Disappointed by a book, movie, TV show, or game

[Tasaio]

When you've been anticipating something for a long time, disappointment leaves a very bitter taste in your mouth.

A couple of sequels have come out lately, and I've been very disappointed. One of them (NWN2) may have killed the franschise.

How do you get over your anger when people do a terrible job on something? That they didn't stay true to the original? That it wasn't what it was promised to be?

Speaking hypothetically...let's suppose the last Harry Potter book, Deathly Hallows, is terrible.

More specifically, let's suppose the book is dull, long-winded, and completely anti-climactic.

How would you get over the disappointment, the frustration, the feeling that it ruins the entire series? How would remove your anger at JK Rowling for doing such an incompetent job?

For the record--I'm not worried about HP7 in the least. I think it will be great.

What I am worried about is Starcraft 2. And, lately, I was disappointed by Spider-man 3.

Don't worry, I'm not that upset...but I needed to rant for a bit.

[Tasaio]

Just to add:

Another example is the pick-up from a cliffhanger. If it turns out the latest TV cliffhanger was only a dream...and you waited months thinking about the plot...how would you deal with the anger and disappointment?

[Shamou]

Hello Tasaio...

If you set your mind up for it... you can find value in almost anything... whatever you experience gets you to think, evaluate and come to conclusions... that's how we evolve and grow...

Nothing is inherently good of bad... but our thinking makes it so...

.

[Little Deb]

One has to keep in mind that books, movies, TV shows are just stories. They are NOT REAL. Certainly a brilliant human being has had the privilage to creatively write (and get paid for) these inventions, but the characters do not live. The towns they live do not exist. It is interesting to be able to wonder how a favorite character would handle a difficult situation or deal with a complete crisis. We all can learn alternative problem solving techniques from books and movies, but in all, they are just diversions. So, when your expected movie or book disappoints you, suck it up Princess, then take a long walk in the park. That's real.

[Brutha]

They are NOT REAL. Certainly a brilliant human being has had the privilage to creatively write (and get paid for) these inventions, but the characters do not live

They don't?

What I am worried about is Starcraft 2. And, lately, I was disappointed by Spider-man 3.

If they do a really terrible job at Starcraft 2 you are lucky. Think about how many productive hours you will win that way.

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Tasaio

How would you get over the disappointment, the frustration, the feeling that it ruins the entire series? How would remove your anger at JK Rowling for doing such an incompetent job?

I would remember that the latest release doesn't change what came before.

I love "The Matrix", for example and just pretend that the other two films don't exist!

Ditto for the new Star Wars trilogy...

[Bruce Achterberg]

Originally Posted by Tasaio

What I am worried about is Starcraft 2.

You don't need to worry about Starcraft 2 because it will never be released in the first place.

Seriously though, I know what you mean. It's nothing to be all "oh noes!11! <jumps off cliff>" about, but yeah, I think we’ve all experienced disappointment over something.

I think the important lesson from disappointment is to learn to appreciate things for what they are, and not the mental model you hold in your head. Disappointment also holds within it other valuable lessons, if we make the effort to look for them.

For example when I bought the game Black and White 2 and found it to be grossly unlike the original game, I learnt that I should never again buy products that are the product of the both devil... I mean EA, and the personification of hype itself... I mean Peter Molyneux.

Originally Posted by Little Deb

One has to keep in mind that books, movies, TV shows are just stories. They are NOT REAL. Certainly a brilliant human being has had the privilage to creatively write (and get paid for) these inventions, but the characters do not live. The towns they live do not exist. It is interesting to be able to wonder how a favorite character would handle a difficult situation or deal with a complete crisis. We all can learn alternative problem solving techniques from books and movies, but in all, they are just diversions. So, when your expected movie or book disappoints you, suck it up Princess, then take a long walk in the park. That's real.

While you definitely have a point, I think you may be vastly underestimating the “virtual” world and media in general. Books, movies, TV shows, games, and the stories and characters that are a part of them are an extension of what we know as "real", and I think in time people will eventually begin to understand and respect the true potential of these valuable mediums. To quote David Sirlin:

Some day in the future we might call the sphere of interactive entertainment something other than “games” and there will be entire genres of interactive entertainment that are moving or sad or romantic. [They may even have a purpose beyond making statements and teaching skills/lessons.] Games would be just a subset of that sphere.

That said, I'll be the first to say that the various media industries still have a long way to go before they reach that point, but it's important that people themselves make that transition in terms of their thinking as they'll be the pioneers of the future to make these things happen. The current state of the media industry in general is a perfect reflection of the thinking/consciousness that spawned it.