Why was some ppl's reaction against Prometheus so intense?

pfusr

apologies if this has been explored already in a thread; a cursory search didn't bring anything up.

Just came from youtube and Happy Birthday David

, reviewing replies to replies i made. The haters get incredibly abusive. They are really hurting. Why IS that? I've already commented elsewhere, but here's one more thought, quoting self from aforementioned youtube comments;

"Prometheus is much more the descendent of Blade Runner than of the Alien films, conceptually. That's why it doesn't behave like an Alien film and why it disappoints Alien fans. There's more to this than 'plot holes' etc. Maybe the Alien isn't enough of a protagonist for ppl who love to get up close and personal with it. They needed those slavering jaws and that malign consciousness to underpin everything. And the absence of that felt like bereavement."

interested in what everyone thinks about this. it's something the director has surely been sussing out.

pro_metheus_fan

It comes down to hype and the internet. Years ago before the internet you would hang around in your social groups and you might go out for a night out with your mates and catch a movie, if you liked it you would tell other friends and you would end up with word of mouth. But now thanks to the internet the amount of hype that gets generated for movies becomes intense.

Now there are two types of hype, prometheus suffered from the first which was people assuming this would be the greatest movie ever made in history and people having a full year to obsess about it. I guess it would be like going out with a hot chick and wanting to get it on with her but having to wait a full year and when you finally do rock the casbah she isn't what you were expecting. Although the way people bitch about the movie it would be like if she dropped her pants after a year and was really a dude and she had a bigger nob then you as well just to really rub it in.

People were also kept in the dark so there were a lot of people playing the guessing game which is also never a good thing. For instance people were assuming that alien harvest would be the story for the movie or that there were actually xenomorphs in the film, i remember there were supposedly leaked scripts that turned out to be fake. There were people saying they knew people who worked on the film and they saw alien costumes on the set. This all feeds the imagination and the expectations. So the cogs in the brain start to turn and you start to build up a picture which eventually turns out to be different from the one you end up seeing. Then when the movie didn't live up to there perceptions or lofty expectations they get annoyed.

Now Alien was a horror movie but james camerons film Aliens was more of an action/war film and some people were annoyed at the time but there wasn't a platform to vent your hate like there is now with the internet. I realised right at the begining that prometheus was going to be different just from the opening music and to me this was more of an exploration film. So Alien is horror, aliens is action and prometheus was adventure/exploration 50's style sci-fi, the problem comes when people say we wanted more of a horror film which we got with alien 3 which everybody hated or more of an action film which we got from alien resurrection and which everybody hated, so ridley gave us something new, but you had so many people wanting it to be different things that you were always going to have a lot of people that were going to be disappointed.

I personally just wanted to see something different so i was happy although the movie does have it's short comings but nothing major in my opinion. I personally think and again this is only my opinion but the people who complain about the movie constantly and i mean constantly are probably sad and have no lives so were pinning everything on this one movie, god forbid if they ever got a girlfriend and then they were cheated on. They would probably take to facebook to vent there abuse at the guy that was banging there girl while they were caught up writing abusive things to david lindeloff on twitter or to people on youtube that say they enjoyed the movie although i can never actually see this becoming an eventuality. All in all it's just a movie these people need to let it go, they may feel cheated but i don't think they really know what cheated is. But in the day and age we live in every dickhead gets a voice thanks to the internet, that is why you get people calling people who like twillight names and people who are fans of nolan names and being an arm chair critic on everything, you only have to look at imdb to see this and it comes from both sides.

Now the second kind of hype comes after people have seen the movie so there isn't that much invested interest from the person the film is being hyped to like batman begins for instance. I was told this movie was really good and i went to see it and thought it was okay and then the same thing happened with the dark knight, i didn't enjoy either and decided against seeing the third movie, but i didn't bitch and wine about it because i hadn't spent a year of my life anticipating it although even if i had i would still just think wow that was a shit movie and then carry on living my life.

So to sum up a film like prometheus was always going to upset some people because it was so anticipated and you cannot please everyone, if you repeat yourself then it is same old same old and if you give people something new then some people will take to it and some people won't. But it is the internet which has led to the amount of spite that people unleash now, i think in a way the internet can be quite harmfull to certain people and i think it has had a negative impact on normal civil social conventions.

