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The Case Against Watching Movie Trailers
- Thread starter pauljeremiah
- Start date
I get the theory but every Marvel fan rushes to watch every new MCU trailer for movies they know they're already going to see. I think it's more part of the ritual excitement for a movie and not just using marketing to help you choose what to see.
I watch them, because I generally don't care about spoilers. Spoiler culture can be super obnoxious to me. Things like this, avoiding trailers and marketing materials as much as possible, i think are totally cool. But it's when people become super militant about the things you can and can't say when they're in earshot, especially when it's regarding media that isn't really new or relevant anymore, that I start to get annoyed.
I avoided all trailers for Kill Bill 1 and 2.
It felt great watching a movie fresh fresh.
I didn't pay much attention to the noise around Deadpool 2 and I was happy when I saw a surprise guest villain show up. Felt good.
That spoiler free freshness feeling is an amazing feeling when going in without expecting the trailer spoilered moment to arrive
It felt great watching a movie fresh fresh.
I didn't pay much attention to the noise around Deadpool 2 and I was happy when I saw a surprise guest villain show up. Felt good.
That spoiler free freshness feeling is an amazing feeling when going in without expecting the trailer spoilered moment to arrive
The thing for me is that watching the trailers after the movie is a different beast than watching them before the movie. You already know how each scene fits into the actual story so the shots aren't quite as awe-inspiring unto themselves.
I can remember way back seeing the trailer The Matrix, and all of the strange incomprehensible shots one after the other just sparked the imagination. But when you've seen it after the movie you go "oh that's just Trinity jumping across the allied running from the agents" "that's just Cypher using a plasma gun to betray and kill his shipmates" etc. Don't get me wrong it's still an artistic experience... but it's augmented by knowledge of the movie. It misses the feeling of just seeing the trailer as the trailer. And it misses all the anticipatory aspects.
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I'm glad I don't believe in spoilers. There are too many things to actually care about without concerning myself with the precise order in which I consume every piece of media for the first time.
To the specific topic at hand, it means I can really enjoy a good meaty trailer just like I always have for my entire life including before I ever heard anyone bring up the idea of spoilers.
To the specific topic at hand, it means I can really enjoy a good meaty trailer just like I always have for my entire life including before I ever heard anyone bring up the idea of spoilers.
this is hilarious, we've reach peak spoiler mania.
spoilers are fine, will never understand why people are so sensitive about them.
*shrug
edit: research is also on my side, multiple studies proving spoilers increase enjoyment, but people get up in fkn arms when i go too far into it so research yourself if you're so inclined.
spoilers are fine, will never understand why people are so sensitive about them.
*shrug
edit: research is also on my side, multiple studies proving spoilers increase enjoyment, but people get up in fkn arms when i go too far into it so research yourself if you're so inclined.
Yeah for sure. I largely agree with you though, I try not to overdo the trailers but sometimes I can help myself!
+1 for this.
There are some genres where surprise has some value, but in general I don't see the big deal.
The marketing department is 100% at fault.
Many directors have cringed with disappointment by stupid actions taken by marketing
Many directors have cringed with disappointment by stupid actions taken by marketing
Imagine being friends with the likes of Jeff Cannata when he covers his eyes and ears while a trailer comes on, or stays out in the lobby waiting for the trailers to end, or has to physically leave a group of friends discussing the thing all Star Wars fans are discussing which is the stinger at the end of the Episode IX trailer..... insufferable! (I otherwise like Jeff Canatta but yeesh).
It's funny because he's super prolific on twitter, especially in the film community, so there are certainly elements of the Episode IX trailer that he knows about just by sheer osmosis.
All these years I never realized that Terminator's 2 intro was meant to be a twist, where the audience was intended to assume that Arnold was out to get John Conner, and the "twist" moment being revealed when he runs into John and the T1000 in the mall hallway. The trailers gave this entire premise away (understandably) but it's interesting to understand that James Cameron, when writing the script, likely was not considering that this detail was going to be spoiled for the audience.
Obviously this isn't some master twist or something that impacts the movie that much (it's one of my favorite movies), but it's still an interesting example.
Obviously this isn't some master twist or something that impacts the movie that much (it's one of my favorite movies), but it's still an interesting example.
yeah i get what you mean, it's a great feeling and i understand people who enjoy them! But for me, and many other in this thread, this sentiment isn't worth the sense of discovering everything for the first time while you watch the movie!
For exemple ometime you will see a gorgeous background, city, environnment, you're really surprised to see this and it looks beautiful, you didn't excpect this kind of decor at all.... but if you watch the trailer, you already know how it looks, you know it will happen at some point in the movie
I would have assumed he'd be taking on the crazy task of avoiding "that" in the Episode IX trailer, but it's probably nigh on impossible, isn't it?
And now as a consequence he's spoiled by the cultural conversation rather than in the goosebumps-inducing moment of watching it in a trailer as an intentional reveal. Is that a better experience? No way in hell.
I rarely watch trailers these days because of the spoilers. You don't know they're spoilers until you actually see the film, obviously, but then I'm still always disappointed because it isn't new anymore. So many times they show scenes from the final moments that they I actively try to avoid watching them whenever I can.
For me, it's less about spoiling the film, and more about anticipating certain scenes from the trailer once I've started watching the movie.
My brain doesn't ever want to just sit back and watch the movie in the sequence it's presented, but would rather look for cues that the a certain action set piece should be coming up on screen any minute now because I recognize the setting from the trailer.
My brain doesn't ever want to just sit back and watch the movie in the sequence it's presented, but would rather look for cues that the a certain action set piece should be coming up on screen any minute now because I recognize the setting from the trailer.
