The Scrambler's List: Top 10 #DCWeek News!

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This was definitely the week of the comic fans, especially the DC fans. DC Week was a series of debuts, controversies, teasers, and exciting announcements. We had The Dawn of the Justice League, some special premieres, and the return of our favorite DC TV shows. And if you weren't around to witness it all (which I doubt because there is a thing called "trending"), here are the top ten news that happened during DC Week.

The Marketing Approach of Fandoms

Recently we have so many trailers coming all at once.  I can smell the marketing competition alongside my Christmas candles.

The major mistake of many is to immediately judge the movie because of the two T’s: teasers and trailers. Just because the marketing strategy of the film was not that good, it does not necessarily mean that the movie is going to be awful. Sometimes there is a good marketing and a bad movie; other times there is bad marketing and good movies. The challenge most of the time is to have the marketing part and the delivery of the product match each other. If you can’t market your product well, no one is going to care about it or worse, they’re going release negative word-of-mouth. I’ve been studying marketing for quite some time and I think now is the time to put those learnings to good use by analyzing the marketing strategies of the following movies; Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Captain America: Civil War. Here we shall see what went right and what went wrong, and what has caused us to think this way.

Warning: DC and Marvel comparisons are present in this post, but only for the sake to point out their marketing strategies. Please do not assume that I am saying that the other entity is better than the other. Both fandoms are great. Now let’s leave it at that.

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Ok let’s be honest, not everyone was thrilled with the brand new trailer of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Comments say it was overstuffed. It gave away the entire plot and it was just plain disappointing. Now the people who say this are mostly DC fans. Mostly. First thing you need to know about marketing is that once you have a product in mind—in this case, a movie that’s soon-to-be-a-franchise—you need to know your niche.

Side note: Marvel has the upper hand on this part now because they’ve been doing so much movies already, and they know their audience fairly well by now. As for DC…well, not so much. The only DCU films movie-goers ever gave a shit about, were the Dark Knight Trilogy and The Man of Steel. That’s just it. And these films were presumed to be independent of one another. Basically, the DCU still doesn’t have a clue who their target market was until the first official trailer, which was shown during Comic Con. If you think I’m saying that they’re starting from scratch, then that’s I’m trying to point out. Again, let us be reminded they’re not following the Marvel Studio formula where you need three or five independent movies for each iconic Justice League character. Compared to MCU, DCU still needs a lot of work at this point if they intend to make it big as well in the Box Office.

Now they managed to succeed in the first trailer release, because I don’t think it was not that bad. It shows everything you need to be excited about. But since it is released just for Comic Con—and eventually the World Wide Web, then my best assumption for this is that this very first trailer was obviously meant to target the hardcore comic book and DC fans. The second trailer was definitely not for the fans. That’s right fans who were so disappointed in the second trailer; this wasn’t for you at all. It is meant for a much more general audiences who aren’t that knowledgeable about the DC universe. Like seriously, re-watch the trailer with a Twihard and ask if he or she knows who Doomsday is, I effin’ dare you. He or she might assume Doomsday is like the Justice League’s version of the Incredible Hulk. Back to my point, they want more people to watch this. They probably want to recreate the miracle that occurred in Marvel Studios where people were oblivious to the world of comics and came out of the theaters as converted fans (Haha, don’t deny it. You’re one of those people too.). Simple as that.

But hey, what’s the point of making a good trailer for the general audience if they show all the good parts?

Now that’s where they got confused.

When you market something, it’s like saying a promise. When you buy this shampoo, I promise you that your hair will no longer have ticks. When you buy this car, I promise you that the gas consumption of it will be cheaper. The title of the movie alone delivers not one, but two promises. The first promise of BvS is well…BvS. It promises a good fight scene between Superman and Batman. The second promise lies on the Dawn of Justice part, which simply means that this will be where the journey of the Justice League begins. Now here is where the marketing team of BvS struggled. After knowing what promise you want to tell your target market, that’s where you show your best features. In this case, they have two major promises for the audiences and they need to feature each somehow. This unfortunately caused the trailer to be overstuffed. Basically, they weren’t sure what message to tell to the audiences. They were simply torn if they should only talk about the Batman V Superman fights or the emergence of the Justice League, because these are very exciting concepts. So they probably panicked and showed both. Shoehorning Doomsday because that’s their best feature for the Justice League promise. Now I agree, the trailer shouldn’t reveal everything. But in this case, their goal is a very general trailer. Now I can’t help but notice that most of the comments and critics for the second trailer came out like this:

“I just want Batman V Superman. I don’t care about the Justice League. Just give me Batman and Superman fighting.”

