Expectations

So I don't really like my last post...at all. It was supposed to be this grand and glorious post showing stats for Coldplay's music from 1998 to today, drawing incredible insights and....nope. Instead I got a short little post about media misrepresentation. I felt good starting the post, but then I saw how late it was getting and how tired I was becoming, and it all fell apart. I expected more out of myself...and that leads us to my point here.

No, it's not so I can have a pity party; it's to ask how we react when someone's performance doesn't hold up to our expectations. As an example, let's take J.K. Rowling. Bless her soul, she brought us Harry Potter. I shouldn't have to say any more than that, and I actually don't dare. If I did, the rest of this post would be about Hallows and Horcruxes, thestrals and Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, curses and wand lore, and possibly even a eulogy for Fred Weasley. Instead, let's just leave it at calling Harry Potter a literary masterpiece.

Then, let's take a look at The Casual Vacancy. I tried to read it, I really did. I was there in the store before they were allowed to sell it, waiting anxiously so I could have the new J.K. Rowling book the second it was available. Obviously, I was looking for something comparable to Harry Potter. I mean, this was the same author, right? Instead, I found tons of vulgarity, detailed immorality, and a lack of...anything tasteful. After skimming through it to be sure, I gave up on it and walked away disappointed. Rowling let me down big time with that one. I wondered if it could possibly be the same author, what with the two works being such complete opposites.

So tell me, how do reputations influence our media usage? I'll admit to wanting to watch a movie just because of who directed it or who starred in it. What if you go to a movie because you trust that actor or director, and then they let you down? How many times can they let you down before you stop endorsing them?

If it happens enough, I think we just decide they've lost their touch and move on. We don't get as excited when their new stuff comes out; instead of camping out in front of the theater we wait to see the reviews or wait for it to hit DVD, if we watch it at all. In other words, we move on, forget them, find someone new to be a fan of. I know that makes it sound super dramatic, and I apologize, but it gets the point across.

So now it's your turn: when have you been let down, and what was your reaction to it?