Do Bad First Impressions Harm Our Views of Potentially Good Things?
We all know the saying, “You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression”. First impressions happen almost instantaneously, even if we don’t notice it. They also impact us in ways we may not expect. In some cases, a first impression can go a long way, such as in a job interview, or meeting a friend or potential love interest. However, there are times when first impressions actually hurt us. If for no other reason than we train ourselves to believe something, and then when that first impression tells us “that’s not right!” we react that way as well. Now to be fair, sometimes it isn’t right. Sometimes it’s so wrong it hurts. But then, there are other times where our first impressions get the better of us. Allow me to give a few examples or such cases.
When Trailers Or First Looks “Don’t Meet Our Expectations”
This is a classic, and is very relevant to our current age. Whether it’s movies, television shows, or video games, trailers matter. They’re our first glimpse into these worlds, via a minute or so of compiled footage meant to give a certain feeling.
Some make us laugh, others make us get emotional, and some are just actiony romps meant to get us excited for the battle scenes we’re going to see. Yet, there are times when we expect a certain thing from a trailer. Then it doesn’t deliver, and our immediate response is, “This is going to suck!” Two great recent examples of this were the first looks/trailers for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Supergirl.
For Batman v Superman, we had been waiting a long time for a look at the movie. It’s done. We just have to wait until March to see it. We’ve gotten glimpses of the costumes, and the vehicles, and even a really short glimpse of Batman and Superman staring each other down, but not a full trailer.
So then, the trailer comes, and it’s dark and brooding. It has a bunch of mystery around it, and people go nuts. Both in the good and the bad way. I can’t tell you how many people I saw saying, “Batman would never ask Superman ‘Do you bleed?’!”, or “This film is way too dark!”, or something else along that line. This was a less than two minute trailer. We still don’t know the context of the fight, who the real villain is, how Wonder Woman gets involved, or a thousand other questions. Yet people are already hating on the film because of their first impressions of the trailer. How does that make sense?
For Supergirl, it was a little more justified. Many were surprised when DC announced that CBS (a station not known for superhero shows of any kind) would be doing a series based on Superman’s cousin. That alone was cause for concern. Will this be a Superman-lite show, or a procedural like the other CBS shows? How will they make Kara stand out? How can they show Superman if they can’t use Henry Cavill? Again, those were justified questions. This more than any of the CW shows (or the now late Constantine and renewed Gotham) had a lot of uncertainty. So then the six-minute first look came out, and it looked like a superhero romantic comedy. Not bad per se, just not what we want from Kara Zor-El. One of the most powerful women in the DC Universe.
We are right to be worried, I personally had these thoughts and more, (I’m still wanting a SHAZAM! series for the record, so this burst my bubble a bit). Then the pilot got leaked online. One of my friends saw it, and I asked the obvious two questions: “Was it good?” “It was alright.” “Was there a lot of romantic comedy like in the first look?” “No, actually, the trailer literally had all of those moments. There were no more than that.”
See? What we see isn’t always what we get. Now true, they could’ve edited it better (and in fact they did in the second look), but that first look wasn’t the whole pilot. It was just a snippet. Now, it can arrive, and it can be horrible, but it may not be because we thought it was a romantic comedy like we first thought. It could be for a thousand other reasons, just not our first impressions.
I recall when the first images of The Flash came out, they had an awkward shot of Grant Gustin in the Flash suit, and the fans went nuts with how wrong it looked, and how bad this was going to be. Then The Flash came out, it started breaking ratings records, got renewed, and now we can’t think of our lives without The Flash. Just because you see something you don’t like at first, doesn’t mean that’s how it’ll play out. Don’t let first impressions get the best of you when you see something “bad”. But also…
When First Impressions Lead to Hype Buildup
Another classic. This one applies to all media. When something is built up so greatly, or you see that first look and your jaw is on the floor, and you’re hyped, and you’re ready to see it, it’s going to be awesome, and then it’s not. Or it’s not what you were expected after you got done with it. How many times has that happened?
A great example here is Watch Dogs, a game that literally came out of nowhere at E3 a few years back, wowed literally everyone, got an incredible amount of hype, and then it didn’t play out like what we saw originally. That came much to the dismay of those pumped for it. Watch Dogs is actually a perfect example of how what we see in development isn’t always what we get in the end. Whereas movies and TV shows are compiling scenes that have already been filmed (most of the time), games change all the time. The gameplay we saw in Watch Dogs when it was unveiled wasn’t what we got when it was released, and it ticked a lot of people off.
So who’s to blame? The developer for showing us one thing, then giving us another? Or the fans who were so enamored with a demo for an unfinished game that they set themselves up for disappointment? The answer is both to be honest. We are the ones who build this up, and the developers try and please us, but it doesn’t always work.
Here’s another good example, Avengers: Age of Ultron. You’d think, that the sequel to the (at the time) biggest box office opening ever would be a slam dunk for not only shattering that record, but also capitalizing on what the first movie did, and doing it better. When Ultron was revealed as the villain for the second Avengers movie, people were ecstatic. Then the first trailer came out, and it sent chills down our spines. The hype began to build, and build, and build…and build
And the movie was good, but it wasn’t fantastic. There were moments that seemed out of place. Certain side stories were either out of character or almost completely pointless. Added to that, some “shocking” moments that made you wonder what the point was in having them there other than for simple shock value. This was reflected in both reviews and among the fans. Even some of the actors noted it. to conclude, Age of Ultron didn’t do as well as the original, and had a much bigger drop from week to week at the box office than the first movie.
We built up this hype based on what we saw, and what we believed, and then it kind of backfired on us. Now sure, sometimes it doesn’t fail, and the hype is deserved, but when it doesn’t, we get angry, and that’s wrong. Yes, we didn’t get “what we deserved”, but isn’t our expectations part of the reason that happens?
Where is the line?
It’s true, you never get a second chance to make a first impression, which is honestly why most media outlets do all they can to show you several viewpoints. For movies and TV shows, you’ll get multiple trailers, TV spots, interviews, etc. to show you what you expect in more depth than what you first observed. Yes, the end result will be up for debate, but part of the “feeling” you get is based on your first impressions and how that affects your expectations. If you think something will stink, and refuse to watch it because of that, then you find out just how wrong you are…don’t you feel stupid?
On the flipside, if you have this grand expectation of what this film/TV series/video game should be, and you try and fit it into your perfect little picture frame, then something you didn’t expect happens and your picture is shattered, aren’t you to blame for that?
Where is the line between expectations and rational thought? It’s not wrong to have a first impression, but we can’t be guided by it. It should be just that, a first impression. A first look, something to glimpse at and ponder “Hmm, what do I think about this?” If you don’t like it, then wait for more to come, see if they change your mind. If you like it a lot, great! But don’t let it affect the rational thought that something could go wrong, or it not satisfy you in the way you want. You can make a bad movie look if you cut a trailer the right way. It’s once you get in to see it that makes the final impression.
In short? Enjoy your first impressions, but know that there is nothing wrong with a second, third, fourth fifth, or sixth and beyond. All it takes is one little thing to turn it all around.