The first trailer for Saban’s Power Rangers has arrived and with it comes a deluge of insightful and thought-provoking YouTube comments from adult fans and fanboys alike; my personal favorite being “Who’s watching without socks?” to which I reply “me.”
As with all movie trailer releases, everyone’s a critic, but more so, everyone’s got something to say. Whether it’s to dissect the trailer’s various Easter eggs or post a list of links where I can FINALLY watch all the latest movies online FOR FREE, we the people flock to the YouTube comments section to impart our input.
Part of the cause for this great migration is the ease at which YouTube facilitates commentary. The average mom can comment an “LOL” or “ROFL,” which may lead to a gripping conversation on how hard Magic Mike’s abs are. As with all awkward encounters, the ideal of YouTube comments is casual conversation.
However, the YouTube comments section has garnered the disreputable reputation of being a breeding ground for spammers, trolls and ballbags. While most comments are generally harmless, with many expressing their Freudian sexual repression and Marxist revolutionary tendencies through passive-aggressive memes, comments can easily become hyper-aggressive.
Surveying the comments for the first trailer for the Ghostbusters reboot, one can easily spy with one’s little eye large portions of sexism and racism. While disapproval is natural considering the trailer’s lackluster reimagining of a treasured IP, there is no excuse for the hostile comments that were directed at the actresses, most notably Leslie Jones, which weren't film criticisms, but rather hate speech.
Anonymity and a lack of regulation from YouTube has led to an unbridled outpouring in negativity. While actual film critics may also express their disapproval through scathing trailer reviews, they put their name and reputation on the line. In contrast, xxx_weedmaster_6969 only puts his unsolicited hateful diction online.
At the end of the trailer, it’s important to remember that a trailer is an advertisement. For the most part, studios want your money, not your comments, which is why they invest millions in marketing. A great example of the wonders of marketing can be seen in the second Green Lantern trailer which deserves an Oscar for Best Short Film Editing.
As such, while this Power Rangers trailer left me crying “Are you joshing me right now?” due to its visual parallels to Chronicle and Fant4stic, it is too early to write an angry 500 words or less review. As such, I suggest everyone calm down and wait until the movie hits theaters. If you absolutely, negatively can’t wait and need to release your inner turmoil, please come over and sock it to me. I haven’t done laundry in weeks and am in desperate need of clean socks.
