p.79-80, q. 3

I think the media reflects popular tastes. They give the majority of people what they want. When a movie comes out, the media goes all out to promote it; especially when it’s a blockbuster. It does not matter if it’s a bad movie, only that it will make a lot of money. Take Spider-Man 3, it was a horrible movie, but it made more money than its predecessors. Spider-Man 3 was a soap opera that consisted of a love triangle between Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson and Harry Osborne. The media can be blamed for making millions of people pay to see it. Spider-Man 3 was very popular with people especially children who don’t know the series. Merchandise from the movie was not flying off store shelves, so my guess is people were not in it for the toys, t-shirts, posters, games, etc. The first two movies were excellent because it appealed to everyone including diehard comic fans. The third movie failed because it had too many villains; it is reminiscent of “Batman and Robin”. The movie got its publicity and its fame from the media; it did not last for too long. The media praises a movie until the next “big one” comes out. I had high hopes for this movie until I saw the trailer. Spider-Man 3 had some action sequences, but most of the movie consisted of drama. People want action in movies because they have enough drama in their lives. People need to get away from their daily life and escape to another reality. Most people like action movies because it involves little dialogue. This means that people will understand what’s going on even if they don’t speak English. Comedy movies are more popular because laughter is a universal language. Even if you don’t understand English, most of comedy is slapstick. When someone gets kicked in the groin, everyone can understand this as funny. Laughter is also contagious, so if people are laughing you will too. The media is not a good tool for movie reviews. Movie critics are the people who praise the good movies and blast the bad ones. The difference is the media that includes Access Hollywood, Extra, E.T. etc. are more powerful than the movie critics who know what they’re talking about.