tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390756008457544459.post4626199500167063596..comments2023-04-02T02:41:29.750-07:00Comments on Pop Culture Gone Bad: The Real Mystery is "Do I even care anymore?" (JJ Abrams, Tomorrowland, and Too-Coy Marketing)Devinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06366575396224261254noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390756008457544459.post-54217098366925293132013-08-15T09:03:24.419-07:002013-08-15T09:03:24.419-07:00"WE WATCH FILMS WHERE THE MECHANICAL PLOT DIC..."WE WATCH FILMS WHERE THE MECHANICAL PLOT DICTATES CHARACTER REACTIONS, RATHER THAN CHARACTER’S ACTIONS DICTATING THE STORY." Niiiiiice. <br /><br />Granted, some of this plot/story dichotomy isn't anything overly new....some would say that Wilkie Collins or Agatha Christie are earlier perpetrators of it - though I think this blogger's distinction between Mystery and Mysteriousness helps allay that critique. But yeah, overall I do think there's a growing problem with a focus on plot even over the more simply drawn, basic characters - and I wonder (if I may sound like an old man) if at least part of this is fueled by the age of message boards and such...i.e. people are more likely, sadly, to discuss plot than characters...and everyone wants word-of-mouth. <br /><br />Also, funny thing with Alias (which the author mentions) is that the original Mystery Box (Rimbaldi) started off as a perfectly acceptable MacGuffin. I always see that show as Abrams's gateway drug.<br /><br />And fair about WDI. Honestly, it's probably something that would not even have bugged me were it not coupled with Tomorrowland that weekend.Devinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06366575396224261254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1390756008457544459.post-68363815779358529612013-08-15T06:09:38.274-07:002013-08-15T06:09:38.274-07:00It extends beyond marketing. Abrams and Lindelof d...It extends beyond marketing. Abrams and Lindelof do this in their films, as well! Film Crit Hulk has a great article on this: http://badassdigest.com/2013/06/12/film-crit-hulk-smash-the-age-of-the-convoluted-blockbuster/<br /><br />As for the WDI booth, I think the teases there were more out of necessity than they were by design to make them seem clever. Either the plans aren't yet final, or the plans are final and are so expensive that they require Board approval (I've heard this is the 'issue'), in which case Disney cannot make any announcement until that approval is secured. Tom Brickerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00682435701367506546noreply@blogger.com