Marketing

In the news today, it is reported that the brief but quotable career of fictional film critic David Manning has officially come to an end. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge last week signed off on a settlement of a class-action suit that will see Sony Pictures pay more than $1 million for luring moviegoers into buying tickets based on the recommendations of Manning, an invention of the studio's marketing department. The suit, filed in 2001, accused Sony of unfair business practices, including the "intentional and systematic deception of consumers," by using fabricated quotes attributed to Manning.

Sony is a genius. This is the best marketing ploy ever! I mean, really, come on. How many movies have you wanted to see that were absolutely horrible? Sure, there are plenty of movies that I have seen that I questioned the mental health of its writers and producers, but does that mean that they should be held responsible that I had to watch it? In a perfect world, yes. But realistically, get real. And why should they? Movies, just like sports or food, is about preference. What one person believes to be trash would be another's gem, right? And another thing, why would you judge a movie based on a "critic"? I mean, if you already made up your mind about a particular movie, would a "critic" be able to dissuade you from your assumption of whether the movie was good or bad. Probably not. Now if you are unsure of whether you want to spend the money on a movie, and count on the opinions of "critics" to help you decided if you should spend your money on a movie, then that's your fault not theirs. I mean, come on. If you are unsure of whether you want to pay the amount of see a movie, then obviously you don't want to see the movie enough and shouldn't be complaining that you were "lured" into the theaters. Next thing you know, someone is going to sue McDonalds for advertising that they sell healthy food.

Give me a break.