WARNING! LONG POST WITHOUT PARAGRAPHS. ATTEMPT READING AT YOUR OWN PERIL.
SECONDARY WARNING! CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE, PARTICULARLY NEAR THE END.
I am siding with
@YJ02. I like to go into a show or movie without preconceptions. I like to form my own opinion on things once I've seen them. And my opinion usually stretches as far as "I like it" or "I don't like it" or somewhere in between. These days there is so much "information" available online on shows and movies that it has actually become quite challenging to avoid spoilers and opinions before having seen something for oneself. You have no idea how many articles I've had to swipe past (for months) on my Google news feed before I had seen Avengers Endgame. I put quotes around "information" because this word used to have a positive connotation (as in knowing things would be beneficial), but these days there is so much crap floating around that you constantly have to wade through in order to find something which could actually be considered information, that "information" has started to get a negative connotation. Something which pisses me off immensely, is an "article" (again, note the quotes) which is basically nothing but a headline. The headline gets you to open the "article", but once you start reading it, you find that paragraph after paragraph are basically void of any information, or if there is some information there, it could easily be distilled into one short paragraph. The saddest part is that this doesn't just hold true for all those pathetic wannabe "journalists" or websites with a certain niche, but also for a lot of "articles" by mainstream media such as newspapers with an online presence, perhaps those are getting their info from those wannabe "journalists" and websites. There is so much hot air floating around online, it is possibly the greatest contributor to global warming. That was of course a joke, but now that I think about it, all these computers and other devices people (yes, I'm aware this includes me) are using are all using electric power and they generate a lot of heat, not to mention the server farms out there. All this heat has to go somewhere, so I suppose that all these devices added together could in fact be a major contributor to global warming, but I digress. Even worse than the information-less articles, are the "opinion pieces". I've noticed that these are particularly bad when it comes to politics, or perhaps just when centered around #brexit. I'm not going into the politics here, in fact, I'd rather stay clear of politics altogether, but unfortunately I do live in #brexit-land and so it is prudent for me to keep a finger on the pulse every now and then. When I see an article about #brexit, with a headline which pulls me in, and I start reading it, and then I find out that it doesn't contain any news but it's just some a**hole's opinion on certain events, I often find that some of my time as well as the energy which went into my brain processes was wasted. News and opinions should remain strictly separated! I am by the way aware that this post that I'm writing right now, is essentially an opinion piece, but this is okay because this forum is a place to do so and because I feel it is necessary for me to provide my opinion on the discussion which is currently taking place here. So, there's a lot of pointless "information" out there, utterly useless, by far the largest part of the internet falls into this category. But even for the information which isn't useless one should consider whether one should access it. In regard to TV shows and movies, taking on information in advance can not only spoil the experience, it can also poison the mind with preconceptions. These preconceptions may or may not hold true, but regardless of whether they do, the personal opinion was already tainted from the very moment the information entered the brain. There is no escaping this. In order to be able to form a completely untainted and unbiased opinion on a TV show or movie, one should go into said show or movie without having any prior knowledge of it and especially without carrying along someone else's opinions and preconceptions. In regard to Star Trek: Picard, for me, the ship has basically already sailed, because I've already heard the news that Patrick Stewart will be reprising his role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, I have already seen the trailer, and I've already read that some other familiar characters from Star Trek will be in it. This little amount of information is already too much as it has painted a picture, albeit a rather vague one, of what is coming. In order to have been able to go into the show as a completely empty vessel, the only information which I should have had is "there's a new Star Trek show coming", just in order for me to know that there's something coming which I'll want to watch because I'm a Star Trek fan, and "it airs on this date", in order to know when I can watch it. Now that I already know that Picard is in it, I am essentially already robbed of the surprise of "WTF! Jean-Luc is back!". Just imagine for a moment how much an impact it would have had on you if you started watching a new Star Trek show completely unaware of what is coming and you're then suddenly finding out that it centers on Patrick Stewart's iconic character. Wouldn't that have been the most amazing thing? I bet that would have gotten my adrenaline