Expectations in fiction
Things that form Expectations
Promotional videos, teasers, trailers, posters, and music videos. The first glimpse for an upcoming title, given by the makers to the audience, as means to pique their interest.
The description of the premise, and the first episode. The first taste of a title that just began, establishing the premise and the tone of a show.
Buzz or hype. The things those who watch or follow a title say, to those who haven’t, as means to pique their interest.
The Aftermath. This will affect those who weren’t motivated to watch the title while it was still airing.
a) The audience and those with bad taste will simply focus on how much they liked it.
b) The critics will focus on if its overall presentation and themes were done properly.
c) And the makers will focus on how much it sold. Because that is all it matters to them in order to call something a success and a huge effect on their future projects.
What are the Effects of Expectations
Motivation. As much as we try not to have any expectations when getting into a title, it is impossible to do so. We need a reason to motivate us into starting or continuing something, hence the importance of looking forward to something through our expectations.
Validation. As much as we try to have our own view of a title, it is extra rewarding when our view is shared by, and coincides with others. This is why most seek to be part of big groups that have the same expectations as they do.
Positivity. Even if we don’t really have clear expectations for a title, we usually aim to see its positive side, as means to feel nice and be energetic. This is why most seek to be part of groups that hype something, or are motivated into doing activities thanks to it.
Confirmation.
a) As much as we like being surprised, most of the times we want to get what we assume we will get. This is why people are usually disappointed when a title turns out to be, not what they expected it to be.
b) There are cases when they are pleasantly surprised; more specifically, when they get far more than what they expected out of a title. As a rule of thumb though, people do not like being proven wrong, and it is hard to be pleased with things that don’t turn out as expected.
c) There are also cases when people are not particularly amused when they get exactly what they expected. If they found it mediocre, predictable, one of the same, and assume the title was average. In reality, they were never really that excited about it.
When the Above do not Apply
Going in blindly. That is, getting into something without having the slightest idea of what it is about. A very risky move with a very high chance of failure, but also an epic win in case it works.
Overthinking. Going way beyond what a show is about, or what it shows you. You only use it as means to write about stuff that go through your mind.
Second opinion. Deliberately seeing something from an angle most do not see, as means to check how a title holds with a mindset not shared by the majority.
Close to zero expectations about what follows. It makes you accept an ending, no matter what it is.
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The Effects of Suggestions
A very common type of requests on reddit is people asking for shows that will make them laugh or cry. I don’t understand what they expect when they ask that. Let me narrate my reply to this pleb. “By expecting to cry, you won't, because it's supposed to be an emotion that comes naturally and not by forcing yourself.” I mean, seriously, emotions are not something you expect to feel. You are not a robot that presses buttons to feel.
Then there is this other pleb who complained about watching Madoka Magica and didn’t find it shocking because everybody was telling him it would be shocking, therefore he was prepared about it. Let me narrate my reply again. “Welcome to the wonderful realization of suggestions being spoilerish by default, and how shock based series work best only when you stumble upon them completely unaware.”
What that essentially means, is that when you are too bored to check new series completely unaware, until you find something you like, you resort to asking others where you can find a specific thing you seek, resulting to not finding it. A major reason of why people get bored or disappointed is because they are impatient and the element of surprise is gone forever. Don’t blame a show for giving you exactly what you expected. Blame it if fails to deliver what it promises through its script.
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Simply Surprised
One of the many things you can use as evidence of someone being critical, is his perception of what it means to be surprised. I remember when I was a kid and still in my pleb phase, I was watching everything and I wasn’t critical about anything. I also remember that the movies or series that I liked the most where those that were surprising me. And by surprise I mean not getting what I thought I was getting.
This has to do with expectations; not how many of them were met, but rather how far off the expectations were from the actual product. Non critical minds are most likely going to like something by simply being surprised when they are not getting what they expected. Critical minds will most likely going to like something by being surprised when they are getting more than they expected.
In order to better visualize this, imagine case A being a threshold. If zero is expectations, any divergence up or down will be the volume of surprise. Case B on the other hand is like a checklist. The volume of surprise has to do with how many things are not going to be on the list, as well as how many will be added as extra. Extra elements can be seen as a pleasant surprise, and lacking elements as disappointment.
The thing with case B is that it’s often seen as being closed minded. It’s as if you can never think outside the box, or you are stuck in liking the same things, or you refuse to adjust to the changes in entertainment. This is something I have heard a lot over the years. I am biased and like only obsolete formulas found only in retro series. The world has changed Snob, people no longer care about space and manly men, we now like schools and cute girls doing cute things. You are stuck in the past because you use a checklist of things people no longer care about.
Well, that’s because my taste has harden over the years. You can’t make like something just because it’s new or trendy. I have seen a lot and I have formed a specific mindset when I begin watching something. That is not being closed minded, it’s more about knowing how formulas work. So I have this checklist of things I expect to see. If I don’t get all of them, something is off.
I don’t like the case of the threshold, which is usually associated with being open-minded. In this season we had Mayoiga which was far from what most expected it to be like. Why should I love Mayoiga just because it’s not what I expected? I expected a campy slasher story and I got an intentionally unintentional comedy. It’s way less than I expected, and the subversion of expectations so many are using is not excusing it.
Which brings me back to the logic of the threshold. If a show is as good as it manages to surprise you, what happens when you rewatch the series? You are no longer going to be surprised. So what, now the show is no longer good? What if someone reads a few reviews of a series and knows exactly what it’s about? It’s not good because he knows what he’s getting?
My point is that a critical mind has expectations not because it’s biased or closed minded but because it has settled down on what counts as positive or negative. I have said in the past that it’s better not to have high expectations when you begin watching something but that doesn’t mean that you should accept everything you see as it is. The point is to be pleasantly surprised, and not simply surprised. Stop thinking like a relativist who thinks there is no right or wrong and all it matter is to have feels. Be demanding, dammit.
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The Effect of Future Episode Summaries
Most series have a preview at the end of every episode, which is often spoiling what will happen next. Episode summaries are the same, only on a much larger scale, since they are spoiling what will happen in the next 4 episodes.
What’s the difference between knowing the plot one episode ahead, as opposed to four? I made a topic in the Dragon Ball subreddit about the effects of future episode summaries and these are my finds.
Obviously there is no difference if you simply avoid previews and summaries, but for the sake of argument let’s say you don’t avoid them.
For starters, the element of surprise is lost on a much larger scale. You know what will happen way sooner than you are supposed to, which takes out a lot of the fun.
The second difference is that it gives you more time to anticipate how something will play out, once you know it will happen. It increases your focus on direction.
The third difference is that you no longer speculate how something may play out, since you know what will happen. It lowers the chances of theory crafting.
The fourth difference is something that happens when everything is not going according to plan. Sometimes the translation of the episode summaries comes out wrong, other times it’s fake, and in some very rare cases, the plot needs to change in the last moment due to unexpected developments during production. When this happens, episode summaries end up misdirecting the audience and surprise it by not giving it what it was prepared for. Therefore they make things even worse than when you don’t know what happens next. Information is power, misinformation is disaster.