No Longer Special - My American Life

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/34/democratic-convention

As part of this episode they talk about trying to make Clinton seem bigger and better than just a normal guy so they gave updates as to which train he was on, which helicopter he was, and where he was on his trip to the convention. The idea that the more hype that they could get around him, the more he would seem to be something beyond just a normal person that has a normal life. Unfortunately, this is what just about every company or organization does with whatever they are creating or trying to produce. Increase the hype enough around something and it turns from being something normal that you could expect to be a specific way, into the world's best thing. For this one, we're going to go over some of the things that I think have got way too much hype for what they actually were.

People love themselves some GTA, and I just can't get behind it. People hype it up so much that I'm expecting the game of the century, and then I play it and die of boredom because there's nothing there. The same goes for a lot of games. Call of Duty, is also on this list. The hype behind these games are so big that I start to doubt wither or not the game is actually worth it. The one that this is happening with right now is the new Dragon Age game. There are commercials about it, there's advertisements, there's Dragon Age everywhere, and I always see on the bottom of the screen, 'Images are not representative of actual game play' and I start to worry about the game. The advertisements are flashy, the graphics (see above) look impressive, but in the back of my mind I'm pretty sure that it's not going to be anything good about it at all.

Then there are movies that just seem a solid ball of meh when I actually see them. The biggest culprits to this are the 'cult classics' that everyone seems to love and can't stop talking about. The biggest contender for this is The Princess Bride.

People loose their minds when dealing with this movie, and the hype about just how awesome it should be is one of those that I can't even begin to explain, but no matter how much people freak out about it, I just can't get behind it, and see it as anything good. The same goes for Napolian Dynamite, Rocky Horror, and most of the super hero based movies. The easiest way that you can tell if a movie is over hyped and is going to be a disappointment is to look at the preview (also works with game previews). Is the preview about any actual aspect of the story or is it mainly flash bangs, explosions, and cuts of people staring at each other? With games it's super easy to tell when people are trying to skirt the issue of the actual quality of their product because they won't show game play, or show only cut scenes from game play. The other thing to watch out for with over hype is the stupidity of the advertisement resting more on the name of the actors in it, the developers behind it, or the company that is backing it. If you're going to a movie, playing a game, or reading a book ONLY because your favorite actor, producer, director, or production company has it's name on the item, it's going to be a sad day for you.

One of the best times I've ever seen the hype around something absolutely ruin it was with Disneyland. That place is supposed to be amazing. It's the magic kingdom, the home of Mickey, the world where dreams come true, and everything else that happens. The hype doesn't even stop when you enter the place, once you're in the run down place that hasn't really been updated since it was originally built the hype still happens when you're there. There's posters there's people talking, and the hype even happens when you're in line for the ride. And then you finally ride the stupid rides and you realize that the hype and the build up were what made the ride exciting, but the ride itself was a solid 'meh' when it came down to it. Let's be honest with each other, Space Mountain is a kiddie ride that if it didn't have the build up and the hype before it, wouldn't even be worth a second glance at a real amusement park, but because it's Space Mountain, it's one of the most extreme, cutting edge rides at Disneyland.

This all goes hand in hand with politics and how I feel about them. Each voting cycle politicians come out and they try to hype their campaign more than anything else, but in the long run, when they finally get into office they're a boring kiddie ride that no one would have voted forif they had been honest and carried less hype about what could be done at the start of it all. Politicians love to talk about compromise and action and making things change, but I've yet to see a single politician do that. They hype it up, and then in the long run, just aren't that special.