Watch It Before 'FilmTwitter' Tells You It’s Bad – The Bandwagon Epidemic
- JY
- Oct 18
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 19
Ever loved a film enough to give it five stars, only to go on X and see everyone tearing it apart? Our Film and TV writer, JY, explains why this happens to all of us.
Ever since the rise of social media, there has been a clear uptick in communities beginning to form, solely under discussion and reviewing their favourite movies or genres of film. Social media platforms, such as X, Reddit, or Instagram, would have dedicated forums or threads to debate their top film characters or cook up theories about possible sequels and hidden details in films. While this does allow users to discover friends with common interests and build bonds with kindred spirits, there are downsides to these platforms as well.
Oftentimes, cinephiles, critics and film enthusiasts alike would be watching films and TV shows seconds after their release, solely for the opportunity to voice their own thoughts and reviews of the media aloud for all to see. The private, thought-provoking act of watching and interpreting a film by oneself has devolved into a more performative, demonstrative hubbub, where audiences would parrot opinions and debate the rating of movies vehemently amongst one another.
In film culture, there will always be popular film critics or influencers who are quick to jump in with their opinions upon viewing. While there is nothing inherently wrong with doing this, it unfortunately sets a tone for how said media can be perceived. This is especially true if their followers are the worshipful, devoted kind who see everything their idols say as the absolute truth. These followers could end up ‘jumping the bandwagon’, where a bias is formed towards said film just because others are rallying it. After all, when someone sees an overwhelmingly positive or negative opinion about something over and over again, it is not uncommon for them to follow the crowd, either out of the fear of being the lone opposition or simply wishing to be included as a part of the greater community, where they would not be disapproved or ostracised.
This leads to the formation of hiveminds, in which the desire for harmony or conformity within a group results in irrational or dysfunctional decision-making. In simpler terms, more personal and nuanced opinions may give way to the louder, more popular judgments: whether a piece of media is a timeless ‘masterpiece’ or ‘garbage content’ that should be reviled. Take for instance, the film Venom (2018). While it was loved by most audiences within the film community, critics would bash it with scathing reviews and slander everyone involved in production. On X, there was even discourse within the community, where some claimed that the movie’s bad editing and strange romance subplot made it nearly unwatchable. A more recent example is TRON: Ares (2025), starring the infamous Jared Leto. Despite the problematic actor and weak storyline, there are still fans on X who vehemently praise the film, claiming that the lights and sounds are all that matter in making the movie good. While the film’s visuals are great, it is irrational to think that a good movie only relies on one aspect to lift itself up to greatness.
This is especially prevalent due to the rise of FOMO among the younger generation, also known as ‘fear of missing out’. FOMO can be caused by a psychological dependence on social media, or even from the fear or losing out moments of approval from friends and family. When a social media user has FOMO, they will rush to watch the latest film or show that is trending online, before quickly posting their own opinions for others to view. While this does lead to quicker gratification and an easy boost to their follower engagement, it has the unforeseen effect of causing users to not mull over and ponder about a film’s meaning and its effects– instead, they favour a social media user’s appearance to seem more informed and up to date on societal date.
Take for instance, the action movie Godzilla x Kong (2021). It was a reasonably fine movie, one that was well-received within the Godzilla fandom. But to anyone outside of that circle? It was deemed a total slopfest, especially when the trailer first dropped. Some X users claimed that the Monsterverse had ‘fallen off’ and bashed the film’s CGI as much as they could. This simply shows how some people are quick on the uptake to hate on a movie before it even comes out, showcasing how FOMO so easily controls people and their desire for approval amongst one another. Nowadays, most of a film’s audience would rather rush to broadcast and shout out quick, easy thoughts rather than slowly digesting the film and authentically reflecting on the said media.
All in all, one could say that this bandwagon epidemic is a clear sign of how social media users are finding it increasingly difficult to separate their own personal opinions and interpretations from the mass majority’s opinions. While it is true that platforms like X have allowed for greater engagement and awareness of both popular and obscure films, it is imperative that the audience itself must learn to give pause and reflect on the media they enjoy before looking to social media for its opinions. After all, isn’t the whole point of watching a movie is to enjoy it?
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