The Viewer's Perception

In the previous class, we had finished watching When We Were Kings, a documentary about the acclaimed boxer, Muhammad Ali. One of the most striking aspects about this film is that its entire cast is composed of real characters. The real Don King. The real George Foreman. The real Muhammad Ali. There are no actors to be found, which cannot be said about all documentaries. However, to my surprise, it really did not help create a more realistic experience for the viewer compared to our last film, Malcolm X, which did not include any real characters. But I also did not know how the real Muhammad Ali looked, therefore, I could not tell if an actor was used in this documentary. If I had been familiar with him before, this would have altered my experience, and this same concept applies to Malcolm X, and all other films ever made. The viewer's perception of a movie greatly depends on their prior knowledge, whether it is about the characters, storyline, etc.

Often, books are made into films, such as the Hunger Games series. Let's say I watched the movie without reading the book first; this is commonly taboo for fans of any book series because of the significant discrepancies between the two. Movies tend to leave out crucial details, which disappoints avid readers, sometimes changing the entire point of the movie. But if I never read the book to begin with, I would've never known what was missing.

In the past five to ten years, Marvel has made a plethora of its age-old comics into modern-day movies. To many adults, who read these comics during their childhood, these movies are very appealing. Just think: they get a chance to see some, if not all of their favorite characters "come to life" in cinema. On the contrary, this experience can be less exciting for teenagers like me, since these comics came well before I was even born, many of which I have never even heard of. The few times I have gone to the theater with my dad to see these kind of films, I was left slightly, if not totally confused until he explained the plot. Sure the effects were cool, the cinematography was well-executed, but since the storyline wasn't clear to me, all of the pizazz didn't matter. Ancient films like Psycho, The Birds, and even Alien may be considered antiquated to some people, but their "bare bones" style definitely appeals to me since I understand the majority of the scenes.

There aren't many movies in which the viewer can fully grasp every single concept displayed, and this certainly isn't done by accident. As a ThunderClap filmmaker myself, I know firsthand how important it is to keep the viewer guessing, to a certain extent at least. You don't want to tell them all of the details, but you don't want to leave them confused either. In the end, it's all about striking a balance.