It feels like every single movie or episode of TV that comes out these days has websites/youtubers scrambling to put out an “Explained!” article. Who are these for? Obviously people click on them or they wouldn’t be proliferating so much. Are there really so many people out there incapable of parsing what they just saw on screen?
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These days there are so many undefined plotholes, how do you still keep track of them?
If you have something with any sort of ambiguity, there’s going to be enough people Googling for an explanation. If even five percent of the audience is searching, that’s a massive group of people.
For me, even if I feel I completely understand something, it’s still kinda fun to hear someone else’s take on it when it’s a piece of media I really loved. It’s the same reason why I watch reviews of games I already own: in a small way, it’s kind of like talking about it with a friend.
exactly
It reaffirms what you think you know or can be enlightening if there is a completely different take available. “Wow, I didn’t think of it that way” …
The latest Dune movie took me a bit to get my head around, as I had not been exposed to anything from this universe. I understood the story, but there were terms used that were not familiar to me. What is a Landsraad, what are the Bene Gesserit, Spacing Guild? Videos that break these topics down are extremely useful, even if they are on the more extreme end of “explained” videos.
Or you could have just read the books.
At least the 1st one, which definitely is one of the best written sci-fi books.
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Or not. The books sucks. The author created a magnificent universe, but cannot tell a story worth a damn. The book is an unfocused mess full of 1D characters.
prolly why the extended cut of the 1984 version has like 30 mins of storyboard at the start explaining all that
The beginning is a delicate time..
Upvoted for the ‘Never-Ending Story’ quote
I went to the cinema in 1984 for that version, even after screening as “extended” there was so much plot missing (the word at the time was a fully uncut version would have been 7 hours long) that the film was very disappointing to the Dune book series fan that I was.
I’ve forgotten so much over the intervening years that now I’d probably be in the same confused boat as someone who never read them.
the problem is when the thing they are explaining is straight forward. you could make a video about a red square and explaining its a red square and someone will hit it big explaining how its actually a commentary of blue and green squares
“That’s right, it goes in the SQUARE hole”
@Pulse – “you could make a video about a red square”
Ooh, do I have a video for you! It’s about 7 red lines.
https://youtu.be/BKorP55Aqvg
I’m not sure what Tim is referring too myself. I watched every single MCU movie and still had to check a website about the end scene of Infinity War because I didn’t know who the signal was for, never read many comics. With Dr Strange: MoM I didn’t know who the person at the end of that was either. I guess I just haven’t seen any videos in my recommended or articles for something that had something with an ending that was obvious like the example in the strip or I simply forgot about it because I understood it.
Okay, I just got home and was exhausted from work and thought he was talking about the ending as in the end credit scenes explained.
It’s as simple as, if you would like to be interested in the comic universe, you can always jump on the various wiki pages for Marvel comic book characters, or read comics you want to know more about. Or you can just look them up as they get revealed in the Marvel movies.
I try not to judge people with what they want to do or like, Either way is fine. They are fictional characters, you don’t miss anything. You are real while they are not. 🙂
At the end of Strange MoM, I -loved- seeing Clea.
Yup, in a sense, everything that can be outsourced to the internet, will be outsourced.
Even “talking about it with a friend”.
Not that we can’t choose to find that joy elsewhere that doesn’t substituting everything for technology. It’s definitely possible. 🙂
I honestly can’t think of a Marvel movie after-credits-scene that actually had to explain things like this comic shows. Besides that, I believe most people watch “Ending-Explained” videos to confirm their own views more than anything else.
also with all the movies, tv shows, etc, it’s hard to be always up to date.
OMG I was curious if it actually bothers anybody else. I mean THERE are some films/books that can get a little hazy in the end but for the love of C’thulhu some of those … “Lion King Ending Explained!” just make me doubt brain is a thing anymore. I mean sure… I could use “Prometheus Explained” as in – please explain to me … is it AS DUMB as I think it is…or is there a 4rth or 5th layer to the stupidity that in the end causes it to actually make sense.