At this point, they should’ve listened to their niche and stick to just Batman vs. Superman snips. Or maybe just released their 50-second teaser. But again, I understand why they released this trailer, because it is for an audience who know not much about Batman, Superman, or Wonder Woman. And to make this work, they could’ve just stuck to at least until the roar of Doomsday and then cut the tape. That is, if they want to execute two of their promises in one three-marketing material. I guess at this point the DCU is pretty much desperate to look cool in the superhero trends. They want everyone to know they can have a cool team-up just like the Avengers.

But let me tell you guys that this does not define DC altogether. I think the best marketing for DC so far occurs in the TV Universe, and that is DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. The TV Universe has more ground, thanks to Arrow and The Flash and they are fully aware that the side characters featured in this spin-off series are well-loved by the audience, so to keep them hooked a crossover/team-up series with no filler arcs is the best way to go to keep up their numbers. And they need to get through to Arrow first if they want to see it. Good move, CW. But please work on your teasers.

Now for the Civil War trailer. Yes, I can smell the Marvel fans expecting me to praise this trailer.  Ok, personally I thought the trailer was good, and it already showed what I needed to know about. It already spoke of its promise, which is, “Expect Captain America to fight Ironman and the entire world for Bucky. Because...Bucky. Bucky.” Then they execute the scenes that make it look like a Civil War.

I like how they give a reason for their fight, which is Bucky. The reason why it’s been given so much praises is simply because Marvel does have the upper hand. They’ve been making one movie after the other, and they know their fans will still watch because they are fully aware that everything in Marvel is connected somehow. It is a tiring yet effective plan. Because of this non-stop movie-making, they’ve become aware of their target market, and they were also able to research them, which is something the WB marketing team can’t do at the moment due to their scarce source materials (like I said, DCU is just starting, chill guys and have faith). Marvel Studios knows what makes us tick. And after Avengers and the Winter Soldier, they know perfectly well that anything that has to do with the friendship of Tony and Steve, and a bit off Bucky will make us shut up and allow them to take our money. Because…Bucky. Bucky.

Just looking at the scenes makes you wonder what is going to happen and how in the world will this conflict end. For the hardcore Marvel fans out there, you probably already know. 

The best features of their promise are three things. First is the tension between Ironman and Captain America. The next is Bucky. And the last how this simple conflict is going to cause Civil War.  That’s all the trailer shows. That’s their marketing strategy. Let us make Bucky the source of this conflict, because everyone seems to care about Bucky. Because as implied in the trailer, Captain America won’t let anyone hurt Bucky, who is perceived as this man that must be killed. And it is going to cause a lot of problems. So hurrah, Marvel fans. Your marketing team is not so bad. Because…Bucky. 

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Bucky.

That is how you market a movie, my friends. Tell us the promise and only show portions of your best features. Whether it is the characters or the conflict itself, just showcase it somehow. But don’t expose all the parts of your best features/ And also, it is best if you can come up with a target market, especially when you are starting franchise like DC. If you want a general audience, then give them an education of the characters who they probably know about and let them know what these characters are getting into. If you want to target an audience is very knowledgeable about fandoms, then tug at their hearts and research on your freakin’ audience. Know what makes them tick and use it against them. Isn’t marketing just plain beautiful?

And that concludes my long post about marketing approaches and how it must be done. As I mentioned on my Facebook page, December is the most convenient month for me to watch some Anime. And yes, I will be posting a brand new Anime review pretty soon. Just give me a couple of more days to finish the show until I can construct my thoughts on it. It will probably not be the last since I have time to review some Anime movies and series. So expect more Anime in this post. If you’re on the holidays, then congratulations and I wish you the best time of your life. If you’re still on a Holidaze due to your upcoming exams and workload, then I still wish you all the best. Till the next post~

Fangirl Moment! Heroes Join Forces

This week has been really action-packed with DC. We had the major crossover events between The Flash and Arrow. And we had a brand new teaser and full trailer for Batman V Superman! What a good time to be alive.

