Unpopular Opinion: It Would Be Much Better if Movie Trailers Didn’t Exist
We all love the hype, but can you imagine going into a movie theatre and seeing footage for the first time as the filmmaker intended it to be seen?
This is strange for a geek to admit, but sometimes I really don’t like movie advertising. And it’s ironic, because I’m writing this just two hours after the latest trailer for Avengers: Infinity War hit the internet, and I’ve already watched said trailer four times. Now as much as I’m excited, I instantly hated myself. Largely because as a third year university student with a dissertation to write and deadlines on the horizon, I should really be spending less time watching movie trailers. But the main reason is because I was wasting my time watching the trailer for a film I know I’m already going to see.
This isn’t the first time I’ve used my geek powers for evil. I recall with absolute clarity the day Marvel released the second trailer for Captain America: Civil War. I was in first year of university and I invited a friend over to discuss the trailer. We spent the best part of two hours watching that trailer over and over again, watching it in slow motion so we could find Easter eggs, researching fan theories, and basically putting ourselves into a new level of anxiety for when we eventually watched the film. It was at best, unhealthy. And it’s certainly not behaviour I would recommend, because ultimately it was altering the way I was going to perceive the film. It was twisting my expectations, removing surprises and heavily shaping my judgement. I am by no means suggesting I didn’t enjoy the film, because obviously it was incredible, but I feel as though it could’ve had an even larger impact if I hadn’t ruined surprises for myself.
I suppose I should consider the possibility that the title of this article is misleading, because I don’t necessarily believe film trailers should stop existing. My main issue is there are too many released. If a new film is being released we’ll have an entire year in which we’re exposed to the teaser trailer, official trailers 1, 2 and 3, the international trailer, TV spots 1,2,3 and 4, the Super Bowl spot and whatever else the production company can throw at us. From a business perspective it makes sense to advertise products as much as possible and build up excitement for an entire year prior to release, but it does remove the novelty value upon watching the film because a lot of footage has already been seen. Movie going becomes less about seeing something for the first time and more about thinking “I remember this from the trailer.”
My main argument against movie trailers is most of the time we don’t actually need them. When a big franchise like Marvel or Star Wars release a trailer it’s for a film already guaranteed to make millions at the Box Office; they’re selling us a product we are already sold on. It’s like having a waiter try to convince you to buy your favourite meal; it’s a waste of time considering you have already made your mind up. So it begs the question as to when trailers show too much footage. Cast your mind back to the third trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron and consider how many surprises were revealed in the space of two and a half minutes. Gags, team up shots, the Hulk-Buster armour and the new character of Vision. And why? To sell us a movie we already wanted to see.
Now there are two arguments in support of this trailer but neither of them make sense. Firstly, you could argue it was a trailer for the die-hard Marvel fans, which doesn’t make sense because surely they’re going to see the movie regardless, and also it wastes some of the best surprises which would have made far more of an impact if they were experienced for the first time in context. Secondly, you could argue this was a trailer for the uninitiated, for people who aren’t fans and who need more enticement, which again doesn’t make sense because it means the trailer is wasting big surprises on people who won’t fully understand/appreciate them. We’re meant to experience the surprises properly, otherwise it’s like the curtain at a magic show lifting too soon, revealing a half dressed man stuffing a dead rabbit into a hat.
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I believe there is such a thing as being too prepared for a film, in the sense that you can know too much before viewing. The purpose of cinema is to have an entirely new experience, right? There’s huge novelty value in surprise. I recall when my favourite film critic, Mark Kermode, gave a talk at my university (there’s a picture below of when I met him that night) and he spoke of his experience seeing his favourite film (The Exorcist) for the first time. When it was released he wasn’t old enough to see it in a cinema, but he was fascinated by it. He read articles in magazines, he read the novel, he basically researched the film as much as he could, so when he finally saw the film he said it felt like he had already seen it. This phenomenon is an even bigger issue in the digital age, because the internet allows us to see trailers and footage whenever we want, to discuss fan theories, to stumble across leaked footage, to read synopsis breakdowns, and it all stands as a threat to surprises. Obviously it is the responsibility of the individual to see as little or as much as they want to, but it’s not easy when we combine natural human curiosity and mobile devices which are one step away from beaming footage directly into our heads.
Ultimately what we need to address is whether this has a negative impact on the way we view films. Because what happens quite often these days is that trailers can shift dramatically in tone, so a new film is advertised in a number of different ways. The best example that springs to mind is Suicide Squad. In the months leading up to the film’s release we were treated to two main trailers, initially depicting a film too serious and downbeat for its own good, then later promising a fun and action-packed experience to rival Guardians of the Galaxy. The main issue this causes is confusion, it results in an audience who are unsure of the film they are going to see. Some may want the downbeat self-important drivel, other may want the dysfunctional team-up comedy, and others might not have a clue what they want. If there was a little more cohesion in the advertising campaign they may have been able to reduce the fallout from “mixed” reviews.
The best way to consider this matter is as an opportunity, and to quote the film Up in the Air “it’s only a problem if you have a solution.” I am by no means suggesting I am the right person to solve this matter, but I know what I would like to happen. I’d like to live in a world where movie trailers are reduced to the minimum. Where audiences see as little footage as possible before seeing a film, so we can have the truly impactful experience of seeing the best surprises for the first time as the filmmakers intended them to be. I’m not suggesting this will solve any large issues. I’m sure Brexit will still be a thing, the White House will still have a tumour named Donald, and inevitably we’ll still exist as highly evolved apes clinging to a dying planet, but it will mean there are surprises for me when I eventually watch Star Wars Episode IX. And I think we can all agree, that is the most important issue of our time.
FYI I booked my ticket for the midnight release of Infinity War after watching the trailer three more times. Just in case anybody is interested.
