I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older – I’m not THAT ancient quite yet – or if it’s because the world is getting dumber, but I’ve noticed in the past weeks, months, even years, that the oversaturation factor in media in general (and film in particular) has finally gotten on my nerves. And I’m not the only one.
When I say ‘oversaturation’, I mean the hype. The constant barrage of trailers, posters, TV spots, leaked scripts, clips, extended clips, television specials, and internet promotions – including games, treasure hunts, puzzles and memes – that we are subjected to in support of the newest film. This is particularly true in terms of big budget sci-fi, horror and action films, with the superhero genre as the most egregious transgressor. I know what they’re going for. They’re trying to get us excited, trying to whip up a frenzy, so that we all buy tickets for opening weekend, so that all IMAX showings are sold out, so that midnight showings have lines around the block. Which is the marketing department’s job, after all. I’m just beginning to think that they’re doing their job with far too much gusto.
Let us take The Dark Knight Rises. In the interests of full disclosure, I admit that I am not one of those people who worships at the altar of Chris Nolan’s Batman franchise. I enjoyed The Dark Knight largely because of Heath Ledger and Gary Oldman; I thought Batman Begins was big and loud and dark and boring. But, whatever. I’m going to go see The Dark Knight Rises like the rest of the movie-going public. Everyone who goes to see movies will go see The Dark Knight Rises. So why have there been teaser trailers running around the internet for what seems like a whole year? Why are we reading production notes to try and figure out who shows up in a party scene? Are we really so starved for entertainment, so excited for the Dark Knight to rise that we can’t wait to actually SEE THE FILM? We have to see bits and pieces of it and figure out everything about it?
See, I think we can wait. In fact, I think we should wait. I swear to God that I feel like I’ve seen The Amazing Spiderman already and I have not been to the theatre in weeks. When The Avengers came out, I did not get a chance to see it until several weeks after its release. But I had to hear about it. All. The. Time. Cast interviews, clips, extended previews; reviews too, but not just reviews! Whole profiles of various aspects of the film, the characters, the plot, the special effects, how they did this, that, and what everyone, from my grandmother to Joss Whedon, has to say about it. And 3/4 of that was before it even hit theaters. By the time I got around to actually seeing it, I was more than prepared to despise it, not because I wanted it to be a bad film but because I was sick of hearing about it. I had been oversaturated with information. Luckily, it was a good enough flick that I did not despise it.
Not so with Prometheus. I was sick of the hype surrounding Prometheus long before it ever hit theatres. So much speculation, so much discussion, so much information! And in the end the film was shite, a shadow of Scott’s best work, and an embarassment to the Alien franchise (here I thought you couldn’t get dumber than Alien: Resurrection). But again, the hype that surrounded Prometheus didn’t help. I did not need the speculation or the debate about where it would fall in the Alienfranchise. I went in demanding that Scott impress me with the remarkable nature of his vision because otherwise it just wasn’t worth it. If the hype had been less, maybe my ire at the sub-par product would have calmed.
Michael Fassbender looks into his crystal ball to discover the secret reason why he did this movie.
I don’t know why the studios feel they have to shove these movies down the collective throat. After all, these are films built to be blockbusters. Maybe it’s because of declining ticket sales and the increase in pricing, or because we have so many options at the theatre they feel they have to convince to see this one particular film; we cannot possibly wait for DVD, obviously. I agree that ut better be something spectacular to pay the equivalent of your first born child to see something in 3D (the last film I remember being worth it in the end was Hugo). But I also think that studios distrust their public. There’s a sense of hysteria within the hype; a sense that maybe the film they’re trying so hard to sell is just not that good.
A few months ago, The Avengers was THE GREATEST FILM IN THE HISTORY OF GOD. This month, it’s The Dark Knight Rises. At a certain point, this kind of hyperbole turns back on itself. The Avengers was not the greatest film ever made, and I’ll be shocked if The Dark Knight Rises is either. I just wish that the studios, the media and, yes, the fans would stop acting as though they have to be. It only sets you up for disappointment or, as in the case of Prometheus, anger.
I still love going to the movies. I had as much fun watching The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel with a bunch of senior citizens as I did watching The Avengers in a theatre full of teenagers. But one of my best cinematic experiences was seeing Casablanca late at night in St. Andrews, surrounded by half-drunk undergrads. Everyone cheered when they sang La Marseillaise. There’s no hype in the world that can make up for a well-made film. So I think that Hollywood needs to stop being so worried about promoting and marketing and media. Just make a movie that can inspire applause.
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Twitter: MarkusWelby1
July 10, 2012 4:25 pm
Great points. I feel though we must also take some of the blame when it comes to blockbuster hype. In a day and age when pro and amateur media bloggers are competing to get that next amazing tidbit of information on a film and post to their sites first, it makes me weary. When one bit is scooped, it’s on to the next and so on till as you said….you feel like you’ve seen the film.
