Every Nerd’s Battle: The Waiting Cycle

Humans don’t like waiting.  Our tolerance for pauses is abysmally low because our world caters to our
need for instant gratification.  Or is it that we now have the need for instant gratification because our world has made everything so immediately accessible?  Whether chicken or egg, we don’t like waiting.

But on this side of Star Wars: The Force Awakens (don’t worry; no spoilers lie ahead!), I have come to recognize and have a love/hate relationship with a cyclical pattern of waiting that us nerds go through with every major nerdy box office release.  It comes in three stages, each with its own pros and cons.

Stage One – The “It’s Coming” Stage

This stage has varying start points.  Sometimes the rumor mill kicks things off.  At other times we receive official word of a movie or movies coming down the pipe.  And so it begins…

The Pros of This Stage

• If the rumor mill didn’t begin the process, you can rest assured that it will indeed fuel the process.  Speculation runs rampant and nerds all over the internet hasten to be among the first to posit theories about cast and plot and cross their fingers hoping that they’re right – because of course their idea is the best way of going about the thing.  And we love telling everyone how wrong they are, too!
• Hollywood and its advertising execs know just how to keep the motor primed.  They s l o w l y leak just enough information to keep us interested and anticipating.

The Con of This Stage

• We’re impatient!  It really is that simple.  Yes, we want it, but we want it now!  Not next year!

Stage Two – The “It’s Almost Here” Stage

This is easily the worst of them all.  We’ve waited for months for this day, and now we’re in line to watch the movie.  I got to Star Wars: The Force Awakens last night almost 40 full minutes before showtime at 10:10pm on its second night in the theater and yet there was a line hundreds of people long.

The Pros of This Stage

• At this stage we typically find ourselves in close proximity to a whole mess of folks who love
  what we love, and that is awesome.  Heck, they might even be up for talking to a stranger like yourself about the movie or its source material.  Camaraderie, comrades.
• This is where we get the butterflies.  The marketers have done their job and our self-generated desire amplifies the feels a thousand fold.  Consequently, we suffer this stage’s con.

The Con of This Stage

• Maybe its just me, but I get a bit impatient at this point.  What was once months off is now moments away, and I feel like I’m watching grass grow.  Every time I check my phone it reads the same time.  How is that even possible?!

Stage Three – The “What’s Next” Stage

It finally happened!  And of course the most important questions is “What’s Next?”  I think this stage has two potential realities.

1.  There’s obviously going to be a sequel.  JJ Abrams closed The Force Awakens perfectly.  Perfectly, people!  The Force Awakens is not meant to be watched in isolation.  There’s barely a bow at the end – if any.  And here again the rumor mill gives us all the conversational fodder we could ever desire.
2. The series of movies has reached its end.  The final conclusion has been reached, most if not all of the questions have been answered, and they lived happily ever after.  So with the close of that particular series’ chapter, we begin searching for which of our favorite franchises will be championed by Hollywood next so we can begin the cycle anew.

The Pros of This Stage

• If we were right in our predictions during Stage One, we score major nerd cred.  If we were wrong and a sequel or sequels lie ahead, we have a shot at amendments and redemption.  We return to the world wide web to spread our opinion far and wide.
• There’s always something on the horizon; even barring sequels.  We nerds are always saying “Hollywood should do this next!”  And if recent trends hold true into the future, they may well.

The Con of This Stage

• If the movie was awful, we’re angry.  Especially when we think all the way back to Stage One and how long we spent waiting since the movie’s announcement only to watch it and be disappointed.
• If the movie was great, we go right back to Stage One and stew in its Con for several months to a year.

No mater what:  We’re perpetually caught up in this cycle at all times.  What’s got you caught up in the waiting cycle at the moment?  Let us know in the comments!