The Effect of Media Popularity on Internal and Public Perceptions of Quality
I've noticed an interesting trend over the past year or so in regards to how the perceived quality of media shifts over time.
During the initial release period (often the first few weeks of something being out), people will flock to social media and act like it's the best thing since sliced bread.
Immediately after that initial release period, there will be a handful of dissenters, but there will be ONE post that spreads like wildfire, often not even by someone initially popular in the fandom space. The public opinion of that media will TANK. You will think that the media in question killed someone's dog.
Finally, after anywhere between a few months and a few YEARS, people will mellow out about the media and reach a more generally accurate opinion (often placing the media somewhere towards the middle).
The two main examples that made me write about this are K-Pop Demon Hunters and The Amazing Digital Circus (I've seen this trend with the show as a whole, but it really escalated with the finale).
THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE POST
When K-Pop Demon Hunters released, I think it's safe to say most people had generally low expectations because it seemingly came out of nowhere (even the studios kind of didn't expect much from it, but that's another post). Do you want to know who was more likely to be keeping tabs on this movie though? Fans of Korean media. K-Pop fans, and arguably K-drama fans, were a big portion of the people who watched this movie in the first place and then started bringing KPDH's existence to people's attention. They had a higher level of urgency to watch the movie because it's something they're already invested in, which also correlates to the movie meeting their desires more. Most people who had seen the movie, and thus were discussing the movie, ahd their expectations met.
Then...it breached containment. First it reached general animation fans. A lot of animation fans appreciated the visuals, but had issues with other parts of the story. Now that the movie has reached a wider audience, one that it caters less to, the discussion is shifting towards more critique. But we're still in the generally early stages of this trend.
Where things take a nose dive is when KPDH reached its full-blown virality status. There are two factors that were at play in the case of KPDH, one that connects to the larger trend, and one more specific to KPDH. The first factor is that the initial crowd that had been frantically discussing it online had stopped talking about it with as much fervor. Korean media fans still loved the movie, but more of their discussions about the movie were occurring offline or in more restricted online spaces (think forums and chatrooms outside the mainstream). The initial critics and more casual fans, however, were still discussing the movie in more mainstream spaces. This is worsened by the general populace filling the space of the super fans.
Additionally, KPDH experienced The Frozen Effect upon reaching the mainstream, one that is arguably still in effect a full year later. The Frozen Effect is when a piece of animated children's media becomes so popular that it becomes inescapable to all members of the general public. A big indicator of The Frozen Effect is when a song from that media reaches pop radio. For Frozen, it was Let It Go, and Encanto experienced this to a lesser extent with We Don't Talk About Bruno. KPDH had this accelerated even further because the characters singing songs like How It's Done, Soda Pop, and the seemingly unstoppable Golden are musicians in-universe.
Before I continue with this portion, I feel the need to acknowledge my own bias. Frozen is my favorite movie of all time. Let It Go is my favorite song of all time. Which is why it pains me to discuss this next part of The Frozen Effect. Many perceive these songs to be overplayed, and it's understandable considering the rampant noise pollution that radio stations playing these songs contribute. Additionally, caretakers of children who have to hear these songs on loop, with tiny vocals to match, get irritated. The result of The Frozen Effect is that people's opinions of both the soundtrack and the movie as a whole gets dragged down by the annoyance of an earworm.
So, you've got annoyed parents who want their 5-year-old to stop singing Golden and people who would have never watched the movie if not for its virality status venting their frustrations and critiques online. Additionally, some people turned away from the media due to it being perceived as too mainstream, too cringe, or both...somehow. Some valid criticisms are made in this portion as well, which I don't want to discount. The overall result is that casual fans of the movie begin to have their opinions swayed to not enjoying the movie as much either. This is when hatred of the film reaches its all-time high. Even if a piece of media is genuinely awful, the final opinion will almost never be worse than this period of hatred.
Unfortunately, this is where the timeline gets fuzzy. The length of time it takes for people's opinions about a piece of media to mellow out depends on a few factors that are largely audience dependent. If the accrued audience has a short attention span, or if the media's virality was somewhat contained, opinions will mellow out fairly quickly. However, if the people engaging in the media are largely tweens or teens, it will take longer for people to begin viewing the media with more nuance. During this period, some small children that initially weren't partaking in discussions about the media might begin to turn their backs on the media and bully those who enjoy it in an attempt to seem more mature. This happened with a lot of people who grew up with Frozen, and I predict will unfortunately happen with KPDH...doesn't keep me from hoping it doesn't happen though.