Yes, because a lot of people have lost the ability to use the organ between their ears. It was better when you would watch a tv show episode or a movie and talk about it with friends who are into the same thing to see what they thought about it and actually have a discussion.
nah no fewer have lost it, weve just become more aware how few actually do. IQ is a ratio, that means theres a hefty amount of people below 100.
talking with friends who are into the same thing is exactly what the creators of those “Explained” videos / websites are doing though.
You go to those things to discuss / join a conversation about the media in question. even if you don’t actively partake in it yourself.
the nose?
Your nose is between your ears? Is your head sort of flat, front to back, or are your ears really far forward?
I often click on them to see what they could be talking about for a movie/tv episode that seemed pretty clear to me. They never tell me anything that I hadn’t already seen for myself. I suppose that I’m part of the problem 🙁
I always thought it was because some people like skipping to the end.
‘Eh. I didn’t want to pay to see this movie, so at least I can just see how it ended with an obnoxious voice explaining shit to me.’
Greetings, privileged one. Would you like me to fluff your pillow.
I’m sorry, what? I don’t understand what you’re trying to say or imply with this message.
Another one that sometimes have seen “X movie ending explained” and I was “explained what?” So enter to see what they talk about, must say that more than once I have said “well, it was closed clickbait and I was picked”
Oh yeah. And half the time those ‘explained’ videos are full of conjecture and unsubstantiated rumours they’ve stolen from somewhere else. Or better yet, “In the comics, this happens…so it must be related to that.”
I guess it’s time for the ”Explained!’ Explained!’ articles, extensively analyzing why anyone felt the need to have an explanation article for that movie.
well we have a proliferation of people commenting on people commenting on other people commenting on people watching and commenting on other people playing video games.So this might be a money maker.
I just love Grandpa’s face on the last panel.
Relatable. 😛
Yep, people are more and more functional analphabets even regarding movies and tv series (they already are regarding reading and writing since the early 2000). Basically they have soft squash pudding in place of a functioning brain. 😀
Cheers
Certain episodes trigger anxiety for me, and normally, it becomes so bad that I can’t enjoy the show and have to leave the room. If I can read the episode in advance, I know what will happen, and it makes it easier to handle. So then I can sit and watch the episode and enjoy it.
Same with me. I suppose I’ve always been too sensitive to violence even as the ‘impervious teenager’ I used to be, however now as an adult I’ve discovered why my parents got so upset (not the same as angry) with gorey/violent scenes in any media we watched or played etc. Now I have problems consuming violent games or movies etc out of fear I’ll feel like copying it in real life. At least until I learn how to consistently see the difference between reality and fiction. If not, well, I’ll never buy myself a gaming PC or console again. Teenage… Read more »
There’s a site, pluggedin.com, which does a decent job of breaking down what elements are in a movie (sex, violence, profanity, drugs, etc) without spoiling too much.
It’s Christian-focused, but there’s no need to subscribe to the faith to read their reviews.
There’s been a pretty significant drop in critical thinking ability among a lot of people in recent years. People don’t even have the attention span to sit through an episode of something without looking at TikTok a couple dozen times these days. I think these synopses are there to help catch people up on the show they apparently love watching, because they didn’t fucking watch it first time around.
Not to mention, if they and their little friends took their rock ‘n roll and their hippie jeans and their avocado toasts and made sure to stay off your lawn, huh?
I occasionally hit them for superhero movie type things, since I’m occasionally curious about what all the background Easter eggs and references were about and I don’t have time to read 50 years of comic books.
Why are we all assuming that the explanation is what people are actually signing up for?
I don’t watch these, but the things I do watch aren’t for informational purposes. I’m just looking for entertainment.
To me, it’s clear that people would watch these videos just to continue to dwell on the thing they enjoyed watching, without just rewatching that same thing. An afterparty.
