What a coincidence that this gets written right as I decide to ditch television and begin going out to see films again. I already watch the least television out of anyone in my peer group(when I do watch anything, it's usually educational & self-development content on Youtube), yet I feel that I've come to an understanding about what this "television renaissance" really is.
* from here on out, I'm using the word "television" to mean both TV & streaming.
While there we have seen some excellent writing for television in recent years, and while there are more than 400 scripted shows being produced for both television and streaming, I'd argue that most of it is trash. Now hear me out, because I know that word gets used in a relative sense, but I'm trying to be objective here. I call it trash because as well-produced as these shows are(in terms of acting, sets, effects), few people that I know, including myself, actually watch these shows all the way through to their last season. From the conversations I've had with people, it sounds like a common thing to binge through a couple of seasons of a given show, get bored of it, and then move on to another one of the hundreds of available shows. Is this really such a good thing? Is this better than the state of the film industry at its height? I've started asking myself these questions a lot lately, as my experience tells me the average person isn't getting a whole lot of lasting satisfaction out of a given show yet they are spending an inordinate amount of time "bingeing".
The film industry screwed itself in the behind for more reasons than are in the linked story. Big studios are well-known for destroying the creative process and watering down what might otherwise become a classic. Evidence of this can be found in interviews by writers & producers who, years after they've cut their ties with studios, feel safe to talk about what "could have been" if the executives didn't return scripts with a bunch of notes and lines crossed out. So not only did we end up seeing a lot of inferior products at the cinema, but we were paying out the ass for it; somehow we were paying over $20 to watch mediocre films while sitting in dirty theaters, and people gradually caught on to the fact that it sucks. On top of that, we they began subjecting us to loud video advertisements before the trailers would run.
But then why would I go back to film, you might ask? Well, I'm fortunate to live in LA, and we do have a lot of "arthouse" cinemas that have a far superior experience, if you are willing to look for them. There are still lots of independent and foreign films being made that are at least decent and break the mold of the average Hollywood blockbuster. More importantly, I think it's healthier to see a film every once in a while, and actually be around other human beings, than be at home eating diet ice cream while Netflix autoplays. Films also tend to have a story that has to be complete in at least 1.5 hours; contrast that with the J.J. Abrams style of television show that's common these days, where we're lead by a carrot on a stick for several episodes(possibly entire seasons!) by some idea that seems neat but actually has very little payoff, only to be then redirected to a more enigmatic carrot on a stick(e.g. Lost's "hatch" or the "maze" in Westworld). With film, the worst that can happen is you lost a couple hours out of your life, and that doesn't happen that often for me. Meanwhile, I've known people who watch entire seasons of mediocre shows just because those shows are new, and that's a lot of hours that could definitely be spent doing something better. What a coincidence that those same people have energy levels far below what they should have for their age!
EDIT: I forgot to include the real point I want to make: people will realize that they are overvaluing the time they are spending in front of the tube, and there will come a point where the film industry makes a comeback.
>From the conversations I've had with people, it sounds like a common thing to binge through a couple of seasons of a given show, get bored of it, and then move on to another one of the hundreds of available shows.
Long before streaming was widespread, I would say that I had a "five season rule." What I meant by that is that, for a given series, by the time five seasons (give or take) had passed, I was just tired of the characters, style, setting, etc. Some series do a better job than others in mixing things up but, even when a series arguably maintains a level of quality, I'm ready to move on.
Of course, the ready availability of more quality streaming video than I have time to watch probably accelerates that process even more. There are at least a couple of series I can think of where I loved the first season but didn't really get into season 2.
* from here on out, I'm using the word "television" to mean both TV & streaming.
While there we have seen some excellent writing for television in recent years, and while there are more than 400 scripted shows being produced for both television and streaming, I'd argue that most of it is trash. Now hear me out, because I know that word gets used in a relative sense, but I'm trying to be objective here. I call it trash because as well-produced as these shows are(in terms of acting, sets, effects), few people that I know, including myself, actually watch these shows all the way through to their last season. From the conversations I've had with people, it sounds like a common thing to binge through a couple of seasons of a given show, get bored of it, and then move on to another one of the hundreds of available shows. Is this really such a good thing? Is this better than the state of the film industry at its height? I've started asking myself these questions a lot lately, as my experience tells me the average person isn't getting a whole lot of lasting satisfaction out of a given show yet they are spending an inordinate amount of time "bingeing".
The film industry screwed itself in the behind for more reasons than are in the linked story. Big studios are well-known for destroying the creative process and watering down what might otherwise become a classic. Evidence of this can be found in interviews by writers & producers who, years after they've cut their ties with studios, feel safe to talk about what "could have been" if the executives didn't return scripts with a bunch of notes and lines crossed out. So not only did we end up seeing a lot of inferior products at the cinema, but we were paying out the ass for it; somehow we were paying over $20 to watch mediocre films while sitting in dirty theaters, and people gradually caught on to the fact that it sucks. On top of that, we they began subjecting us to loud video advertisements before the trailers would run.
But then why would I go back to film, you might ask? Well, I'm fortunate to live in LA, and we do have a lot of "arthouse" cinemas that have a far superior experience, if you are willing to look for them. There are still lots of independent and foreign films being made that are at least decent and break the mold of the average Hollywood blockbuster. More importantly, I think it's healthier to see a film every once in a while, and actually be around other human beings, than be at home eating diet ice cream while Netflix autoplays. Films also tend to have a story that has to be complete in at least 1.5 hours; contrast that with the J.J. Abrams style of television show that's common these days, where we're lead by a carrot on a stick for several episodes(possibly entire seasons!) by some idea that seems neat but actually has very little payoff, only to be then redirected to a more enigmatic carrot on a stick(e.g. Lost's "hatch" or the "maze" in Westworld). With film, the worst that can happen is you lost a couple hours out of your life, and that doesn't happen that often for me. Meanwhile, I've known people who watch entire seasons of mediocre shows just because those shows are new, and that's a lot of hours that could definitely be spent doing something better. What a coincidence that those same people have energy levels far below what they should have for their age!
EDIT: I forgot to include the real point I want to make: people will realize that they are overvaluing the time they are spending in front of the tube, and there will come a point where the film industry makes a comeback.