However long it takes though, people DO eventually chill out. Part of why this happens is that the conversation about the media in question has largely faded from mainstream site aside from its most dedicated fans. People are no long being inundated with extremely positive or extremely negative opinions about the piece of media. When people engage with discussions about the media offline, people tend to not be as harsh about it because the discussions are with people closer to them. Nostalgia also plays a role in this, as the length of time that needs to pass before people get nostalgic seems to be ever shrinking (another post for another day). People will often come to the consensus that the piece of media is good, or even great, but still in the general category of average. I don't think we've reached this point with KPDH fully yet, because it is still fairly viral, but I have noticed a reduced harshness towards people who enjoy the movie.
This goes even deeper, but it's past 1:00am and I'm tired. If you want to hear how this is currently playing out with TADC, a retrospective look about the similarities and differences Steven Universe experienced with this trend (because I always have to make it about Steven Universe), and potentially see some diagrams...stick around. I might do it, I might not post in 6 months. Anything could happen.
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did you get absolutely obsessed with the blue whale challenge in like 2017 and read everything you could on it and only not go through with it because like. it required you getting a new social media and talking to people or were you normal?
THANK YOU! I feel like nobody remembers how pervasive it was. It was such a weird experience for me because I wanted to take part in it, but I was also part of multiple groups actively trying to take it down???
Am I the only one who feels very neutral about Bigtop Burger? Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed it, but people are acting like there's this major overarching plot that just...doesn't seem to be there. Each season felt like only one episode and there only seemed to be more intense stakes in the thirds season.
Would this be a bad time to say that I couldn't understand what words were being said in the show's music and the closed captioning didn't include the song lyrics?
Am I the only one who feels very neutral about Bigtop Burger? Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed it, but people are acting like there's this major overarching plot that just...doesn't seem to be there. Each season felt like only one episode and there only seemed to be more intense stakes in the thirds season.
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fnaf and undertale, trading pokémon cards at recess, orbeez, big rain boots, finger painting, big baggies of crayons, dum-dumz, playing alone at recess, befriending bugs, nyan cat, ldshadowlady, mud pies, glitter, girlsgogames
for all the kiddos who were a little weird when they were younger and still are now.. :)
So! Episode 6, huh? For the first 5 episodes of TADC, I always saw Ragatha as merely a caregiver, but after watching the scene with her and Kinger, suddenly it all just hit me...she acts like a caregiver because it heals the inner child still in her. The one that was hurt by her mother. She’s honestly such a lovely character, one that I see myself in a lot, so I really just want the best for her. I think she deserves to be looked after when she needs it <3
Anyway, random headcanons below that I had in my head while I made this moodboard ^w^
- During her time in the circus, she subconsciously grew very fond of Kinger...mainly to take care of him, but also because he’s a great father figure when he’s more focused
- Regresses to around age 4-7
- Ragatha’s main issue is that she has so much love to give, but never gives any to herself, so she practices giving herself affirmations while regressed
- Sometimes makes beaded bracelets with kind words to herself, reminding her that she’s strong and deserves to be loved
- May impurely regress sometimes to let out any sort of bottled up feelings, mainly through crying, hitting softballs with bats, or aggressively squeezing pillows
- Has a stuffed horse that she keeps for emotional support
"Why do you support Palestine if they have anti-LGBTQ+ laws?" DO YOU REALLY THINK PALESTINIANS ARE GOING TO BE FOCUSED ON GAY MARRIAGE WHILE ISRAEL IS SYSTEMATICALLY BOMBING AND STARVING THEM?
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I used to think I was really good at hiding how I feel about people, specifically when I'm romantically inclined towards someone, but maybe I've just never been into someone this much
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steven universe has me in its claws and isnt letting go, so much so that i very quickly attached a crane wives song to it. anyways my past two weeks have been super totally normal and i definitely did not spend them mostly binge watching a childrens show!! haha
if you know anything about me you should know this is a lie by now
edit: i forgot about the other pictures i wanted to add 🤦
K I think this is the last one but at one time while carpooling we ran into the VA for Gugu after a company promo event and she indulged us with this stellar image lol (she’s super sweet this was her just having fun lol)
So I HAD to replace her in this photo with GUGU later (added Ed and Jentry in the back for shits and giggles)