Ah, modern cinema, it’s a great time to be alive! Movies have never been bigger, faster or sexier. They also have never made more money. Jurassic World, this year’s summer darling, made over 1 billion dollars worldwide and Disney’s great acquisition, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, is making its way to cinemas this December. If you haven’t seen the trailer for it, where have you been? I mean, I haven’t seen the trailer, but you should have.

Oh that’s right, I haven’t seen the trailer either, and I don’t plan to.

I saw every trailer for Jurassic World; every TV spot, every Internet ad. I even waited with baited breath to listen to the pre-release of the soundtrack. And you know what? I didn’t enjoy the movie. That’s right. I didn’t feel excited, nervous or happy. My emotional level never changed and if you’re a student of cinema, you know that’s a problem. Well, my young Padawans, I will not do that again!

You see, I’m “waiting” for Star Wars. I’m staying away from spoilers and I’m throwing away the keys. Why would I do this? I do this because modern trailers ruin dramatic tension. They steal from the movie-going experience and I have discovered that for me, I can no longer enjoy a movie without tension. It is because of this that we must go into an in-depth look at tension in movies and discover how they tap into our hearts and minds.