Tiktok evolved from YouTube, or in other words, short form videos evolved from YouTube videos (that are slightly longer mostly from twenty minutes to more than an hour). This reflects that most of the media consumers’ attention spend are shortening. Rather than sitting there for twenty minutes to get the whole point of a video, people rather enjoy thirty seconds flashes of dopamine. Which leads to when something does not catch their attention or the moment it slows down the attention of the viewers divert. The only way to catch their attention again is through showing something “flashy”.

This reflects in Marvel Movies, comparing Iron Man (2008) and End Game (2019). In Iron Man (2008) focuses more on dialogue and character developments.

It gradually provides a well-rounded character for the viewers to engage and relate to. End Game (2019) however is a lot “flashier”.

Sequence after sequence with visual effects to keeps the viewers on their toes. Even at the end, it was quite fast and “sequenced” through. In addition, a lot of the newer superheroes in Marvel are less well liked compared to the older ones (especially with their individual movies made before The Avengers (2012)) when they started to adopt a more rapid pace in dynamic storytelling. This does not add to the storytelling, and it has been reflected through Marvel’s decline in box office. The rapid creation of hollow characters that are there just for shock effects are not appealing to the viewers anymore. They cannot connect to the characters just because they look cool and do cool tricks. The amount of visual appealing and high fast past movies is flooding the industry. Audiences are not buying long movies that are basically the same thing in a different nutshell. There is nothing connecting them emotionally.

When the attention spend of the viewers are shortened, the way to make it still appeal is to try to catch their attention through “flashy” things. It works, but it will take away a lot of the sentimental elements of slowing down and not relying on “flashy” things to catch attention. It takes away a lot of the emotional connection to the characters. Slow down people.

Reference:

Carol Vernallis (2013), “Accelerated Aesthetics: A New Lexicon of Time, Space and Rhythm”, in: Unruly Media, New York: Oxford University Press, 277-288.

Xin Cindy Sun