But again, all of this is nothing more than idle, uninformed speculation, which is all we have to discuss at this point. And if that is the case – if there is literally nothing of substance to be said as of now other than “a good actor has been cast to play Batman” – then what I ask from the Internet is silence. I want the Internet to shut up about this and focus its collective attention elsewhere, to something that is actually relevant right now, in August of 2013, and not return to talking about Affleck and Batman for another two summers, when the discussion actually has a degree of relevancy or significance.
I know that is probably too much to ask. I know the Internet has become far too attention-deficit to live in the moment, or even the near future. It is simply the state of entertainment culture and reporting right now. This very website is guilty of it – we make our money reporting on the news stories we think people are interested in, which often involve projects far off in the future. We are fueled by the hyperactive fandom, and yet we also give fuel to it by perpetuating the cycle; it is just the way things go right now. I consider my work in film criticism to be my primary role as a writer, for both We Got This Covered and other publications, so I try to remove myself as much as possible from writing or reading about far-off projects (I personally do not even like watching or covering trailers). As long as I work online, though, or am involved in online communities, there is only so much I can avert my attention from, both as an active and passive participant. And at this point, the amount of attention being given to the future, always at the expense of the present, is seriously eroding my love for this medium. It has already sapped nearly every ounce of enthusiasm I once had for mainstream cinema.
The question I ask is this: If we invest ourselves entirely in the future, always debating and discussing the hypothetical ‘next big thing’ rather than focusing our energies on what actually exists to engage with in the world right now, then what chance can we possibly have of properly enjoying (or reviling) Affleck’s Batman when he actually arrives in 2015? If we expend all our praise and vitriol before there is anything to get emotional about either way, what will we have left when the product actually arrives? Do movies themselves even matter to us anymore, or is it the hype that we crave?
If the answer is the latter, then more power to you, Internet – you and I no longer see eye to eye, and I may have to extricate myself from this increasingly uncomfortable relationship.
But if, deep down, what we really want is the former – real, tangible movies that we can debate, discuss, and revel in – then I think we all need to clean up our act and get back to basics. Stop chasing every piece of casting news like it is the Holy Grail. Stop working ourselves up over information that literally does not matter. Stop ignoring current or older movies to focus on upcoming ones.
And most importantly, we need to quit prioritizing the future at the expense of the present. Because no matter what your opinion, stance, or viewpoint may be, constantly living outside of concrete moments is never a path to a happy, fulfilling fandom – nor, indeed, a worthwhile life.
Yours Truly,
Jonathan R. Lack
P.S. – Send me hate mail on Twitter @JonathanLack – or, if you feel more positively inclined towards me, buy my book about the art of film criticism, Fade to Lack, at www.fadetolack.com. Be warned, though – it was written before the ‘great hype breaking point’ of 2013, and is therefore much more optimistic about cinema in general.
