Discuss: Is Research a Part of Your Moviegoing Experience?
Filed under: Fandom
I don't know what I did before the Internet provided me with most of the speedy-quick research I could ever ask for. Scratch that -- I do know. I had piles of magazines, books, and pretty Britannicas to keep me busy -- but it wasn't really the best solution for our dear forests and trees. With the Internet, I've got a little bit of everything, which has solidified my curiosity into a full-fledged obsession with research.On the one side, in media, there's the familiar face. An old roommate used to always comment about how I could always spot the actor who has no lines in the background. That's partially because of the mainly-useless information that my brain stores, and partially because I would always look up a film or television show online. IMDb quickly became my super-best researching friend as I looked up who was who. This was stemmed by curiosity, as well as feeling for the actor. There's really nothing worse than being an actor with a ton of solid roles, and have viewers recognize them but have absolutely no idea who he or she is. So, I would research away!
The same goes for content. I must, this isn't even up for negotiation, look up any historical time, place, or person that I see in media. I had to stop watching The Tudors once I discovered that the ridiculous drama piled on drama piled on drama wasn't just Henry's wacky ways, but the peeps behind the scenes changing around the whole story. I remember looking up the Blair Witch the minute I heard rumblings about the film, well before the movie even came out, and was pretty bummed to discover that it wasn't a real ghost story. Nevertheless, I thrive on looking up those historical bits. While I would never use a feature, fictional film to truly learn about something, movies are great as a stepping stone -- getting interested through the lives on-screen and then having a "reality" to flush it out with the facts you look up.
The thing is, I always imagined that I was alone in this. This is probably because friends of mine keep making me seem like some cavernous vat of media information. But then I read Erik's post about John Adams. He wrote: "The mini-series is a great conversation piece; my wife and I stayed up late last night watching the second part, then looking up stuff on Wikipedia and discussing the events just prior to the American Revolution." So, I wasn't the only one. Sure, there was no talk of pausing things to look things up, but close enough.
All of this made me want to ask you, dear readers. Do you care about the people behind the film? Do you care to find out what is real, and what is fudged movie magic? Is research a part of your moviegoing experience, or did you leave the books back in school?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-20-2008 @ 8:48PM
Pink Lady said...
Of course it is (answer to the "Is research..." question)!!! I cannot watch a movie without reading everything about it first...Trivia, the story, the actors, the boom guy (well, ok, maybe not him), everything! And then I tell all my friends about it, either before or after the movie (but never during, I need silence!)...imdb, wikipedia...whatever I can find. I LOVE reading that stuff, all the bits and pieces of useless and useful information...It bothers me when I watch a movie and know nothing about it...so no, you're not alone! (Its good to know I'm not alone either...)
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3-21-2008 @ 11:05AM
Robert Magness said...
I am the same way. I read this blog on a daily basis, don't I? Before I had access to IMDB, I too would reference my movie mags and the like. I worked at a video store for several years, which only heightened my useless knowledge--arranging the shelves was my hobby because it was a way to list films I hadn't seen and to see who was in what. I can usually give you a decent filmography of any actor even if I hadn't seen any of the films this person was in. Thanks to IMDB, I can do it quickly, in the comfort of my own home. I do it with my kids movies. After the 18th viewing, I'll sit with my laptop open and find out what some of these old voice actors did and even what some of the animators did. I love the internet.
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3-21-2008 @ 5:38AM
Ronan said...
One of the first things I do after seeing a movie is going to imdb and wikipedia to read about it.
I like to know where I've already seen this background actor who looks familiar, the title of the cd I should buy to get the music of that particular scene, etc.
Knowing as much as I can about a movie has become as great an enjoyment as actually seeing it.
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3-21-2008 @ 7:19AM
fanshawe said...
I'm more into reading reviews than trivia, but with movies I really like, I have been known to go through everything from eccentric director biographies to academic essays about the ways life, the universe and everything is represented in the film. With most movies, though, I don't really bother with much beyond the cast and crew.
And yeah, where there's historical background involved, both Wikipedia and outraged historians trolling movie forums are my friends. :)
Fanshawe
http://www.cinemarealm.com
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