Is This Appealing?
Filed under:
On Movies & Media •
Ethics at the movies •
Inglourious Basterds •
Quentin Tarantino •
Trailers
WARNING: This trailer pertains to a Quentin Tarantino film. That is to say, it's not for the squeamish.
It is a marketer's job to make a product appealing, to cultivate an appetite for what they're selling.
This leads me to some questions...
- What appetite is this trailer cultivating?
- If they want you to want this movie, what is it they are hoping you will want at the end of this preview?
- Does the preview achieve their objective? Do you want to see more?
- Or does this preview make you less likely to buy a ticket?
Now of course, all of these questions are about the trailer... not the finished film. That raises other questions:
- Do you suppose there is a chance that the film itself will be meaningful? Admirable? Honorable?
- If it is those things, does that mean this trailer was false advertising?
- Is it possible that a film can be honorable while its marketing isn't?
Discuss.