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I have to say, this crossover was so much better than last year but most of my expectations weren't met, to be honest. A lot of people have been saying that the crossover event here would introduce the Legends of Tomorrow, but all we've got was an introduction to the villain, Vandal Savage--who was super awesome, by the way (I love the step-up for villains this season--and the brand new heroes, Hawkman and Hawkgirl. And the crossover episodes were focused on how to defeat Vandal Savage, who's role was to kill both Hawkman and Hawkgirl in order for his immortality to continue. That's just it. I was kinda hoping to see White Canary or even Captain Cold enter the scenes to take down Savage, but that didn't happen. Apart from that slight disappointment, I thought this week's episodes were great. The action scenes were epic, the tension between the characters of Arrow and The Flash were so amusing to watch. Also, the emerging moment of Hawkgirl was the most highlighted moment for me. It sent chills down through my spine and the teamwork of the Green Arrow and the Flash just gives me the feels! Sorry, I just love seeing heroes work together.

Then there's the brand new trailer of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. In this trailer, we get to hear Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne have an actual conversation...that is, until Jesse Eisenberg cuts in. I'm not gonna lie, but he sounds kinda funny in this trailer than he did in the last one. Also I am questioning their choice of casting for Alfred because no matter how much ear surgery I will get, I will still hear Scar from the Lion King. The last thing I need to hear is telling Bruce that he needs to be prepared.

Anyway, let us re-live this epic trailer for a few minutes, shall we?

 Aside from that, I thought the trailer was semi-cool. Meaning, I love it but at the same time I have some concerns. Of course, I was amazed by the effects in this. I get the feeling anyone gets whenever they view porn: full satisfaction. But also, I thought the trailer showed too much. Like everyone is complaining that the trailer gave everything away. Since this is Fangirl Moment, allow me to sound DC-Biased for this; I want to think that there is more to the plot than just Batman and Superman fighting. I think they decided to show them working together awkwardly behind Wonder Woman--that part made me squeal omg--because a fight between major DC heroes can come out as something predictable. On the other hand, I think they decided to show that last bit because lots of bloggers and social media people overanalyzed the first trailer. So what will the movie truly show? Is it something we have to worry about? Is there going to be more DC heroes appearing in this movie? Is there going to be romance blossoming between Clark and Bruce? What? Can this movie come out tomorrow?

And that is it for my mini-fangirling. What did you think of this week's line-up of heroes? Did you like the crossover episodes of The Flash and Arrow? Did you hate the trailer of BvS just like everyone who lost all hope for DC? Let me know. Let's Disqus. Till the next post~

Bash Crime: Women Empowerment in Literature

Ok I've never been serious in a blog post before. So it here it goes.

A few days ago, I encountered the most interesting quote on Tumblr (it has been around the site for a long time, mind you).  And it goes like this,

"Screw writing “strong” women. Write interesting women. Write well-rounded women. Write complicated women. Write a woman who kicks ass, write a woman who cowers in a corner. Write a woman who’s desperate for a husband. Write a woman who doesn’t need a man. Write women who cry, women who rant, women who are shy, women who don’t take no shit, women who need validation and women who don’t care what anybody thinks. THEY ARE ALL OKAY, and all those things could exist in THE SAME WOMAN. Women shouldn’t be valued because we are strong, or kick-ass, but because we are people. So don’t focus on writing characters who are strong. Write characters who are people."

When I saw this, both my mind and heart leaped for joy. Finally! Someone said it! Someone finally agrees with me! I'm sure you are reading this right now and you are thinking the very same thing. I shared this quote on Facebook and it has gotten a fair amount of likes. And I never get that much likes on that form of social media.

Honestly, I grew tired of the "purely badass" archetype for women. Sure, seeing women fight better than men seemed amusing at first, but now I think it is slightly overdone. Don't get me wrong, though. I have nothing against women who can kick ass. I just wish that literature can show to everyone that women are more than just fighters...and homemakers. They're also realistic beings that walk on this Earth. Correct me if I'm wrong but if there's a character that a reader or a viewer needs to hate, they're usually female. And yes, I think we should count King Joffrey as a lady (just kidding). But yeah, people would hate on a female character if she's helpless, a whiner, a stubborn bitch, a crybaby, or basically too weak. A perfect example to further emphasize my point would be Bella Swan of the Twilight Saga. A lot of readers hated her for being too clingy on Edward Cullen. I'm not a huge a fan of her character, but let's face it. I'm sure not everyone can think straight when they're in love with someone (people who were/are in love say "yeaaah!"). But yeah, the moment a female character does something that is stupid, weak, or not so "empowering" she gets bashed terribly.

