Measuring Happiness

Spoken by a character in the novel The Lady of the Sorrows by Cecilia Dart-Thornton:

The measure of happiness is merely the difference between expectations and outcomes. It is not concerned with what one possesses - it is concerned with how content one is with what one possesses.

This also applies to movies. Enjoyment of films is related to the difference between expectations and outcomes.  Go into an unknown flick with no knowledge of reviews, Oscar nominations or plot and you can judge it on its merits. But the day after the Academy Awards, go and see the best picture winner and your expectations are stratospheric, and the chances of the experience measuring up to expectations are slim.