Are Marvel Films Making Us Smarter?
It has become fun to bash the Marvel films.
There is no denying that despite increasing box office receipts and new records being broken with seemingly each new entry, the franchise has encountered mounting snobbery and cynicism from various critics and media outlets, as seems to be the nature with anything that is massively popular. A common criticism of the films is that they are overly reliant on prior stories with a particularly negative assessment from the New Yorker denigrating Infinity War as nothing more than a two-and-a-half-hour ad for the films that preceded it and those that will follow.
Others, such as a piece from Film School Rejects, have criticized the franchise’s adverse impact on storytelling, stating that the films’ proclivity for constantly teasing future installments with post-credit scenes reduces the impact the current stories are having. The mass genocide depicted during the conclusion of Infinity War was especially criticized as feeling inconsequential due to so many of the “deceased” characters having sequels already teased from their own respective film’s post-credit scenes. Additionally, the article criticizes how difficult it is for new fans to jump in thanks to the story being crafted in a way that requires seeing every prior film to completely understand the events depicted and fully reap the emotional payoffs.
The implication of these complaints is that fans of the franchise are essentially being manipulated by the “evil” Marvel conglomerate to view every film they produce and then being forced to re-watch them in anticipation of the latest entry. In other words, many claim that fans of the franchise are oblivious that they are consuming a persuasive advertisement rather than a quality, artful story. In this instinctive need to critique and condemn whatever is currently resonating with most of society, many critics are overlooking an incredible phenomenon that may be occurring.
What if the popularity of the Marvel film franchise isn’t indicative of moviegoers being fools, but rather demonstrates that moviegoers on average today are more sophisticated and willing to be challenged than in the past?
What if this penchant of moviegoers to follow the series were in fact symptomatic of higher intelligence as well as a healthier mindset?
The evidence for this assertion comes from the unlikeliest of sources, child personality theory. Famed psychologist Walter Mischel has developed as an authority on the personality trait of self-control and the conclusions that can be drawn from an individual possessing this trait. Mischel’s iconic study to support this claim involved having 4-year old children seated in a testing room and being informed that they have two options. The participants can have a marshmallow to eat immediately and are then free to leave the testing room, or they can wait for a specified amount of time and will then be rewarded with two marshmallows. Although a seemingly simple test, the amazing part comes when the children participants were tracked later in life and it was found that the participants who were willing to wait for two marshmallows were more successful across the board in terms of academic performance as well as career advancement.
Mischel’s marshmallow study provides evidence that the MCU is encouraging viewers to foster self-discipline.
So what does this study on self-control have to do with Marvel Super Hero films of all things? The ability and willingness of moviegoers to follow this film franchise is very much akin to Mischel’s marshmallow study, with the teased stories from post-credit scenes being comparable to the extra marshmallow a child would receive. Consider the post credits tease of Thanos appearing to devise a plan of attacking Earth all the way back in 2012’s The Avengers. Aside from a few brief cameos featuring the character, it would take 10 feature-length films for this tease to eventually pay off and reward patient fans with the Infinity Stones storyline in Infinity War (aka the second marshmallow). This extensive wait did not deter fans, however, as Infinity War managed to have the highest box office opening of any prior film in the franchise’s history. In line with Mischel’s study, such behavior from moviegoers appears to be evident of fans possessing the trait of self-discipline, which was found from his research to be one of, if not the most important trait for healthy thriving in life.
Also lending support to this contention about intelligence and the MCU are the personality traits of conscientiousness, or being thorough, organized, and prone to make plans as is defined from Costa and Crane’s Big 5 Personality theory. Although the traits of extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, and openness, which constitute the remainder of the Big 5, all seem essential to human development, a study as discussed by Business Insider uncovered that conscientiousness is the only trait of the five that consistently predicts success. Similar to Mischel’s marshmallow study, children high in conscientiousness from the study were found to receive better grades, commit fewer crimes, stay married longer, and even live longer lives.
Once again, these results have reverberations for the Marvel films, as the behavior of a moviegoer to refresh their memory and ensure that they’ve seen every entry before watching the latest release can be viewed as a manifestation of the conscientiousness trait. It could be argued that not every moviegoer who saw an entry such as Infinity War had seen every prior installment, but according to the assertion of some critics, the movie has no value if you aren’t up to date on the events featured in every film. The lack of a huge box office drop-off as well as the A Cinemascoreindicates that fans enjoyed this installment, meaning they must have some degree of knowledge regarding the established franchise. This would indicate planning and conscientiousness, as the film is confusing without this knowledge, leading to a less satisfying experience, which would be reflected in a sharp drop-off or lower Cinemascore.
Conscientiousness appears to be correlated with keeping track of the MCU, which bodes well for a viewer’s future career and academic success.
Even more astonishing a feat is that a franchise so contingent on keeping track of prior events has resonated with children, as indicated by the vast quantity of merchandise aimed at the youth demographic. If younger viewers are keeping track of each preceding film and comprehending the continuing evolution of the multitude of characters, that is demonstrative of performing behavior associated with being organized and conscientious. According to the research, this bodes well for the child’s future, as they are more likely to be healthy as well as academically and financially successful, with the Marvel franchise possibly being instrumental in fostering this personality trait.
In addition to the Marvel phenomenon representing that viewers exhibit healthier personality dispositions, it is also a beneficial symbiotic relationship between company and consumer rather than a studio milking a franchise for every last dollar. Of course Marvel studios is a business and at the end of the day the company’s objective is to make money, but something should be said for the fact that the studio didn’t allow greed to cause the franchise to cash out too early and make the safe assumption that the majority of viewers are not capable of following so many entries before receiving the ultimate payoff.
Marvel’s willingness to challenge their fans with intricate stories, especially in regards to younger viewers, constitutes a healthy symbiotic relationship.
Other franchises, such as DC, went with this approach in which monumental events such as Batman and Superman first meeting were provided instantly to fans without the necessary development. This lack of faith in their audience looks to have likely set their franchise’s future on fire, as there was poor reception from audiences and critics alike. As evidenced by the box office trend and unwaveringly high Cinemascores, Marvel fans seem to be enjoying subsequent entries even more than past ones. This supports the notion that Marvel’s intricate rollout strategy which requires a hefty investment of time and money from the viewer has in fact maximized the viewer’s enjoyment, as moviegoers have become more engaged with the stories rather than fatigued. The studio has simultaneously maximized their profits, enabling the studio to provide viewers with more of what they want in the future, which is the cornerstone for any healthy brand and consumer relationship.
Critics and the general public have every right to pick at Marvel’s unconventional storytelling technique as many of their comments aren’t unfounded. There’s no doubt that on the surface a film that requires viewing almost 20 others to follow is challenging to new viewers and is bucking the norm of a traditionally well-written story. However, to denigrate a seemingly healthy symbiotic relationship between a company and their fans is a gross mischaracterization and overlooks what this connection to Marvel’s bold storytelling technique says about the intelligence of the bulk of society.
What other franchise has spawned this many sequels and have still connected with the general public and the majority of critics in such a profound way? Slasher films with increasingly diminishing returns and desperately devised storylines as well as the Fast & Furious and Mission Impossible franchises having an upward trajectory come to mind, but both lack either the consistent quality or astronomical number of entries that Marvel boasts. Even if the highs of the most recent entries are never imitated after the current phase’s conclusion, the connection with fans is unparalleled, and it is something that radical naysayers should stop to marvel at (pun very much intended).
Originally Published at Cinematic Insights