Movie popularity

[javasaurus]

I just read this video game article and I wonder if the same effect occurs with movies.

When it comes to movies, we all have different tastes (some more different than others, eh?), and our tastes can be rather complex. We may like movies that remind us of our past, or warn us about our future, or make our adrenaline pump. But some of us can get lost in the technical aspects of a movie with bad acting, or find enjoyment in the language and costume of a movie with no real plot. So when we go out with a group of people, maybe our first choice of movie doesn't mesh with theirs, so we all settle for a movie that we can all enjoy, but doesn't fully satisfy any of us. This is similar to the bar scene in the movie version of "A Beautiful Mind" where Nash has his revelation. Is this why so many mediocre movies become big hits while movies of critical acclaim fall by the wayside?

Comments

media on the bell curve.

[dawntreader]

i think that's exactly it. i think it's also why people can be so passionate about a movie they love while someone else can be equally passionate about why they hated the same movie.

whereas, the bulk of the movies in the middle are just mediocre. they're safe. they don't go too far in any direction. they don't inspire love or loathing. sometimes, they barely inspire memory. how often have you had this discussion, "have we seen that?? oh yeah... eh. it was okay."

plus, so often you get so many movies that copy the same tired old movies in the same tired old ways.

i imagine games are the same way. how many more ways can you shoot at monsters where the point is to find bigger guns so you can shoot at bigger monsters to get bigger guns? i'm not into those sorts of games, but i have to believe that eventually, that gets boring without some element of "different" involved.

why don't critically acclaimed film do well

[petricat666.livejournal.com]

It's the subject matter and how it's portrayed. No Country for Old Men, In the Valley of Elah, Into the Wild, all serious films with downer endings.

Rambo? Blow up those bad guys who are torching babies and you get top in the box office.

Hannah Montana? Marketing genius and tween girls.

Juno - critically acclaimed with word of mouth and a "happy ending"