurative language or small pieces of dialogue. Read them over several times or watch the scene that contains them several times, and ask yourself, "Why did the author do that? Or why did the director do that? What effect do these pieces of figurative language or dialogue have on the characters and on their surroundings?"
If they have an effect, try to figure out what that effect is so you can determine whether it’s significant or not. Compare the reactions of the characters before the dialogue was spoken to their reactions afterward. Was there a transition, and if so, what was it? How did those words change the characters’ way of acting?
Or try to figure out if the figurative language in a poem adds anything to the poem. Is it just to look pretty, or does it emphasize a point? If it does, what is that point?
So basically, I think it really helps to look for specific cues and examples like that, and once you’ve found them, try to figure out why they’re present or why the author/director put them there. Once you figure out the answer to that question, you’re so much closer to being able to understand the poem, film, or writing itself.
I hope that helped! :)