Good Reputations: Are They Helpful or Hurtful for Films?

Advertising and word-of-mouth are extremely important within the context of judging arts and ultimately account for the most disappointing part of the mass arts (film specifically) -- popularity. A film's success lies inherently on the views of the popular press and mass public, and this can either help a film or account for its downfall.

Of course, the positive aspect is for the filmmakers in getting their work seen. But for the viewer, something can become hyped up so much as to create an unnecessary demand for it. This could happen to such an extent that once seen, the high expectations not being met account for a negative opinion of the piece. One that would have otherwise been positive.

Love Actually is a prime example of this. This film was surrounded by such a great amount of positive reviews and feedback from viewers, which made for an extreme showing at the box office. When told by a trusted friend that this film was the best seen in a long time, my interest was piqued. I became so excited to see the movie and was ultimately let down. Had I heard nothing about the piece prior to my viewing it, I'm sure I would hold it in higher standards. This is why I prefer to approach every viewing with little to no knowledge of the "quality" of the piece.

Sadly, this is relatively impossible, and also where money comes into play: people don't want to waste money on something which they won't enjoy, hence the importance of reviews and films of the "critically acclaimed." But personal preference is also important, and genres were created for better judgment ability based on a limited understanding of a film (i.e. what the preview shows or what a friend relays). A minor exception to this is the independent film, but there are still multiple outlets through which to gauge the success of an independent in festivals and venues of the like.

An example of an independent film with a hugely successful marketing strategy is The Blair Witch Project. Hearing about the horror of a witch who lives in the woods and captures a couple of college students on their quest to document her story instantly creates an immense amount of curiosity to this film. Not that the film itself was bad, but the grounds on which it was marketed were false when speaking of reality in relation to creativity. Thinking that this film was about an actual event (brilliant strategy on their part), millions of people saw and believed the story, making it a hit. Once it became known that the subjects were acting, its popularity dwindled and public scrutiny rose.

Another important aspect of film popularity is judgment category. There are multiple ways to look at any one piece of art: technique, creativity, plot, etc. So one part of a movie may be above-par, but the thing the audience is looking for is absent. For instance, if you are judging film quality based on cinematography, the "best" movie would be far different than if attempting to determine the greatest storyline.

Reputation has an extreme impact on the success of any piece of art. Films that are not able to be marketed to an audience will most likely not have an outlet and will go unknown. This doesn't mean, however, that they are bad films, it just means that they have not received enough recognition to tempt the interests of an audience.