Review Rant
(No, I'm not going to rant about reviews of my own books. What possible good could come of that?)
Am I the last living soul in the English-reading-and-speaking world who consumes media for plot?
I remember, as a kid, I loved movie trailers. Loved, loved, loved them. And now I can't watch them, for any movie that I have an inkling that I might see, because they give away every single last plot point. (Interestingly, for many movies, I can just close my eyes - the trailers are so fast-cut that my ears can't parse the action, and I don't learn too much that way.)
As an adult, I loved book reviews - the book review section of the Post, reviews in magazines. They helped me to find new books to read, based on my existing likes and dislikes. Now, I can't read them, because virtually every book review is a plot summary of the sort that would have led to grades of "F" back when we had to do book reports. (Itzkoff, in the New York Times, reviewing the 2005 Nebula collection told the complete plot, including the ending of Ben Rosenbaum's story and then said (in effect, this is not a direct quote) - as if with glee - "I've just proven that you can't discuss SF without giving away endings." WTF?
This morning, I picked up the newspaper, and there was a review of the new Superman movie by Stephen Hunter. Let's face it, there isn't a lot of new character ground to cover in a Superman movie. We know the guy. We know his "issues." We know the basic lay of the land. Therefore, plot bits are especially important - they're one of the primary distinguishing characteristics between this Superman and every other one. And, in the first five sentences of the so-called review, Hunter gives away a substantial plot device.
ARGGGGHHHHHHHHH!
It used to be safe to read the first paragraph of a so-called review, to get an idea of the merit of a work (at least, to the extent that I trust the reviewer.) Now, apparently, that safety is gone as well.
Am I really the last person in the world to care?
Mindy, grumbling
Am I the last living soul in the English-reading-and-speaking world who consumes media for plot?
I remember, as a kid, I loved movie trailers. Loved, loved, loved them. And now I can't watch them, for any movie that I have an inkling that I might see, because they give away every single last plot point. (Interestingly, for many movies, I can just close my eyes - the trailers are so fast-cut that my ears can't parse the action, and I don't learn too much that way.)
As an adult, I loved book reviews - the book review section of the Post, reviews in magazines. They helped me to find new books to read, based on my existing likes and dislikes. Now, I can't read them, because virtually every book review is a plot summary of the sort that would have led to grades of "F" back when we had to do book reports. (Itzkoff, in the New York Times, reviewing the 2005 Nebula collection told the complete plot, including the ending of Ben Rosenbaum's story and then said (in effect, this is not a direct quote) - as if with glee - "I've just proven that you can't discuss SF without giving away endings." WTF?
This morning, I picked up the newspaper, and there was a review of the new Superman movie by Stephen Hunter. Let's face it, there isn't a lot of new character ground to cover in a Superman movie. We know the guy. We know his "issues." We know the basic lay of the land. Therefore, plot bits are especially important - they're one of the primary distinguishing characteristics between this Superman and every other one. And, in the first five sentences of the so-called review, Hunter gives away a substantial plot device.
ARGGGGHHHHHHHHH!
It used to be safe to read the first paragraph of a so-called review, to get an idea of the merit of a work (at least, to the extent that I trust the reviewer.) Now, apparently, that safety is gone as well.
Am I really the last person in the world to care?
Mindy, grumbling
I read the same review. In fact, I just went back and looked at it again, literally counting the sentences until I got to #5. [I am looking at the on line version; could it be that our #5 sentences are not the same one?]
My #5 sentence refers to stopping a bullet with his eyeball. Given when I know of Superman's special powers, I would not call that a "substantial plot device." Something new for the FX team, yes.
Sentences prior to that make a joking reference to fannish speculation that Superman is gay and observes that this movie shows he is not. Also not anything on which a plot can be hung, IMHO.
I am going to guess we are not talking about the same revelation(s)?
This give-away doesn't *ruin* the movie, but it changes the way I'll watch it. I'll be waiting for something specific to happen that I otherwise wouldn't be waiting for.
I guess I'm just over-sensitive to plot reveals!
(Obviously, I am, compared to Americans as a whole - clearly, most movie viewers want to know much more about movies than I do.)
I mean, yeah, I could (Taking an old, but good award winner) Give away the ending of "Ringworld", or I could say it's a fantastic story of exploration on a unique artificial world with some examination of the meaning of ethics and free will.
I went to see Superman, and the scene that was given away by the now-infamous-to-me Sentence 5 fell quite flat for me. The rest of the viewing audience loved it. (When I came home and read the full review, I was astonished at how many plot twists - full arcs along the storyline - were given away in the rest of the review. I suppose it shouldn't astonish me anymore...)
I, on the other hand, *want* to know how things will end. I want to know what that big plot device is, so I can look for it, and try and reason out the pathways to that big plot device. I suppose it has something to do with the fact that I read mystery novels as a child, and always tried to use the clues in the book to find out who did it.
Me, I enjoy following the clues - and I feel cheated if someone tells me "Miss Scarlet did it in the conservatory with the candlestick" and then I watch as Miss Scarlet sashays toward the conservatory, and as I see the candlestick and watch her pick it up, and, and, and...
As for the Sandler movie? I know I'll sound like a terrible movie snob, but is there enough plot that the trailer *could* launch a spoiler? :-)