12 Reasons Movies Were Better When You Were Younger

6. The Seductive Power Of Merchandising

Never under-estimate the insidious nature of movie marketing, and how it preys on young children in particular. For instance, if there's a Happy Meal or a video game or an action figure of a movie, kids will absolutely beg their parents to get it for them, and it's not long before they're then asking for the pyjamas, the lunchbox and so on. As an impressionable kid, a commodity such a movie can become integral to your identity, and kids take plenty of joy and pride in that, and why not? They haven't yet been be-spoiled by adult life. Merchandise creates a bond between consumer and product that forms marketing department's wet dreams, and heightens our attachment to the product, especially in youth where everyone is more susceptible to the marketing ploys. As an adult, though you might buy a Special Edition Blu-ray and some other wares, as you buy it yourself with your own money, you're likely much more aware of the capitalist agenda at work, and therefore less seduced by it. Kids, though, are the most potent and powerful fanboys there are, and if there's a major movie franchise you still retain a child-like love for, it's quite probably been aided by the swift hand of movie merch some time down the line.