Internet Movie Big Deal #2 - On Confusion
Internet Movie Big Deal
Issue #2 - September 16, 2019
Yesterday, I went to my local cineplex to see Hustlers, and I can confirm that the movie rocks hard and that J-Lo brings the heat. But I'm not going to focus too much here on the film itself. I'm going to focus on something that I noticed while watching the movie, which reminded me of an observation I had a few years ago. And it's something that helped me understand how to use test screenings as a way to improve movies, and how they're often used poorly by executives who don't get how people watch and enjoy movies.
The couple sitting next to me were excited to be seeing Hustlers; their anticipation was palpable. As the movie got going, I could tell they were into it. But they spent most of the second half of the film talking to each other, trying to figure out what was happening on screen. I suspect they would have understood the plot more if they paid attention to the movie, rather than talked over it. But the key thing I want to highlight is that they LOVED the movie. At the end, they were very vocal about how much they enjoyed it.
Several years ago, I watched Pirates of the Caribbean with a friend who isn't in the film industry. She loved it. After the movie, I started talking about the relatively complicated plot mechanics, and it became clear that she didn't pick up most of it. Didn't understand how the pirate curse worked. Didn't understand how the pirate curse was used in the plot. Just didn't get it at all. But she loved the movie!
When you do test screenings, there is a tendency to use the process to try make sure that no one in the audience ever feels confused by any aspect of the plot. I think this is often a losing game. I believe each member of the audience exists on a spectrum of confusion. There are people who feel like they usually understand everything that happens in a movie and people who are used to being confused by the plot-intricacies of a movie. People who fall into the first group get very upset when they don't understand something, and it will often result in them disliking the movie. People who fall in the second group don't couple their enjoyment of the movie with their understanding of every plot detail. They're used to missing things. They're generally fine with moments of confusion, as long as the missed details don't ruin their enjoyment of everything else that they like about the movie.
I know that there is an ideal of making sure that everyone understands everything that happens in your movie, but while a movie is a fixed work of art, the audience is never the same. The method of removing all potential confusion will often result in a movie that is either "too on the nose" or "too predictable" for audience members who are savvy viewers, used to comprehending every detail of a plot. You're making the experience worse for one segment of the audience just to make the plot clearer for the segment of the audience that doesn't seem to mind being confused. You can't make both of these audience segments happy just by reducing confusion! The better alternative is to find ways to make sure the often-confused audience member still enjoys your movie even though they aren't picking up all of the plot machinations.
At least that's my theory. I don't know how else you explain that a huge set of people consistently love movies that they seemingly don't understand.
This Week's Recommendations…
Issue #2 - September 16, 2019
Yesterday, I went to my local cineplex to see Hustlers, and I can confirm that the movie rocks hard and that J-Lo brings the heat. But I'm not going to focus too much here on the film itself. I'm going to focus on something that I noticed while watching the movie, which reminded me of an observation I had a few years ago. And it's something that helped me understand how to use test screenings as a way to improve movies, and how they're often used poorly by executives who don't get how people watch and enjoy movies.
The couple sitting next to me were excited to be seeing Hustlers; their anticipation was palpable. As the movie got going, I could tell they were into it. But they spent most of the second half of the film talking to each other, trying to figure out what was happening on screen. I suspect they would have understood the plot more if they paid attention to the movie, rather than talked over it. But the key thing I want to highlight is that they LOVED the movie. At the end, they were very vocal about how much they enjoyed it.
Several years ago, I watched Pirates of the Caribbean with a friend who isn't in the film industry. She loved it. After the movie, I started talking about the relatively complicated plot mechanics, and it became clear that she didn't pick up most of it. Didn't understand how the pirate curse worked. Didn't understand how the pirate curse was used in the plot. Just didn't get it at all. But she loved the movie!
When you do test screenings, there is a tendency to use the process to try make sure that no one in the audience ever feels confused by any aspect of the plot. I think this is often a losing game. I believe each member of the audience exists on a spectrum of confusion. There are people who feel like they usually understand everything that happens in a movie and people who are used to being confused by the plot-intricacies of a movie. People who fall into the first group get very upset when they don't understand something, and it will often result in them disliking the movie. People who fall in the second group don't couple their enjoyment of the movie with their understanding of every plot detail. They're used to missing things. They're generally fine with moments of confusion, as long as the missed details don't ruin their enjoyment of everything else that they like about the movie.
I know that there is an ideal of making sure that everyone understands everything that happens in your movie, but while a movie is a fixed work of art, the audience is never the same. The method of removing all potential confusion will often result in a movie that is either "too on the nose" or "too predictable" for audience members who are savvy viewers, used to comprehending every detail of a plot. You're making the experience worse for one segment of the audience just to make the plot clearer for the segment of the audience that doesn't seem to mind being confused. You can't make both of these audience segments happy just by reducing confusion! The better alternative is to find ways to make sure the often-confused audience member still enjoys your movie even though they aren't picking up all of the plot machinations.
At least that's my theory. I don't know how else you explain that a huge set of people consistently love movies that they seemingly don't understand.
This Week's Recommendations…
- 🖥 Why are billions of dollars worth of datacenters being built along the 41st parallel?
- 🍔 Our movie Super Size Me 2 is currently the #1 documentary on iTunes!
- 🧟♀️ Hulu released a new trailer for our movie Little Monsters!
- 🎵 Writing "confusion" so many times, I was reminded of one of my favorite Temptations songs Ball of Confusion. So I tracked down this great live TV performance of the song.
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