If people gush about something: a film, tv show, book – anything, really – I tend to avoid it. Tiger King? Still not watched it. 50 Shades of Grey? Nope. The Godfather: Part II? Uh-uh.
It’s not for a lack of interest. Of course, I want to know what the hell Carol Baskin’s done. Of course, I want to analyse Mr Grey’s abusive behaviour myself. I totally need to see just how much Michael has turned into his father.
I simply don’t want my perception of what I’m about to read or watch be influenced by the opinions of others, because I can tell you exactly how I’ll react:
- I find the thing incredibly underwhelming and I wonder what in the world everyone else was thinking.
- I think the thing is fucking brilliant and I wonder what in the world everyone else was thinking.
- There’s one negative point in the review and I wait for it, picking at other things I hate along the way because I boarded the negative express train and I want to find the things the reviewer missed.
It’s a point of contention with some of my friends. They love something. They want to share it with me, but if they come on too strong, I shut down. Do not tell me I need to read/watch/check out something. I won’t. It doesn’t matter if it was something I intended to check out.
A good example of this is the film Knives Out. I’d wanted to see it since I saw the trailer. A dear friend gushed about it, and I didn’t watch it for nearly six months after that gushing. Knives Out was every bit phenomenal as they said. I could have known this and experienced it much sooner, but no. It didn’t matter how many times I said, ‘I really should watch it’ I didn’t.
I wanted to experience it without their words in the back of my mind. I wanted to enjoy the film without feeling like I needed to analyse it. That’s it - that’s the crux. The first viewing is to absorb and take in, enjoy it or hate it. Subsequent viewings are for analyses.
The caveat to this is if I come to you specifically looking for recommendations. Rave away. I’ll still have an initial reaction to avoid whatever you’re raving about, but I can better push it aside to look into at least one thing that’s been recommended to me if I feel even a small hook of interest.
However, if I’m on the outskirts of hearing someone gush or rant about something my interest in whatever they’re talking about is piqued. I need to know more. I need to experience this thing. LET ME LOVE IT WITH YOU. Or hate it, whatever. I’m not picky. I just want to be involved somehow, even if we never actually discuss it.
That’s happened before. I was out somewhere, probably a coffee shop knowing me, someone’s talking to another person and I strain to listen about this awesome/awful thing and make a note to investigate it later.
Sometimes I find whatever they were discussing and other times I don’t. Usually because I don’t find the note I made myself for months, or years, to come and I forgot.
It’s very much a matter of out of sight, out of mind with me. I have a list of videos to watch on YouTube that I’ll probably never get to simply because I’m not on YouTube often enough to remember. The willingness is there, though.
I don’t know if it’s my nature, but I am contrary. Yes, like a cat (the title makes sense now, doesn’t it?). They want attention, but on their terms. I want to see and experience these things, but on my terms. Give me a synopsis or a trailer, let that pull me in, and let me make up my mind.
That isn’t to say I’m against reviews entirely. I completely understand as a writer that reviews are an essential lifeforce of what I do. They’re simply something I look for afterwards. I want to see if other people had the same experience. A validation that I didn’t just completely misunderstand what I experienced.
That, and there’s something magical about finding someone who loved or hated the same things as you. That initial ‘OMG, YES!’ and you spend the next two hours jumping back and forth between different aspects that really hit you one way or another.
So, what about you? Do you read reviews first or do you wait until after?