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The viewer must be knowledgeable about the film's subject to enjoy it?

Y

You'reMrPink

Say someone makes a film with video games as the main topic and applies terms which are only native to gamers and further so beyond mere terms (I want to do this but with something not as relevant and known as video games).

Would it be hard for a viewer outside the realms of the subject to enjoy the film? Hopefully, someone can sight specific examples of a movie that delves deep into a topic but still receives universal praise and enjoyment from the audience, this has to be attributed to me being tired and not exactly isn't in a 'high activity' state of mind but I'm struggling to think of one at the moment, I'm sure there are a few, enlighten me.
 
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Indie Game: The Movie, and Free-to-Play (DOTA 2) are two movies about video games that have been enjoyed by a gaming audience, but are not exclusive to them. For instance, FtP - while using a lot of jargon specific to DOTA 2, all of these terms are explained for those who don't know them. Both of the films have a human element which an audience unfamiliar with games could follow - IG:TM is a story of artistic ambition and FtP analogous to a 'real' sporting event.

I wouldn't say it would be impossible for a viewer unfamiliar with games to enjoy a film about games, but mainstream knowledge of gaming culture is not strong - for example, the Channel 4 doc 'Charlie Brooker: Videogames Changed the World' devoted mostly to explaining the relevance of phenomenons such as Minecraft or Mario.

For a major studio release about gaming, see 'The Wizard'.
 
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It depends on how the film/game is presented. I believe you can take any concept and present it in 2 ways:
1) - Only for the target audience.
2) - A little bit derailed from the target audience and aimed for the masses.

Sometimes people make movies/animations/games for a very narrow type of audience. In other words - for the fans of the franchise. The fans do enjoy it, but those who are not fans, may not understand it. But some people make movies/animations/games for a wide audience. The people enjoy it, but the fans complain that it derails from the concept.

A good example are the Marvel superhero movies. They have so many contradictions with the comics, that the fans hate them. But the big audience loves them.
 
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I think it's better to make an audience movie sometimes, and in my opinion, most of the best Marvel movies are the ones made for that audience, cause the comic books have issues (not necessarily bad ones), that would have gotten in the way of a movie adaptation.

King Kong (2005), is a good example. A lot of the movie had references that poked fun at the original 1933 movie. A lot of viewers hated this, or did not understand it, but fans of the original like myself, liked it. But the movie also aims for a general audience for most of it though, so perhaps it's good to find a balance between the two?
 
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Well, Top Gear is one of my favorite shows, I've seen the majority of their twenty some seasons. I know very little about cars, I just find the show incredibly entertaining, and often learn a bit. So, no, you don't need to be knowledgeable to enjoy a film or show. My understanding of Top Gear in particular is that they've received massive critical acclaim over the years, pull a very broad audience as a result of their comedic style, and even have enough sway to make or break different new cars. Many of their viewers are a lot like me, and just find their antics and segments entertaining - But, they still find a way to put enough car information into each show to make it equally entertaining for people watching it because they actually do care about cars.
 
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Audience's LOVE learning new things from movies. Think wine in Sideways, hacking in The Fifth Estate etc. etc. As long as your protagonist's desire for what THEY want is strong and clear, the audience will get behind it.
 
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Are we talking about a documentary or a narrative film?

If it’s a documentary, you may be hard pressed to get an audience not already interested in the subject matter to watch in the first place. If it’s a narrative film, so long as the narrative is strong, so that the plot itself draws the audience in, the underlying concept, whatever the subject may be, shouldn’t really put viewers off.
 
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If everything is spoken in jargon, it would be disconcerting unless there is some clues to help make clear what is happening. Viewers don't mind learning along the way. If it's a documentary, then the point is to be informative and introduce the topic to a wider audience. If it's narrative, the jargon should be relevant and used purposefully. Most of us don't know how a "warp core" operates but understand that a "breach" is a bad thing when all the klaxons go off with flashing lights and people panicking. Audiences can tolerate ambiguity as long as it feels legitimate to the ongoing story, as Mad Hatter mentioned. If it's not obvious from watching, then you need to have some way of giving a concise explanation.
 
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I believe that if the movie is executed and received well then those unfamiliar with the subject matter will become more interested in seeking out more.

After all, how does one become a fan of something in the first place, and is it always due to a film's subject matter and whether or not the person knew anything about it beforehand?
 
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Consider "The King of Kong", which is about a video game competition that is really only appreciated by a specific subculture. The movie did well across a wide audience though, because the filmmaker intelligently focused on the quirky characters involved. My sister, who is neither a video game fanatic nor a film nerd, loved the movie and still randomly sends me text messages quoting it.
 
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Well, the opposite is true in most occasions: "people won't enjoy a movie when they have no clue what it is about."

If you write for an incrowd you narrow down the audience, so you can assume they have more prior knowledge. But there is always the risk of being "too eliterian": sending the underlaying message that the viewer must know this or (s)he is apperently stupid.

In good storytelling the setting, the rules and the motivation of the characters are shown during the movie, taking the audience on a trip of the reality of the movie.
However, when you constantly need to explain things of the backstory in a crippled encyclopedieque style, you are doing something wrong and that will hurt the flow of the story and thus the patience and attention of the viewer.
So I guess the true craft lies explaning through actions as much as possible and other wise explainig things in a way that doesn't feel forced or disruptive. And without giving the audience the feeling they are treated as retards. (Explaning too much can be annoying as well.)
 
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OP,

If you're trying to get the most bag for the buck, make dumbed down movies so it can be watched without much thought -- a larger audience.

If you're aiming for highbrow and insist audiences pay attention, it HAS to be good because their expectations will be higher.

Good luck.
 
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