Nragemachine

Actually that is a pretty good question there. Certainly people who weren't following the film as closely as others had expectations that were perhaps not met. The uninformed went in expecting an Alien prequel, which is not exactly what they got. I had been following everything on the film up until its release so I knew what to expect what to go in and after repeat viewings really enjoyed the film more and more. So its completely understandable if people felt disappointed because their expectations were not met.

What I don't get is the insane aggressiveness of some people that hate on the film, often with incorrect information, with goofy ideas like the infamous 'plotholes' argument which is silly considering the story is pretty cohesive, some just don't bother to examine it. Prometheus certainly has flaws for sure, but most of the arguments attack things that are obvious and easy to explain instead of these flaws. And that may be another problem, I am a Kubrick fan so I get these types of films that try to make you examine it and think about it, but others that aren't used to, or dislike this sort of film certainly wouldn't like Prometheus, which as someone pointed out is alot more like Blade Runner in this respect as opposed to Alien.

But this is nothing new when it comes to Ridley Scott films, both Alien and Blade Runner got the same treatment, especially Blade Runner which initially was a widely hated and disliked film.

pfusr

"the insane aggressiveness". yep. Most of them are probably fairly young and identity building through sense of belonging in cults like the cult following the Alien films had/have. So they're personally invested, and then the hype got them all turned on as commented above, then there was the net for them to vent. That and trolling, a fine new internets tradition equivalent to roving out in bands of frustrated and as yet powerless virgins on raids against neighbouring tribes.

I live in a backwater of a backwater and avoid mass media, so didn't catch the hype. If i heard the upcoming scifi from R Scott was to have anything to do with Alien, i forgot it. As a Blade Runner fan, if I'd known, I'd have been interested but sensed no potential for any kind of peak experience because though I love sci fi it has to be more 2001 than Starship Troopers. iykwim. So went in with no expectations at all other than the pleasure of knowing it was an R Scott film, and experienced face-rippling Gforces of delight :)

Upset [but not defeated!] by own hype and squads of young bucks now trying to belong to Prometheus haters clubs. Annoying. Ridley is right to respond with the middle finger and no explanations whatsoever. But you could push them over with a feather. Just has to be the right feather, if you could be bothered. I hope the director is still in the mood and makes the next one for himself. The rest will follow.

pfusr

Another thought; not 'getting it' frustrated a lot of people, but worse, wounded their vanity. Hence consequent frantic externalising efforts. It's the film that is stupid, not me. A lot of ppl got caught in a worst of both worlds zone or no man's land between layers of understandings, between seeing a thing and understanding its implications. As in 'that was too obvious, how dum those scientists were; my intelligence is being insulted!' yet missing that these elements point to a cautionary tale/fable.

But yea it is a lot about preference too, or what we're acculturated to. Another great Hollywood tradition in film is the fully resolved plot with happy endings. Most people love what they're used to, and who am I to criticise that. It's a minority who are seekers after new and surprising experiences, and seekers after the new AND numinous/transcendent/unknowable/formless realms must be rarer. As someone beautifully put it here http://collider.com/noomi-rapace-prometheus-2-sequel, teh next film might say "all your answers will be questioned". I couldn't be happier about that. Finding it in film is so very rare.

Carrot

http://www.hark.com/batman-begins/and-you-always-fear-what-you-dont-understand

MadEye

Then there's also a lot just jumping on the hate bandwagon for the hell of it to be 'cool' or 'popular' or something.

Also hype..

ummester

Main reasons for the intense dissapointment, I think, are:

1) Love for Alien

2) Editing

3) The question laden script

Remember the Star Wars prequels? I'm not saying Prometheus is at all in the same dire league as them, but a similar thing has happened with fans.

