In the past few years the unpredictability and mystery has been taken away from movies because of the amount of information given in the trailer. Movie trailers are supposed to be a preview, or a glimpse, of the movie- not a summary. For example, Batman V Superman visually shows the whole movie by showing Batman saving Superman’s mother, Wonder Woman’s appearance, and the final show down with Abomination. It would have been nice to keep some things unknown seeing as these are the major plot points of the movie.

The most recent example of a movie showing too much is Thor: Ragnarok. When I first watched it I couldn’t help but think how amazing it would have been to see Hulk as a surprise character in this movie. Also, Thor saying “He’s a friend from work!” will not be as funny as since I saw it in the trailer.

Movies showing or telling too much is not a new thing, they have done this throughout time. In the 1973 sci-fi flick Soylent Green, the trailer asks “What is the secret of soylent green?” Not only does the trailer end up showing you what “soylent green” actually is, it breaks down major plot points and shows the entire movie! When I watched the movie for the first time, it was a huge surprise because I never saw the trailer.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi released a trailer recently, and the director Rian Johnson warned fans not to watch it because it shows too much. It does show a lot visually, yet unlike the other trailers it leaves a lot of questions. For example, who is Rey and is she a Skywalker? Or will she join the Dark Side? Does a main character die? How and why did Luke get to the island? There is still so much to be seen.

Rian Johnsons philosophy of not seeing a trailer before you go see a movie is a good one. Only how are you supposed to avoid it when you will most likely see The Last Jedi trailer during the 15 minutes of trailers before the movies you see until then? It would be difficult to not see trailers if you are an avid movie goer.

The reason for movie trailers to show as much as they do could be because people are unfamiliar with the content. As a solution to this, the trailer gives away a lot to help motivate people to go see the movie. The thing that does not make sense about trailers showing too much is why studios like Marvel and DC do. With characters like Thor, Batman, and Superman people are going to see the movie since their characters are already established icons.

The only positive side to seeing too much is that it helps you determine if you want to see a movie or not. There are just some movies that by their trailer you can tell are going to be good or bad. In other words, it helps you save time and money. No matter the pros and cons, producers need to try to find a perfect balance in marketing the movie. As the cliché goes: sometimes less is more.

Superheroes have become a major part of modern day pop culture. Every century has their obsession, The Greek era had its obsession with pleasing multiple gods and the 80s went through its obsession with neon colors and insanely poofy hair. So when and how did superhero movies become popular?

It can be said that the beginning of superheroes becoming mainstream in cinema was Spider-Man in 2002. There were plenty of superhero films before Spider-Man, but this was where superheroes began having a big effect on millennials. Now we have the ability to portray them in a realistic way. The more technology progressed, the more realistic super heroes became.

Iron Man is a playboy, and that isn’t exactly the best role model. However, he does defeat terrorists, and considering that is such a prominent topic in our media and politics today, Iron Man is made relevant to us. Iron Man began Marvel’s phase one of the cinematic universe that we see today. There has been a superhero film almost every year since then and is all ultimately leading to Avengers Infinity War, which will be one of the biggest films in history. It doesn’t matter if it is good or bad–there has never been a film where so many previous films and characters lead up to it.

We also see the tone of the movies getting darker. In Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight we not only see a Batman like we have never seen before–more dark, brooding, and self-aware–but also a Joker that leads the audience to question human nature itself. Heath Ledger’s Joker was a darker and different Joker than we had ever seen before. Normally fans would be outraged by any change to a long beloved character, but Ledger did it right. That sets up a type of superhero film that people wanted to see. It is the reason DC has been able to keep up with Marvel. Both companies have brought their own unique attributes and beloved characters.

Marvel has somewhat taken DC’s darker approach with their release of the Netflix series Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Jessica Jones–all of which leads up to the release of The Defenders. The Defenders are not fond of being called superheroes. They are much more complex, and audiences have shown fondness of such complex characters. In our modern world, complex characters and anti-heroes are becoming more popular. Deadpool for example is an anti-hero. He is a taco loving, fast talking mercenary with a morbid sense of humor. The reason for dark, complex characters to become popular is most likely because of today’s politics.

In today’s world it is hard to distinguish good from bad. Even in Captain America: The Winter Solider, Captain America struggles to find a side to trust when Shield, a once trusted institution, turns out to be taken over by Hydra, the all foreboding enemy. The audience is able to understand and accept that everything in life is not a black and white scenario; cinema is able to delve into such topics now.

Whichever way the superhero films go, they are here to stay. They may not be as popular in the future as they are now, but they definitely started something that reflects our views and generation.