I mean if you ever read those articles, they really ARE that dumb. They’re just click bait making you think that there was some hidden meaning you missed and after clicking through an ad after every paragraph you realize they just described the ending word for word that you already saw and comprehended. It’s the worst.
I have unsubscribed from channels in the past because they abandoned the content I originally liked and just started doing these stupid things endlessly. Thanks but I didn’t need something so obvious explained. Or I didn’t even watch the show in question in the first place.
For me, as a non English speaker, there’s always the issue of misunderstanding the meaning / bad subtitle translation / meme use which is USA specific
Not that I watch those Explained videos…
One annoying angle is I have noticed similar articles/videos and clicked it assuming there actually was something significant I missed [or else why make the vid] but no, it was just mostly surface level.
Some stories are hard to follow, but some channels and outlets get in a rut of making their standard video or “thing” and want tp pump out as much content as able for more ad revenue. Plus, its eaiser to explain something so basic.
I don’t do many of these but feel like there is a defense for a very specific demographic: Some of us are sligthtly older (later GenX) parents and dozed off during watching after 40 minutes of getting distracted & pausing while repeatedly putting the small child back in bed. We barely had time to watch the stuff the first time, OK? We almost certainly missed at least one or two crucial details. It’s faster to skim a recap over my morning Cheerios than it is to queue up the On Demand. Besides, the latter would wake up the small child,… Read more »
They’re for people that didn’t actually watch the movie, these types of videos are basically telling you what happened in the entire film so you can watch one of those in 20 minutes and basically get the whole movie.
I’m going to need an explanation for this comic! xD
Honestly, I mainly watch “Explained” videos just in case there are context clues or other things I may have missed. sometimes I’ll forget who a character is or why they’re important, other times I’m unable to hear dialogue, missed a scene when watching in theaters, etc.
it is super disappointing when the “Explanation” website/video is essentially just a recap of the movie/show though.
I think part of it is because our attention is so divided. A lot of people are watching something while checking their social media or checking emails or watching cat videos on YouTube. So they are only half paying attention to what’s going on and miss the explanation. It probably doesn’t help when American TV has so many commercial breaks.
The concept seems dumb, and most of those articles/videos are really dumb clickbait, but they are sometimes helpful to me. Sometimes during the movie (or through the several episodes of a series), you might miss out on a specific detail because you are focused on something else. It might be something important that comes back later (if you forget how it was introduced earlier, it looks like a bad Deus Ex Machina), a piece of dialogue that I didn’t hear properly that explains a lot of context, or a the dismissal of a red herring. That kind of articles/videos are… Read more »
Imagine you don’t get it. Having to ponder things a couple of days, maybe even talk to friends, discussing it. Nah, ridiculous…
Or maybe there are just that many sucky writers / directors that are incapable of actually finishing a story line without creating more questions – it appears to actually be rewarded with – if enough people search about it – I can get a contract for sequel or season 2 🙂
Sorry but… I just don’t get it, I guess ?
What is the old guy mumbling about ?
Can anybody explain it, please ?
Pretty please ?
I’ve had I think 2 or 3 movies in my entire life so far that I didn’t fully understand the ending of. And I did look up explanations for them. But all of the other dozens, probably hundreds of movies? Nah…are people really that unwilling to think for themselves?
I only need explanations for Fromsoft games since I don’t read in those games, except sekiro which is super straight forward.
Bro I have no fucking idea who Clea is, I had to look her up
It’s a weird thing for sure. It’s probably one of those things that makes sense for some confusing movies, and then someone was like, “OMG, this is my most popular vid ever! I should make one of these for every movie!” But as for who’s watching the obvious ones I have no idea.
I enjoy the explanation videos for the Star Wars TV shows. They don’t explain the surface story, but point out all the easter eggs and references to other shows, books or comics.
In Elden Ring, I don’t think even Miyazaki had a clue what was going on. But more and more I think writers intentionally convolute, in order to continue the buzz. Do you think any of these movies / games would get half the hype if they were explained directly? Heck, it’s why the bible is still popular.