flowing. But now I already know, so unfortunately that won't be happening. I am of course painting an extreme picture here, but I'm doing this on purpose to make a point. When I know a show or movie is coming which I will be very interested in, I try my best to avoid information on it. This doesn't always work out as when I see or hear something about it, the temptation is great to dive into the information, but generally I do alright. The reason why it's important to avoid information pertaining to TV shows and movies, is because they are supposed to be an experience. This is an important distinction to make, because if you consider for example a new device coming out, like for example the Pixel 4 smartphone, there is nothing to be spoiled by gathering information on it in advance. It is in fact prudent to lookup information in advance when you're in the market for a new device. You'll want to compare various models in order to determine which is the one for you, or you may want to see whether the new model is worthy enough to upgrade your old model. It doesn't make a difference whether you get this information months before the device hits the market or at the time it hits the market or later. The same is not true when it comes to an experience. Imagine for example that you're a fan of roller-coasters. The theme park in your area is building a brand new one and you can't wait to experience it for yourself. Eventually the ride is fully built, but you just happen to be out of town. By the time you are able to visit the theme park, many other people have already been able to experience the ride. They are posting their opinions on the new coaster online and you have a look at what they say. Many of the opinions turn out to state that they didn't like the new coaster. Now you go to the theme park and are going to experience the ride for yourself. Will you go into it thinking something like "OMG I'm so excited I can't wait to feel this!" or will you be thinking something like "I hope what these people said isn't true". In my opinion, once you have become aware of other people's opinions, you will never ever be able to have a completely untainted experience of the ride. This holds true especially for criticism, and for positive commentary to a lesser extent, depending on how much spoiling information the positive commentary contains. The negative opinions are worse, because when you like something a lot and then someone else starts pointing out flaws, it can be like "hmmm, I guess they have a point" and suddenly the thing you like has gotten less likable, whether a little bit or a lot. In other words, your enjoyment has been spoiled to some extent. For me, in regard to Star Trek: Picard, the mere fact alone that I know that there are people discussing what they think is right or not right about the uniforms in the show (or whichever part of the show they are discussing) is a downer. Note that it doesn't even matter whether I know what these people are saying about it. I know that people are discussing it, and therefore, once I start watching the show, part of my attention will be focused on it and I will probably form some sort of opinion on it. But I don't give a rat's fucking ass about the uniforms! The only way in which my attention would otherwise have been drawn to the bloody uniforms, would have been if they were somehow outrageous, such as if Jean-Luc were wearing a dress or something. That's when I would start talking like "What the fuck is up with that!". If the uniforms are anything like one would expect to see on this type of show, even if they aren't identical or even similar to the ones on the prior shows, I wouldn't give a damn about it. If it turns out that the Star Trek badge is not on the left side of the uniform but on the right side instead, I would feel sorry for people who go online to whine about it. I mean, how sad a person must one be to let something as innocuous as this ruin one's enjoyment. Unfortunately, the online world is filled with such wankers. In fact, it appears as though they make up the majority of the people online. There's always something to wank about. Non-wankers are often simply enjoying their lives offline. If someone wants to wank about something online, fair enough, that is their prerogative. But let them do so after the fact, not before. You watch a show, you didn't like it, you wank about it, okay. But don't come fucking wanking on my computer screen before a fucking show has even fucking aired. This goes to all of those "youtubers" (man that fucking word feels almost synonymous with "wankers") who post their videos talking crap about shows and movies before they are released. Before something's released, provide information, if you want, not opinions. I don't give a damn about your opinions. By all means, wank the hell off! You can feel free to spread your opinions after something has been officially released. Maybe I would even be interested in them at that point, after I have first seen it for myself. But you probably won't be able to form a decent opinion on the shows anymore, since you have already formed preconceptions and tainted your opinions with your own rants and those of others. You've probably been standing in a circle with your YouTube "comrades" too much, jerking each other off while spreading your opinions online. My display is not a biscuit, and I won't be eating whatever you put on it, so by all means fuck the hell off!
