Is there too much choice overload? Please discuss.

[Captain Crimson]

My apologies if I am posting too many threads, but this is a curious little one I'd like you guys to pick apart.

See, my bias has always been to books. I love reading. I'll play video games, read comic books, but I love novels and make it an effort to read at least a few every couple months. I think book reading is a dying art, and that leads me to a conversation me and some friends had on Skype. It just seems that the further back you look into the televised entertainment business, that movie adaptations of books were more true to the source material, that they at least captured the spirit of the work, if not the exact details. The reason Gone With The Wind remains THE highest grossing film of all time is there was very little to consume past that for the era with regards to something you can turn off your brain to.

Now we got so much in potential entertainment outlets, some social analysts call it choice overload. And I've felt for a while now that movie adaptations of books have been losing their cleverness, the creativity and sophistication which stood out and had made the source material so endearing. I think I only liked the Harry Potter feature films till GoF or OotP. It is now a very competitive market, and so the need to hit certain marks is limiting what you can do as by nature, you need to make back your investment. You can't slow down production either. And that is where you probably get observations they are focusing on spectacle and not substance.

What do you guys think? Is choice overload becoming a problem in our society? Do you think movie adaptations of books are getting worse? Or some opinion in the middle? Let me know down below, smash out a reply, and let's see where this goes.

[Mecha82]

From my experience having choice is good thing. It allows one to avoid what he or she doesn't like and focus on what he or she does like. It also helps that if one doesn't like practices of some corporation they can just spend his or her money on what another corporation puts out instead. Granted that doesn't stop people complaining about those things on internet put still.

Let me explain something. I like several different things including pro wrestling. For long time after they bought WCW, WWE had monopoly when it comes to mainstream pro wrestling programming in western world. How ever now with NJPW having expanded to become global and AEW being thing that is no longer case. There are options again for both pro wrestlers and fans of pro wrestling a like.

So really I don't see how having plenty of choice can be bad thing.

[Captain Crimson]

From my experience having choice is good thing. It allows one to avoid what he or she doesn't like and focus on what he or she does like. It also helps that if one doesn't like practices of some corporation they can just spend his or her money on what another corporation puts out instead. Granted that doesn't stop people complaining about those things on internet put still.

Let me explain something. I like several different things including pro wrestling. For long time after they bought WCW, WWE had monopoly when it comes to mainstream pro wrestling programming in western world. How ever now with NJPW having expanded to become global and AEW being thing that is no longer case. There are options again for both pro wrestlers and fans of pro wrestling a like.

So really I don't see how having plenty of choice can be bad thing.

That is certainly a valid view! And yes, it is indeed a great point to bring up. I never got why, for example, people went to check out the ST and SW movies just to find something to hate, or read the books or something else wanting to hate it. That's the wrong approach. Why not try and find something to like? I personally blame the Nostalgia Critic since he popularized negativity, but I know it's been happening much longer. Criticism and withholding your wallet is quality control. Truth.

The downside to having too many choices is that I think, the world compartmentalizes. People get lost in the flood, and so they can't make up their minds. It's the dark side of such a prosperous society. It's why you got so many huge popular followings on YouTube, offering their experiences, and where the casuals and newcomers tend to flock. Especially the older-school type fans/consumers who have a bit more breadth of knowledge than they do. Just my two cents, though.

[Riedquat]

There is a problem with having a lot, and that's that nothing really becomes special any more, and thus the enjoyment is diluted. It's like sweets when you're a child. Get them occasionally and it's a treat, and it seems great if you can get more, when you want, but they stop being as special and you just get fat.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Sequels used to be the prospective franchise ambition but it's become universes. Marvel's method of tent poling seems to be the only one that's got itself up and running, and it has done so for a substantial amount of time and without a flop. Sadly another victim has risen afloat -- Star Wars has been found dead in the water.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

I think it's important to remember that even as Iron Man had come out, movies were drying up as a business. Now I can remember each time era slice with some buzzworthy movie coming out, so I think the more practical line of reasoning for that aside from a creative depression from 08-10 was the rise of on demand service along with the proliferation of big flat screen tvs that were affordable and really easy to carry. The overall tide level for theaters went down, so the marketing typically has had to wrap itself around the studio's creative product a lot more. That would explain why you don't see a lot of stuff in the theater that half of the people are waiting to see on TV because now 3/4 of them are waiting to see it on TV.

[Captain Crimson]

I think it's important to remember that even as Iron Man had come out, movies were drying up as a business. Now I can remember each time era slice with some buzzworthy movie coming out, so I think the more practical line of reasoning for that aside from a creative depression from 08-10 was the rise of on demand service along with the proliferation of big flat screen tvs that were affordable and really easy to carry. The overall tide level for theaters went down, so the marketing typically has had to wrap itself around the studio's creative product a lot more. That would explain why you don't see a lot of stuff in the theater that half of the people are waiting to see on TV because now 3/4 of them are waiting to see it on TV.

Yes, it's crazy. I can vividly remember ticket prices from the early aughts, and they were only like $5.00 or so, somewhere around that. I'd go see a movie maybe more than a dozen times a year. Now movie prices are going up, and it's like only once or twice I go see a movie per year, if that. It takes a major event, and my thinking becomes, if it looks good, I'd rather buy it from Amazon Prime or rent it On Demand. I am having less and less motivation to go see movies, since they are all mindless blockbusters with no soul, it gets me to wonder sometimes why I even should. I mentioned watching RO a few times for that Vader battle. But I walked out halfway through TLJ, and never looked back. Why give money to something most people rag on? Mr. Hamill has even talked about this. He compared it Mr. Bay's Transformers films.

[Mecha82]

Why give money to something most people rag on? Mr. Hamill has even talked about this. He compared it Mr. Bay's Transformers films.

Thing is, I don't usually allow other people's opinions effect my own opinions. I like things that I like and I dislike things that I dislike. I have not made secret that I like SW sequels or at least that I find enjoyment out of those 3 movies. Just because some vocal people on internet rag on those doesn't mean that I should just follow those opinions instead of having my own. Besides SW sequels have brought plenty of new young fans to franchise so there is also that.

[Captain Crimson]

Why give money to something most people rag on? Mr. Hamill has even talked about this. He compared it Mr. Bay's Transformers films.

Thing is, I don't usually allow other people's opinions effect my own opinions. I like things that I like and I dislike things that I dislike. I have not made secret that I like SW sequels or at least that I find enjoyment out of those 3 movies. Just because some vocal people on internet rag on those doesn't mean that I should just follow those opinions instead of having my own. Besides SW sequels have brought plenty of new young fans to franchise so there is also that.

And there's no shame to you for that! Some might say that, but that seems like gatekeping. Personally, I find the new movies are hit-and-miss in a few ways, others are downright dreadful, with more than a few instances in rising to the occasion and becoming exceptional films. Don't let others determine your interests. Stick to your guns. As for the younger fans, my primary goal as an older EU fan is to try and educate them. I think that is important. It's why I support non-profit charities like the TSF that gets Star Wars Legends books to sick kids. It is growing the brand, as well as increasing literacy, all at the same time. Matt's tagline has always been: "More Star Wars is good for everyone." And he's an inspiration to people like me.

[Rocketboy1313]

Here is a video about choice and why there are so many choices available now.
https://youtu.be/iIiAAhUeR6Y

And here is an article from the American Psycological Association on why having too many choices is making us miserable.
https://www.apa.org/monitor/jun04/toomany

There is a happy middle ground between being so bombarded by advertisements for all of our meaningless choices that the light inside of us goes out... and being able to say, "I think I will have a red one today".