Star Wars, Marvel, Hype Culture And Why I Don’t Want Any Part Of It [OLD VERSION]

This was written for the university subject, BCM110.

Shown above: the video that partially inspired this post. Warning: may contain a bit of swearing, if you don't like that sort of thing.

Let me set the scene for you. 

I’m sitting in my bedroom, minding my own business, browsing Reddit or what have you, when my brother bursts in - asking me if I’ve seen the new Star Wars trailer yet. I reply with something that sounds tired, bored, and along the lines of ‘No…I haven’t’. He groans and tells me about how good it was, and that cool fanservice-y moments happened in it, and at the end this happened, and this, and this, and this and…I could not care less. Sure, I like Star Wars. Hell, I really like Star Wars. I’m not a diehard fan that gets dressed up or has a whole room or shrine dedicated to it. But I am ‘enough of a fan’ to have a Star Wars deck of cards, a Star Wars encyclopaedia, and two books dedicated to Blueprints and diagrams of different Star Wars ships. So…I am a bit of a fan.

However, I’m not someone to keep up with release cycles or the next teaser trailer to follow the last two teaser trailers to tease something the first two have not! Exciting, no? “Oh goodness, I can’t wait to see another teaser. I enjoyed the last two so much!” If I were teased like this by someone in real life, I doubt I’d keep my cool for long.

But I digress.

Teasers for teasers now appears to be the norm. It seems that in today’s world, it’s not enough that you like a thing. You have to breathe it, live it, and keep up with all the news and behind-the-scenes featurettes that won’t spoil the film, “we promise!” Isn’t it enough to see a film, appreciate it…and that’s it? Now, I understand that we as humans love being ‘in the know’ and that we consume knowledge faster than a bullet going through a piece of Swiss cheese. But what I don’t understand is that it’s no longer enough to politely wait for things to happen or, god forbid, to go outside and interact with people while waiting for said things to happen. No, no, no! If something big is happening, then your brain must be focused on absolutely nothing else. Not only that, but you’re constantly bombarded from all sides and/or directions about how good a thing is. “Believe the hype!”, headlines scream, “Best film I’ve seen in my entire life!”, shout the message boards. Believe the hype? Why? Why must I ‘believe’ anything?

Now if I’m sounding too snarky, it’s because this sort of thing has been getting on my nerves for a long time now. It’s partially because of ‘the dangerous cycle of Hype Culture’, which I will get onto in a moment. But it’s mainly because I live with siblings, specifically two of my four siblings, that ‘get hyped’ about a lot of things. The aforementioned Star Wars, Stranger Things, something happening in “the Arrowverse”…You know, the series of TV shows that decided it was going to be the cool kid on the Television block and create its own ‘non-cinematic universe’. So, as you might expect, living in a household with ‘hypesters’, a very particular kind of audience, starts to make you hate the very idea of popular culture and cinematic universes. Speaking of which…am I the only one getting sick of Marvel and their own cinematic universe?


This is NOT to criticise or discuss the actual quality of any of the movies. This is separate from that. It’s the fact that these films have accumulated at such an alarming rate that ‘Superhero movies’ have evolved from a niche sub-genre, to a genre, to a whole damn industry. The audience for these films is there, no question: its audience is everyone and anyone that breathes. Fun for the whole family, indeed!

To be honest, it’s hard to avoid talking about Marvel when you’re discussing hype culture in general. These films, among others, are ingrained into hype’s very nature. Showing off characters and set-pieces in teasers (grumble, grumble) are what they do best, and it’s these moments in trailers that get people excited and convince them to hand over their money. Sure, that’s what good marketing is supposed to do. And true, - like it or not - these films exist primarily to make money. But hype culture is just that: a culture. And thus, a hyped-up thing’s foundations are upon its audience.

Let me give you two possible outcomes or cycles of hype: the first is the downward spiral into hatred. This is what a typical ‘bad’ cycle looks like:

1. Thing gets announced

2. People get excited

3. More things about the thing are announced

4. People get more excited

5. People tell their friends about the new thing and act as pseudo-advertisers

6. More hype

7. Thing gets released

8. The thing’s actually crap

9. People hate it even more then they might have done due to hype intensifying their expectations

10. Repeat Steps 1-9 with something else that also ends up being crap

The second is the perpetual hype machine. It’s the same as the first except instead of being crap, the thing is good and as a result, people get more excited about the next thing that comes from the first thing.

Being someone who watches this culture from the outside looking in, I don’t completely understand why anyone actively involves themselves in this process - either your expectations as an audience member are dashed to pieces or they’re constantly heightened to the point where nothing can ever compare with the image of this possible thing inside your head. And yes: It works for a lot of people. But I guess it’s just not for me. And that’s fine.


By the by, you may have noticed - scratch that, definitely noticed - that, throughout this blog post (mini-essay), I’ve used the word ‘thing’ a lot. And that’s because this principle of hype culture and its audience can apply to practically anything within pop culture. Movies, music, video games…you name it.

Pop culture and its good friend, hype culture, have become the best of buddies in the past decade or two, and good for them…good for them. But as the title suggests…

I don’t want any part of it.

“But to answer your question, Alexander, no. I have not seen the newest Star Wars trailer. But I’m sure you’re more than willing to explain it to me and why you loved it, even if it goes in one ear and out the other.”