Joey Esposito, a writer for IGN released an interesting article that more serves as a response to the buildup we as fans make for a film. This, of course, can lead to ridiculous expectations that will more than likely never be met and a disappointing view on future comic book/geek films. Take a look at what he has to say below!
One of my earlier Hero Worship columns was Are We Ruining Moves For Ourselves?, discussing the idea of overanalyzing early promotional material for the movies we are most looking forward to. Back then, I was talking about the first images of Henry Cavill’s Superman and Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman (I know, right?). But looking back at that piece, it’s sort of like stomping on a few random ants but never bothering to take out the ant hill. Over analytical fandom is just a symptom of a larger epidemic.
While I've expressed time and again how I love shared universes and the like, seeing Paul Giamatti talk about the Rhino’s role in The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and 4 (!) when we’re just over a year removed from Amazing Spider-Man 1 is just a little bit grating. That’s not a slight on Giamatti, either, as interviews are typically conducted in a fashion to try and land scoops about these big new franchises. Being a good interviewee, Giamatti answered as best he could. The larger issue is: were we better off knowing nothing about movies until we saw the trailer?
It’s hard to imagine, but there was a time, not all that long ago, that fans only became aware of certain movies when its trailer played before another flick they were seeing months before hand. Of course, movie marketing has shifted drastically with the dawn of the Internet Age and then again with the birth of YouTube and again with the onset of social media. But with those changes has come a higher level of fan expectation; we expect to know more not just about the finished product, but about every leg of its development.
A few decades ago, the only way to be “in the know” the way most fans are today was to follow the industry trades. Now, you can get the must minuscule casting rumors about these movies from nearly any entertainment site, despite the beats they typically cover. These movies transcend “geek culture” at this point, so it’s no longer just the fan base that’s clamoring for info, it’s the audience at large. It’s the way we've been trained for the last fifteen years or so, and thus, it’s the way sites operate to satisfy their readers.
Speculation is incredibly fun, and it’s part of the reason I love writing this column. At the same time, it’s possible we’re getting to a point where our expectations are becoming so astronomically outrageous that we've already filmed our versions of these movies in our head and screened them dozens of times before the actual movie hits. This is why you see filmmakers like Christopher Nolan and J.J. Abrams clinging to the secrecy of Old Hollywood, despite it being, for the most part, antiquated. Stuff is going to get out there, because that’s just how it works now.
So my proposal is this: if you find yourself disappointed by something because it simply doesn't live up to your expectations (I’m plenty guilty of this myself), let’s try a new approach. Let’s divorce ourselves from the production woes, the stops-and-starts, the casting changes, the writer changes, the endless rumor mills. Websites are going to report on this stuff, no matter what, because a majority of the audience clamors for these things now. And that’s great. But for some of us, who know that we’re better off going into a movie blind without preconceived notions, let’s take control of our own movie-watching destinies.
Is it going to be hard to not click that link? Of course. Is it going to take all of your energy to not engage in a Twitter discussion about a movie four years away? Maybe. But your restraint is building to greater satisfaction on the other end. Movies are art, be they summer tent pole action movies or limited-release character studies of existential crises, and we should enjoy them as such – as a finished product. -Joey Esposito
So what do you have to say to Mr. Esposito's writing? Do you feel it's the smart way to watch comic book films? Do you think it's just an excuse to say you like a bad film? Have you had any experiences were you overhyped a film in your head and were dissatisfied with what you got, no matter the quality? Tell me what you think below and please:
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