Vodi

Good post, pfusr

Generally:

People were expecting big things, and for some it fell short, though many of the haters clearly - as proved by their posts here - missed a lot of the more subtle plot themes/points

Prometheus, in my opinion, got it right; it opened a door to a new universe - not a bastardised, uninspired sibling like previous movies - and thankfully devoid of Predators and overplayed Xenomorphs

We always suggest people watch it more than once

Terraformer

Well the film hasn't been criticized as many would think. Only a small minority don't like it but that minority with their many different accounts and thousands of comments on youtube, forums and articles have a bigger voice. Remember that the majority liked the film. Prometheus was a critical and box office success

John_Stark

I guess the hate derives from multiple sources.

-You have people who really hated the movie. I can't say i agree or that hating a movie is healthy, but there you have it.

-There are people who hate lindelof and hated the movie by proxy.

-There are people who hate Scott and hated the movie by proxy.

-There are people who hate open questions and hated the movie for it.

-There are people who LOVED Alien (like me), but that unlike me felt betrayed by this movie.

-There are people who had incredibly high expectations and felt betrayed by the hype.

I mean, i could go on. People respond emotionally to things like movies, instead of logically, which on one hand is great, Because you can feel they have love for the source material for them to care so much...you don't see people going so mad over some random action straight to dvd movie.

On the other hand it causes extreme exaggeration, the movie isn't bad by any means. It also doesn't quite live up to the impossibly elevated hype. So to really emotionally invested groups of people, it will feel like the worst thing ever, instead of the quite fascinating bit flawed movie that it actually is.

I'd say prometheus is a solid 7.5 or 8. Good, not amazing, not a masterpiece. Fascinating and embedded with incredible meaning yet it never fully achieves the level of intellectuality and finesse that we know the director is capable of and has proven many times. That's my personal opinion.

But the movie in no way warrants the hate of the masses nor even the constant attacks.

If not for anything else, this is the best Alien movie in a long time and the most interesting, open minded, exploration of dark and controversial themes done with a massive budget and support from a company such as Fox to come out last year and probably ever. A marriage between an existing terrifying science fiction franchise and a philosophical study of what it means to be human.

MadEye

There's also the Lindelof haters...

Nragemachine

MadEye said:
There's also the Lindelof haters...

Oh yeah, how could've I forgotten such a major point. Alot of the haters are unsatisfied Lost fans who were looking to take their frustration out on Lindelhof's next big project. I've never seen Lost myself so I don't get it, I enjoy a movie that allows for the watcher to analyze and think, so many great discussions come from the fact that there are deliberately unanswered questions and is part of the fun.

Carrot

LOST fans are complete nut jobs
they used to bug me over how great and well written the series was, praising it nonstop, saying it's the best show of all time

then after the FINAL episode they turn and say it's the worst thing of all time

I don't care about lost
I've never cared about lost

These people belong in Arkham Asylum

Dancing_Frog

There is really no reason to classify any one with an opposing point of view except to try to arbitrarily dismiss what they have to say. People don't like it for as a large of a variety of reasons as the people that love it.

In my view, it is not the best work that could have been achieved with this group for a variety of reasons which are similar to the reasons that I am not particularly fond of Alien 3. I feel that's primarily due to the mismanagement of the franchise by Giler, Hill, and Fox, but that's a topic for another thread.

NickIsSmart

Well said, Dancing. If Ridley hadn't directed this and made it look so good, it'd just be a goofy Fassbender vehicle.

Carrot

lol you're a goofy Fassbender vehicle

fifield

People don't like it because "how dos she run with a c sexshun xD"

or

"y didnt dey move out of de wai of de fallin spaic ship"

and even

"where were teh zenomorfs!!!!!!!!"

NickIsSmart

If he wanted to ride me, I can't say I'd mind... : )

MadEye

Carrot said:
LOST fans are complete nut jobs
they used to bug me over how great and well written the series was, praising it nonstop, saying it's the best show of all time

then after the FINAL episode they turn and say it's the worst thing of all time

I don't care about lost
I've never cared about lost

These people belong in Arkham Asylum

I'm mostly a big fan of Lost.

Watch the first three seasons at least. Those make for mostly fantastic TV. I think is still Lost is Lindelof's best work so far.