I know that each and everyone of us is entitled to their own opinions and that we can hate whoever we want to hate, but whether we like it or not, flaws--whether they are big or small--are inevitable and we can't make the characters flawless otherwise they would turn into a Mary Sue...and we (yes I am including myself since I am also guilty of the bash crime) would still end up bashing the poor character for being too perfect. Am I saying that we need to stop the bashing? Not really. As fellow members of our current fandoms, we need to be more open to different kinds of female characters. Not just stoic female leaders who take no shit from anybody. So if you are a writer or you are aspiring to be one, then I implore you not to focus on making your characters strong. Make your characters real, because that's what makes them awesome.

So what if this female character is so helpless? So what if she's too perfect? So what if she's too stubborn and hotheaded? If you hate Clary Fray for being too irritating, then that means Cassandra Clare is actually doing a great job as a writer. I guess you can say that I have a firm belief that a writer should not write at all if all they're going to do is to please their readers. Write what you believe in, write yourself in your stories, heck...write about anything you want just as long as you are knowledgeable about it. I mean, what's the point about writing about math equations, when you don't know how they work right? Call me confusing, but yeah you can bash on a female character. But don't you dare say that "Oh! Cersei Lannister is not representing women the right way! Oh! Elena is so not an empowered woman because she screwed both Damon and Stefan!", because they are--in their own weird way--empowering you and me. They're somehow setting an example for everyone out there. So I guess it is up to you, if you want to follow their actions or not. One day you are going to thank Cho Chang for making yourself a stronger person after your almost-perfect boyfriend lets you go. You are going to make certain that you are not gonna end up as an alcoholic and a grudging sister like Laurel Lance of Arrow. Despite their terrible decisions in life, we all learn from them (hopefully). So yeah, it's not entirely a lose-lose situation for a story to have such characters. Women are still people, and they can make mistakes too. You can't expect every woman in every book, movie, or TV show to be like Black Widow or Wonder Woman, because that would be hell. Like seriously, that would be overrated and scary. If you can't deal with that, then that's your problem. If you think that this character is not doing a very good job as well, her own character, then let's see if you can do a better job.

If you ask me, I think being a demigod, a shadowhunter, or even the Mockingjay is a demanding task, especially if you're a teenager. The fact that someone young is handling anything of these tasks is absolutely insane. Technically speaking, these women are pretty strong and they definitely got the man balls for doing whatever they're doing. Perhaps this is why I appreciate Arrow very much. I know there are other shows or other forms of media that show amazing female characters, but Arrow is definitely one of them. These women are not just strong. They can be weak, insane, complicated, deep, gentle, annoying, and powerful. Basically most of them have depth and they show empowerment in many different ways, which I appreciate very much.

Now that I got that off my chest, I hope I didn't really hit anyone. Well if I did, then I can assure you it is not my intention. I am only ventilating my thoughts, and you may or may not agree with everything that I have said here. My simple request is that we all should appreciate any female character, whether she can look smoking hot in a spy outfit or not. Any woman...any person can be powerful.

Fangirl Moment: Wonder Woman Revealed!

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Hello again! As most of you know, the appearance of Wonder Woman for the upcoming film, "Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice" has been revealed during the San Diego Comic Con. And I must say, it must have been considered one of the golden moment for DC fans worldwide (aside from the 75th anniversary of Batman, maybe). I mean, it's been a long time since we all seen a remake of a live-action Wonder Woman, right? And personally, out of all the superheroes ever created, Wonder Woman deserves some major appreciation. She's the definition of nobility, strength, honor, and justice. Furthermore, her character development as a person is quite impressive. So I am very happy that she will be featured in the upcoming Batman/Superman film and I am thrilled that she will have her very own film in a few years. Although, I haven't seen how Gal Gadot acts, I am hoping that she will nail her role. The photo of her as the Amazon looks very promising. It was something I did not expect. First of all, it is not any random rendition of her past costumes, nor is it the one in New 52, but it is something very different. It's hard to make out the actual colors of her costume, but I definitely do not see the star-patterned  bottoms. Not that I'm against it though, I am actually very happy with her outfit here. It screams Amazonian and that's how it should be. The pattern on her armor is also beyond amazing, words cannot describe how in awe I am by the details. Right now, I am waiting for at least a teaser that will feature Gal as Wonder Woman, so everyone can have an idea on how her acting skills are (since that's the most important!). To be honest, I am looking forward for DC to take over the film industry next, because the stories of each superhero and villain (including anti-hero) have sooo much potential, plus they have a whole set of amazing characters! And don't you think it's about time for Marvel to rest and let DC take the lead? Tell me what you think!