There has been complaining in the media this week that a film company has advertised its latest film with quotes from Twitter users. What’s wrong with that, you may say, don’t they always use positive quotes from people to try and get people into the cinema? Well yes, but usually those quotes are from the media, not Twitter and it is that which has got film journalists hot and bothered. The Impossible starring Ewan McGregor uses a string of quotes from Twitter users to try and entice us to see it.
Should we be worried about this development? It is easy to see why critics would think so. You can see their worries very clearly. If film companies are going to take no notice of what I say then will anyone? If there is a ready stream of filmic comment available on Twitter, why will anyone pay to hear what I am saying? I know more about film, therefore my opinion about whether you should see it is more valid than anyone on Twitter.
Film critics may or may not know a lot about film, but they certainly don’t know a lot about me. Where a critic is useful is when you read him or her regularly and get an idea for their tastes and how those fit with your own. That should also be possible on Twitter. In a similar way you could get to know the people who recommend films that you would like. Yet where Twitter wins is that it gives you a snapshot of opinion very quickly. A lot of opinions can fill your Twitter timeline and as we know since Surowiecki’s The Wisdom of Crowds, crowds are usually more accurate than individuals.
In this case Twitter critics are more independent, less prone to having to worry what the film company will say if they pronounce their latest offering a real stinker. Would it make any sense to make your decisions based on the tweets of a random Twitter user? Not at all. But would it be any more sensible to rely on the review of a random critic whose work you had not read before? Of course they have the advantage of more than 140 characters to get across their views, but 140 characters focuses the mind and can give a pithy review. Reading one tweet will tell you nothing, but scanning the timeline and picking up the general vibe will tell you much more.
Who is the best person to take movie-going advice from? I suggest the following Ladder of Filmic Influence:
1. A friend who knows your tastes
2. Twitter’s overall vibe
3. A fim critic whose tastes and biases you know
4. A random film critic
5. Your cat
6. A random Twitter user
7. A film company poster
What do you think? Who influences you when you choose to see a movie? What is your Ladder of Filmic Influence? Tell us in the comments:
Leave a Reply