I love this rant, and for me it’s about the fans as much as anyone else. The studios are paid to promote the bejeezus out of their films. That part, I get, even if it’s too much, and regrettable. But the fans… For a few months there when they were filming TDKR, some crappy grainy photo would pop up or horrible shaky cam self-made footage of the crew filming the movie. It was way too much. The funny thing is that the studio was pretty quiet about the movie other than the standard vehicles- the longer preview, the Christmas teasers, and now the natural full blitz. They weren’t releasing the other stuff. That’s on the fans.
Spider-Man was a whole other beast. That someone could spackle together 23 whole minutes of the movie that had been released in trailers, and make a mini-movie a week before the film was released, is embarrassing. And in that case, it’s definitely on the studio.
There’s also a rant in here about journalistic integrity but I’m going to eat that one.
Twitter: msofiateixeira
July 10, 2012 5:00 pm
Oh how I hear you, I’ve even stopped watching trailers to the end. Because it’s just not that collective excitement that creates huge expectations, which are rarely fulfilled (prometheus, biggest disappointment so far), but also all those horrible spoilers! I’m one of those of have a tumblr, so I see trailers of unreleased films giffed to exhaustion, and major posts filled with speculations, interviews and so on. I’ve managed to stay from most of it so far, scrolling really fast (lol), but still… everything is everywhere. It’s tiring, really.
I’ll stop before this too turns into a rant. Great post, speaks to many I’m sure.
Twitter: LeithAitken
July 10, 2012 6:50 pm
I cannot agree with you more. There’s no doubt that THE DARK KNIGHT RISES will be mediocre at best. The sudden rise of interest in superhero movies has created nerds who I don’t understand.
I mean, websites and blogs are devoting entire articles to the release of posters and teaser trailers. For instance, there was a buzz surrounding the release of THE HOBBIT teaser poster. In all honesty, I don’t care about movie posters.
People have even started reviewing trailers. What the hell’s with this? Studios may as well start selling tickets for trailer screenings.
Couldn’t agree more. Though I actually liked Prometheus, numerous flaws and all.
Twitter: agracru
July 12, 2012 7:29 am
I swear to God that I feel like I’ve seen The Amazing Spiderman already
I’m with you here. But there’s a solution. Ignore the marketing and hype.
That’s hard to do, I admit. Dodging trailers, set photos, speculation, and spoilers often means ignoring entire articles and, sometimes, entire websites for big periods of time. But that’s the age we live in. Movie fans have NEVER had this much access to this much information about this many movies. Forget about how easily obtained all of this data is; it’s just everywhere.
Yet it’s still possible to duck and cover. Trailers, for example, can’t hurt you if you don’t watch them– just excuse yourself from discussions about them. Spoiler articles, well, just stay away from them. Change the channel during TV spots. And so on. It’s work, and it requires diligence, but it’s worth it if you want to block out the noise of hype and promotion.
Agreed — I try to avoid the hype as much as I can. But loving movies (and writing for Man I Love Films) means that I’m usually interested in what’s going on in moviedom. It’s getting more and more difficult to avoid the hype. Turn on the TV, click on a website (even the NYTimes) — hell, pick up my Kindle and there’s some ad, or trailer or poster or anything!
I think my gripe, though, is with the hysteria that seems to accompany the hype; that sense that it has to be over-promoted because at some level it’s just not that good. It’s overselling to the point of insanity. And if I have to hear one more speculation about what happens in The Dark Knight Rises, I’m going to have a fit.
Twitter: fandangogroover
July 14, 2012 6:19 am
I agree that the hype is going too far, in that it appears to be attached to every other film, in the past it was one or two over-hyped films in a year, but other than that is it any worse than before? As you use Nolan’s Batman franchise as an example, I am sticking with it. Back in 1999 and Tim Burton’s Batman, yes I am old enough to remember, there was more hype than there is now. They didn’t have the internet to promote things which is where most modern hype appears but; every bus and bus stop had Batman on it. Everyone (including me) was wearing a Batman or Joker T-shirt, Prince was all over the TV and radio singing songs from or about the movie, one of the fast food chains had batman cups (common now, but the first time I remember it), there were Batman toys on the scale not seen since Star Wars. It was everywhere!
As for the film that follows the hype, I am willing to take them on their own merits regardless of the hype. It is nice to come across a great film that has come from nowhere but there is nothing wrong with loving something that has been overhyped. Casablanca is a great film, one of my favourites but it was made by a studio system that churned out some crap along with the classics. The flip side to that, there are still great films made today, the only difference is that they shout louder about them in pursuit of a profit.
I agree with your closing line “Just make a movie that can inspire applause”. I just don’t care if it is over hyped or not.
Absolutely. A good movie can outlive its hype. But I admit that I was much harder on The Avengers when I saw it (and liked it) because it had been oversold. I’m not saying this is anything new, but it has been exacerbated by the internet and the instant availability of anything. Studios are trying so hard to make their product stand out that everything has to be THE MOVIE EVENT OF THE CENTURY. But a good movie is a good movie.