Man, a few years ago I would be salivating around this time in anticipation of summer movie season.
Now -- I dunno -- maybe I'm just getting old, but every year it seems there's less and less to get excited about. There's more sequels of course, but even the "original" films just look like variations on the same formula. TV has the same problem if the previews of the new fall season are any indication. It's all perpetuated by the -say it all together class -- rampant media consolidation. Not that consolidation is bad in and of itself, but the fact that all these guys are beholden to Wall Street.
The Atlantic Monthly has a superior article about this. American movies are ironically, made for every country
except America it seems like.
Dialogue has to be kept dumbed down, so it can translate easier to the global audience. This leads us to more CGI-dominated crapola like "The Day After Tomorrow." Also, you have to stay away from films with uniquely American themes, and have lots of pretty blonds as the main characters. From "Twister" to "Armageddon" to "The Fast and the Furious" to "Troy", this is the mindset that informs business decisions.
TV has other different problems that will probably get greater as time progresses. The days of serialized dramas are probably over. NYPD Blue, Alias and 24 are pretty much the only the only adult-oriented dramas that have week-to-week themes. And they do only marginally well in the ratings. Meanwhile, we're getting a fourth Law and Order franchise, and a third CSI one. These two concepts have something in common; they're shows with single-contained episodes. You're never shown anything about the personal lives of any of the regulars on these shows and that plays
well for the purposes of TV. It's always been a fact that hour long dramas fail in syndication, but now the idea is that they're not too great for first-run either.
By keeping things simple, it's easier to keep the casual viewer coming back, even if they miss a week or two. Admittedly, you can't do that with 24 or, one of my all-time faves WiseGuy, which thankfully is out on DVD now.
Sitcoms? Ugh. Everbody is heralding the "death fo the sitcom" and the reason is the TV audience is justifiably sick of contrived situations and the one-liner every 15 seconds.
So that means more and more reality shows which have been getting lamer and lamer for two years now. (Question about American Idol -- every season they go out and audition like 50,000 people right? Haven't they pretty much gone through all the mallrats by now? How can there be anyone left who's any good?)
But they're CHEAP. And starting this summer with Fear Factor, it'll be seen if they do well in syndication. If they do, get ready for a tidal wave of new shows in 2005.
Don't even get me started on the music industry.
It used to be a mark of pride for gen-xers like myself to have been raised by 70s and 80s pop culture. Sure a lot of it was junk,("Three's Company", "The A-Team") but it was, in a sense, benevolentjunk. In those days, the coke-sniffing TV execs would give anything a chance if if looked halfway decent. (Cocaine -- the drug that gave you "Supertrain", "Pink Lady and Jeff" "Cop Rock" and "Manimal") In a sense, the dumb stuff was OK, because there was so much quality around (MASH, All in the Family, Hill Street Blues, etc)
But nowadays every pilot is scrutinized within an inch of its life. The "upfronts" which were held three weeks ago are where the TV companies seek the approval of the advertisers concerning new shows. Our entertainment isn't up to us, nor to the creative minds in the biz. It's up to the numbers crunchers who sell soap, sneakers and erectile-dysfunction pills. Teriffic.
Thank goodness for DVDs, HBO, BBCAmerica, and of course, PBS. And for the indie film companies. And lets not forget -- Books! With mainstream entertainment becoming more and more ephmeral every day, fulling Neil Postman's well-noted criticisms, the fringes are where we're finding the great entertainment today.
That's it. Probably nothing you haven't heard before, but I just wanted to rant. Thanks for reading.