I can see how there is some % of enjoyment gained from seeing everything in the movie moment itself...
But for me I get larger % of enjoyment from trailers themselves so that's why I fall on this side of the debate.
Any story typically wants to provide the audience with a question of "what will happen next?". I hate being spoiled and it definitely ruins the experience for me. I want to experience the journey, and want to wonder what the destination will be.
A movie I watched recently was Rust Creek, it is fantastic. I read one sentence of a promo and that was enough. After I watched the movie, I read more and watched the trailer, if I had done that first, it would've completely changed how I watched the movie since it gives away so much of the plot structure.
GoT is currently perplexing because I have no idea what is going to happen. If I knew what would happen, would I watch? Maybe, but the experience is far less enjoyable.
A movie I watched recently was Rust Creek, it is fantastic. I read one sentence of a promo and that was enough. After I watched the movie, I read more and watched the trailer, if I had done that first, it would've completely changed how I watched the movie since it gives away so much of the plot structure.
GoT is currently perplexing because I have no idea what is going to happen. If I knew what would happen, would I watch? Maybe, but the experience is far less enjoyable.
The case against movie trailers is so apparent it doesn't even need to be said. What's next, the case against user reviews?
yeah and tha'ts cool, i don't really see why it has to be a debate, people enjoy different things, let them enjoy things the way they want, there's no need to judge someone for it (not talking about you here)
the "debate" unfortunately comes up when people assume everyone watched a trailer and then talks about it openly... I managed to avoid everything for star wars episode 8, unfortunately, i couldn't for episode 9, solely cause someone talked about it right in the thread title on resetera
If it's a movie I'm not yet sold on or haven't heard of, I'll watch a trailer.
If it's a movie I'm interested in, I won't actively seek out trailers, but I won't avoid watching them if they happen to pop up before a movie.
If it's something I'm massively excited for, I might try a bit harder to avoid them, but The Last Jedi is the only movie in recent memory where I've gone as far as ignoring the screen during the trailer in a theater, I'll rarely go that far.
In any case, if I'm watching a trailer, I find that I'm interested in the movie, and I start to get that instinctual feeling that they're entering the obligatory "short clips from the third act flashing by" part of the trailer, I'll start ignoring it.
If it's a movie I'm interested in, I won't actively seek out trailers, but I won't avoid watching them if they happen to pop up before a movie.
If it's something I'm massively excited for, I might try a bit harder to avoid them, but The Last Jedi is the only movie in recent memory where I've gone as far as ignoring the screen during the trailer in a theater, I'll rarely go that far.
In any case, if I'm watching a trailer, I find that I'm interested in the movie, and I start to get that instinctual feeling that they're entering the obligatory "short clips from the third act flashing by" part of the trailer, I'll start ignoring it.
Nothing wrong with that. There's research that shows people who are spoiled end up enjoying media more than those unspoiled.
I also think there's a certain level of "expectation management" that trailers provide.
I can imagine a viewing of Episode IX proper where you are just not prepared for "that reveal" and learning it in the movie proper isn't a better experience, it actually throws you for so much of a curve that you are taken out of the movie somewhat. "Is this really happening? Is this a good idea?" Your mind is reeling at the moment saying "no way no way".. and are you really paying attention to the performance at that point?
But with the trailer reveal of "that", we have months to deal with the reveal and accept it. By the time the movie comes we dont have to question it, we can just watch the moment for what it is.
I can imagine a viewing of Episode IX proper where you are just not prepared for "that reveal" and learning it in the movie proper isn't a better experience, it actually throws you for so much of a curve that you are taken out of the movie somewhat. "Is this really happening? Is this a good idea?" Your mind is reeling at the moment saying "no way no way".. and are you really paying attention to the performance at that point?
But with the trailer reveal of "that", we have months to deal with the reveal and accept it. By the time the movie comes we dont have to question it, we can just watch the moment for what it is.
I think there is a debate but I see it as a fun debate. Definitely not going to hate people who don't want trailers. Maybe a little friendly scoffing ;)
Nope. Well at least the only trailers I've seen are the ones you are obliged to watch before a film starts in the cinema, and I've been deliberately avoiding anything to do with avengers end game.
Do these studies only talk about enjoying the movie itself, or do they also analyze the theorizing and discussions that revolve around the movie?
Using GoT as an example, wouldn't discussion be objectively less fun if folks in our group knew exactly how it all ends, instead of all of us discussing and debating each person's theory from week to week?
I guarantee that those spoiler threads would be less popular than the general discussion threads.
Using GoT as an example, wouldn't discussion be objectively less fun if folks in our group knew exactly how it all ends, instead of all of us discussing and debating each person's theory from week to week?
I guarantee that those spoiler threads would be less popular than the general discussion threads.
I've avoided it because the films are largely highly choreographed gun play action scenes. I want what little story and set pieces to be a surprise.
I avoid trailers, except if i have no choice like at the theatre itself.
Spoiled nothing about Episode VII, my buddy thought I could never do it. Made the surprises fun, though it's not as though a bit of spoilers ruins all the fun.
Spoiled nothing about Episode VII, my buddy thought I could never do it. Made the surprises fun, though it's not as though a bit of spoilers ruins all the fun.
Holy Christ. Literally the entire plot from beginning to end. Fucking disgusting
I did this with a few movies and it was amazing. But it's hard to avoid if you go to movies a lot. It's like 30 minute of trailers.
I'm not going to strategically leave my comfy seat and wait until they are done. Seems way to inconvenient.
I'm not going to strategically leave my comfy seat and wait until they are done. Seems way to inconvenient.
The Empire still being around and the Jedi still being considered legends that people don't believe in were in the trailers and neither thing I was expecting which the trailers make clear.