As for haters and all, I just try to ignore all that. One of the major reasons I left IMDB.

pfusr

fifield said:
People don't like it because "how dos she run with a c sexshun xD"

there was a big earthquake in NZ in teh 80s. There was an article in the paper about a man who had a silo fall on him inside a large agricultural building, breaking his pelvis. He hotfooted it out of there, managing to sprint with all speed even with the broken pelvis.

catecholamines. better than sliced bread when the shit hits the fan :)

Nragemachine

pfusr said:

fifield said:
People don't like it because "how dos she run with a c sexshun xD"

there was a big earthquake in NZ in teh 80s. There was an article in the paper about a man who had a silo fall on him inside a large agricultural building, breaking his pelvis. He hotfooted it out of there, managing to sprint with all speed even with the broken pelvis.
catecholamines. better than sliced bread when the shit hits the fan :)

Adrenaline can do wonderous things, and living is a big motivator. lol

loadagain

pro_metheus_fan said:
Although the way people bitch about the movie it would be like if she dropped her pants after a year and was really a dude and she had a bigger nob then you as well just to really rub it in.

I completely agree with your entire post but I had to quote this part cause it's the funniest shit I've seen all week. Pro_fan strikes again!

Also, I don't care about the hate anymore because like others have said this film is closer to Blade Runner and I have been saying for months that Prometheus will be remembered and thought about for a long time and even if it takes 20 years it will become a classic.

Do you guys think it's possible for something to become a "cult classic" like it used to be? Now that we can watch it and illegally download it and debate it endlessly on internet forums and take screenshots of every moment and watch all the deleted scenes and people can trash it on imdb all day cause they're losers. I still believe it will be considered a classic at some point, but I wonder if it's possible like it used to be.

MadEye

I actually think Prometheus will be a more of a cult classic personally. I think it can still happen if a lesser movie/tv show etc has it's small group of fans and whatnot...

pro_metheus_fan

With the sequel and possibly a third film we will see how big the fan base is by the amount of money it makes and tickets that are sold, if the sequel bombs then i would say the fan base is probably smaller then fox had anticipated and then maybe the film would have a chance at cult status one day.

But i think that the audience is a lot bigger then anybody thinks, after all there are a lot of normal people out there that enjoy movies to and are not like the kind of loonies you get on imdb or these blog sites. The people i'm talking about are normally known or define themselves as "fanboys" and "haters" from what i know, i think virgins would probably be a better word for them but i know that these people who are still fighting in a long prolonged war about whether the movie was actually any good or not are not representative of the common working man or ordinary people, although for some fucked up reason they seem to think they are. But it is my opinion that the sequel will make money, plus you will have toys and merchandise etc which will no doubt make it more of a part of pop culture if they sale well. Personally i can see fan conventions possibly twenty years from now if that's the case.

But to me prometheus will never be a cult classic because i think the fan base is actually larger then anybody knows. Everybody i have spoken to or am friendly with who has seen it who are just normal everyday people and not movie geeks liked it and wouldn't mind seeing a sequel. Some were a little underwhelmed but on the whole enjoyed it of course you never hear from any of these people on the internet because they don't post things on imdb or youtube.

So to me the question is will it become a classic? Blade runner started off as a cult classic because it's fan base was small but over time once critics had re-evalutaed it it became a sci-fi classic and is largely considered to be one of the greatest movies ever made, hence it's preservation in the national film registry in america. As for prometheus i don't know, the movie isn't perfect but if the film series has enough of an impact on pop culture then i think it might. It depends on the hysteria that gets built up for the sequel.

Star wars for instance in my opinion is not a particularly well directed film although it is a good movie but it's impact on society at the time is what i think has prepelled it to the level of praise it gets today meaning i think the toys and merchandising had a big part to play especially on young children and this was a movie the whole family could enjoy and it really did change the ball game in hollywood when it came to making money from movies. So maybe prometheus will be the same. Maybe the buzz and anticipation and virals etc will have been enough to change how films are marketed and maybe the open questions left in the movie will change how franchises are formatted this is the first movie i can think of that is the first in a proposed trilogy that asks this many questions and yet has gone on to earn over four hundred million dollars. It would be the first philosophical action/sci-fi trilogy ever made perhaps. I would just like to say my opinion on star wars is just that my opinion so if there are any star wars fans out there that are really upset with this comment then i apologise.

NickIsSmart

Prometheus action figures just seem strange to me.

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