The Barnes Bros.

This Movie Is Definitely Going To Be…

A common question I’ve heard asked recently is “Are We Ruining Movies For Ourselves?” The idea of the discussion is that we spend so much time analyzing trailers, searching out leaked footage and scripts, and dissecting side comments by directors and actors that we end up judging movies and developing opinions about them before they even release.

And you know, I think there’s a point there.

You see, when a new movie is first announced as being in development, we develop an opinion about it.  "Oh, cool! I can’t wait to see that.“ "Really? They’re making a movie about that?” “I’m getting tired of these types of movies, this will definitely be terrible.”  And once we’ve formed an opinion, the only thing that can dissuade that opinion is viewing the movie.  At least, that’s how it used to be.

Now, we can Google the film and scour the internet for every last scrap of information about the movie. The problem with that is that when we go searching for this information, we’re doing it with a bias.  We’re searching for evidence to PROVE ourselves right about the initial assumption we made about the movie.

So, for example, if you think The Dark Knight was overhyped and that its sequel will be bad, too, then you’re more likely to scoff at a leaked production photo that makes the character costumes look bad.  It doesn’t matter that you were never supposed to see that photo without proper lighting and effects, all that matters is that you now have evidence to back up your belief that this movie will be bad.

And it works the opposite way, too.  If a trailer for a movie we are believing to be the best thing ever releases, we’ll dissect every irrelevant line and camera shot to show how this movie will “break boundaries” and “blow everyone’s minds”.  And then, when someone points out something in that same trailer that would seem to indicate the movie may not be all that great, we’ll say something like “it’s just a trailer, it’s not the final product!”

Now, it’s not bad to have prior opinions about movies before they release, it’s just good to be able to be logical and admit, “While I feel a certain set of emotions about this upcoming motion picture, I will wait until the release of said motion picture before I formulate a definitive judgment on the inherent quality and entertainment value of said film." 

Yep.  Just say that.

-Jalen

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