We have come, as fans, to dwell in what I’m coining a “culture of disappointment”. It’s a self-feeding cycle wherein we ourselves lap up every tiny tidbit of information available on the Internet, and then discuss it all ad-nauseum in message boards and forums. We formulate entire opinions and condemn or praise (quite rarely praise) a film based on a minute to thirty seconds – and sometimes no footage at all, merely rumors or unsubstantiated pre-production fantasies – of finished film. We act as though the studio responsible for a film, by cutting trailers and putting up movie posters, is somehow promising something it can’t live up to. That by advertising a film, they owe it to us to create the film that we see inside our heads.

I submit that we are our own hype machines. We make these promises up in our minds, after having seen the film footage and letting our imaginations run wild. We project these promises on to the screen and then, when they inevitably do not live up to the sheer fantastic depths that the human mind can live up to, we cry “disappointment!” at the top of our lungs. It is this word, “disappointment”, that is troublesome. The studio has promised nothing except a finished theatrical cut of a film with scenes that were included in the trailer and characters advertised on the movie posters. Yet, when these films fail to live up to our wild self-created promises of unimaginable depth and quality, we cry foul; we sling around the term ‘disappointment’, as though the studio had promised us the moon and instead handed over an open bag of Pop Rocks.

This attitude has permeated nearly every fandom, mostly thanks to the dearth of unreliable information on the Internet. Most people will read tidbits of false information or snippets of the truth and then formulate a totally uninformed opinion, and then act like somehow everyone needs to listen to their endless, unintelligent, ridiculously negative loudmouth ranting simply because the internet gives them the power to shout it from every rooftop. As though their opinion is valid because – shock – they don’t like what they see. Typically these extremely early negative opinions are based on nebulous reasoning and unexplainable “feelings”, but aren’t backed up by anything substantial. We get fans who are ‘disappointed’ over a trailer – a two-minute cut of footage from an unfinished film. Tell me, what promise were you made regarding that trailer? Who promised you everything you wanted to see? What “expectations” did you mull over before watching it? My question is, are you actually capable of truly enjoying anything, or is life merely a circle of endless self-propelled build-ups and inevitable letdowns?

I see people on message boards talking about how they go to the movies just so they can complain about them. I see people crying “disappointment” over thirty seconds of music from an upcoming film. How is it possible that you can judge an entire musical score based on 30 seconds of sound? If you then qualify your disappointment by saying “Well, obviously I haven’t heard the entire thing, maybe it’ll be good”, then please tell me what the value is of spewing your negativity around in a public forum? What good does that do? If you’re going to put caveats on your endless, uninformed naysaying and worrying, why bother doing it in the first place? What does it really add to the conversation to say “There’s 2 seconds of clarinet in track 4 that I don’t feel are appropriate”? Furthermore, if you’re not a fan of the film in the first place, why are you on a message board for fans of the film? Just to make people worry and naysay and mire themselves in pointless, brain-clouding negativity like you?

I submit that with this attitude in mind, it is impossible to enjoy anything whatsoever. You have built things up so much in your own mind that there’s no possible way that you’ll ever be pleased with anything. There is a solution to this problem: patience. There is absolutely nothing wrong with analyzing a beloved (or hated) film after you’ve seen the finished product. Criticism is a wonderful thing and can be a tool that’s capable of bringing great change and seeing marvelous things. But it should be done with a careful, guided and educated hand. Patience is the key. Accept the information you’re given, and hold your breath. Watch the final product. Like it or lump it, you’ve just done something very responsible: you’ve waited and reserved judgment until you’ve had enough evidence to base an informed opinion on.

I, for one, accept film as an artist’s medium and understand that it is an ever-changing and marvelous thing, capable of wonders we still cannot fathom. Furthermore, I don’t see how anyone can watch the latest Return of the King trailer, and listen to the soundtrack clips, and not think that in spite of some bruises and bumps, this film will be one of the most majestic films ever created.

Nothing is perfect, folks. Please think twice next time you claim “disappointment” over two seconds of an unfinished film clip with an alternate take line reading.