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Topic: Alabama Drive-In Cancells Beauty And The Beast Over Gay Character
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Leo Enticknap
Film God
Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted 03-08-2017 10:07 AM
The way a film is marketed can also help or hinder.
When Wilde came out in the late '90s, the trailers and posters gave the impression that it was a typical British Victorian/Edwardian costume drama, of the sort that were being cranked out by the vaultload for both cinema and TV at the time, because they were very popular with the middle class, upper middle age crowd that had higher spending power and thus the movie theaters were trying to attract.
On the first Friday we opened it, several older customers came out and complained when the first buggery scene hit the screen. I was covering someone's break in the box office at the time, and was treated to an enraged rant by a Home Counties 70-something, the gist of which was he would personally see to it that I'd end up in the same place as the film's protagonist (i.e. in jail, on a treadmill) for daring to show such obscene filth.
This was a bit silly: surely anyone choosing of their own free will to go and see a biographical movie about Oscar Wilde must have some idea of what is likely to be in it?! But it has has to be noted that the advertising and publicity gave absolutely no clue, except for the 18-certificate logo buried in a corner of the poster. All the trailers were U (British equivalent of G), and consisted essentially of witty Oscar Wilde one-liners. I suppose, therefore, that heightened the risk that some customers who, shall we say, had led somewhat of a sheltered lifestyle were likely to be blindsided by it.
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Eric Hooper
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 532
From: Fort Worth, TX, USA
Registered: May 2003
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posted 03-09-2017 05:01 PM
quote:
"The media" is a very popular target for criticism these days. Sadly, very few people seem to be aware of an enormous hypocrisy present in that criticism. Basically, it takes two to to tango. The American public is the other partner in this dance of decadance. The public made "the media" what it is today. It's all our fault. But we accept no responsibility for creating this situation.
The purpose of "the media" is to make money selling advertising. They're doing whatever they can to get more eyes on their TV channels, web pages or other outlets. They're giving their viewers/readers what they want. And what the public wants is various name-branded echo-chambers that specifically cater to their own already long-held hard-lined biases, stirring up their emotions in the process.
The general public, collectively, just absolutely loves to get pissed off about something. Many of us love indulding in feelings of anger and judgment. We also take joy in the humiliation of others, especially a public figure who has "fallen from grace." The media obliges, holding up various targets for our scorn.
Much of this human behavior was present before Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. However, over the past 30 years we have seen the relationship between "the media" and the public change dramatically. Decades ago concepts like ethics in journalism were considered more important. Media companies were proud to say their news divisions were losing money. They just didn't touch on the money making formula yet.
Nearly 30 years ago talk radio and always-on cable news programming was first to figure out the fact people love turning in to get pissed off. Since then they have refined the model, amping up the emotional sensationalism to make the content more potent, able to deliver a bigger rush. Viewers/readers keep coming back to it the same way a heroin junkie searches out his pusher to score a fix.
I think all the on-screen ticker trash is one example of the manipulation. Prior to 9-11-01 a viewer usually only saw a text ticker on the bottom of the screen when there was a tornado watch or if he was watching a stock ticker on a business channel. Viewers tuned in to 9-11 coverage as if keeping vigil, constantly reading the latest developments on those tickers. Those on-screen graphics have been a permanent fixture since then.
The most harmful thing "the media" discovered about the general public is its sheer gullibility and narrow-mindedness. We are so easy to manipulate. In recent years we've seen this new breed of "news" web sites sprout to take advantage, delivering nothing short of propaganda, misinformation and even messages of hatred.
I'm not sure what the the public can do to turn around this mess, but it's all on them to make it happen. I personally don't bother with 24 hour cable news networks. Even the morning news on the broadcast channels is hard to take at times. This morning Good Morning America was running a story about Michael Jackson's kids. They showed video from the Motown 25 TV special in 1983 where Jackson first performed his "moonwalk." The fucking on-screen ticker trash completely covered up Jackson's feet.
[Roll Eyes]
This...is the post of the year! ![[beer]](graemlins/beer.gif) ![[thumbsup]](graemlins/thumbsup.gif)
Back on topic, I believe any business owner should be able to run their business any way they want to. However, they should be prepared for "the market" to tell them whether their business model is going to be successful or not. Oftentimes, what may sound like a good idea to the business owner, turns out to not be so great with the general public and their potential customers in the end... But good luck to them, and bless their hearts.
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