This is the inevitable result of infantilizing young adults and stripping away anything that teaches critical thinking skills in school.
Well critical thinking is on the decline so……yes.
Agreed. We’re raising a generation of soft kids that never had to worry about anything. See it with the young employees at work. So fragile, you have to take great care handling them or they break down.
They aren’t always useless, I went to one last week to find out who that lady was in the end credits scene of Multiverse of Madness. I never read Dr. Strange.
I never actually get to see the shows (non-theater shows), so these are like Cliff Notes for me. At least I have some idea what’s going on.
and I’m never going to theater so, pretty much the same
I mean, I can understand people wanting to look up more info when it comes to movies like Inception, because people just have to KNOW, they don’t like ambiguity. But there are definitely a lot of these that are very questionable for sure.
There’s a niche for this in terms of movies that contain elements aimed at fans of the base work (people who read comics (MCU), have read the book (Dune), are versed in the history (Dunkirk), etc. and people who are watching the movie more because they like the stars, director, genre, etc. “Explained” videos give a Cliff’s Notes version of the background of the references to people who don’t come to the movie pre-equipped, which can help deepen their appreciation of the film. It’s also interesting, even for people who don’t need the background info, to experience someone else’s interpretation… Read more »
Jerry Seinfeld had a bit on this:
“Why did they kill that guy? I thought he was with them! Oh… he wasn’t with them? Oh… I guess it’s a good thing they killed him.”
And Homer Simpson:
“This movie’s too complicated! Who’s that guy? What did that guy say when I said who’s that guy?”
In other words, these people predate the internet.
Personally – I don’t have too many friends I can talk movies to, so listening to someone else’s explanation of what they thought the film meant/what this means for the franchise (looking at you Marvel films), then I’ll watch them.
But this is for like….deeper movies than say ‘Clifford the Big Red Dog’.
The only real use I can see: people who didn’t watch the movie (and don’t intend on watching it) but just want to “know what happened”.
I never read comics when I was growing up. All of my Marvel and DC content was consumed through cartoons. Hence, I don’t have nearly the encyclopedic knowledge of what all the Easter eggs and inside jokes refer to that the hardcore fans do. I almost always have to Google something after seeing one of the movies because I have no idea why they included a significant pause on some random detail that is supposed to allude to someone-or-other’s eventual appearance in the universe. I personally hate watching videos and all the extraneous stuff people insist on including in them… Read more »
Never underestimate the power of stupid.
Eh.. the problems a few “explained” came out that were actually useful, or very high quality discussion, copy cats saw the views… and viola, that’s how this stuff breeds.
The worst is idiots trying to explain motivations and plot devices….and getting it wrong.
Nobody, Not even the grade schoolers who love it need you to explain the motivations of the characters in Encanto. And NO, there’s not some hidden secret thing with Delores you IDIOTS!!
Its because lonely nerds want to discuss a movie, but dont have anyone in their friend group who actually sees films with them, so they watch an “explained!” video. That, or they’re hoping theres something niche they missed in the movie somewhere, and the video man will point it out.
There’s an awful lot of people these days who want every decision made for them, right down to what their politics, ethics & philosophy should be.
Sad really, as they’re coming to resemble the Golgafrinchans on Ark Fleet Ship B.
I understood that reference
People still go to movie theaters?
My wife and I have been hitting the local matinee for the last few weeks, and just purchased tickets for the next few weeks.
Cinema is giving way to streaming, so if it is a venue you enjoy, it’d be a good idea to enjoy it while you can.
I thought that was true 10 or so years ago. Movie theaters here were getting SUPER expensive, and very cheaply run. Everyone stopped going and bought big screens. Now they have recliners and the prices are much better (though still silly for coke/popcorn) and they fill up.
going to movies is 100% not the experience it wa sin the past but for a top tier movie i tend to go for watch with close friends. 99% of time i wait to stream it though or as a aussie i hoist the colours.