It’s no secret that the best way we devour media as of late is totally different than it was 10 years in the past. Who doesn’t wish to be on their telephone whereas they’re watching TV? Nicely, Hollywood has observed your consideration is cut up. And because of this, people like Kris Jenner and corporations like Disney are investing in new types of leisure.
Enter: the vertical micro-drama. Filmed rapidly and with scrolling in thoughts, they’re brief episodes, generally as brief as 45 seconds, meant to seize the viewer with over-the-top premises.
However that isn’t the one change. The journal n+1 reported earlier this yr that Netflix executives are asking their screenwriters to “have this character announce what they’re doing in order that viewers who’ve this program on within the background can observe alongside” — in different phrases, dumb down the script in order that inattentive viewers can nonetheless observe alongside.
So, is what we’re watching getting worse? As we speak, Defined co-host Noel King introduced that query to Puck Information correspondent Julia Alexander.
Under is an excerpt of their dialog, edited for size and readability. There’s far more within the full episode, so take heed to As we speak, Defined wherever you get podcasts, together with Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and Spotify.
When folks within the business discuss concerning the second display downside, what do they imply?
When you discuss to creatives, the second display — which means, the telephone that you just’re watching TikToks on whereas watching a film in your huge TV — is only a lack of consideration that’s being paid to the primary film or movie on the tv.
However, for those who discuss to executives, the query of the second display is certainly one of: Does the adoration for TikTok, and Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts imply that folks will spend much less time with our streaming providers that they’ll cancel, and we now have to struggle again for these subscribers? Earlier than the telephone got here round, folks would do that with magazines, and they might do it with books, and they might do it with different issues. We’ve simply by no means had as many issues competing for such tiny slices of the eye pie.
There was reporting in n+1 saying that Netflix executives are telling writers to dumb down the writing in TV exhibits and films. Do individuals who cowl the business, did they know that this was taking place?
I believe it’s necessary to make clear that nobody, no government is out [there] saying, “Dumb this down.” No government is out within the city saying, “Hey, by the best way, make shittier tv that’s actually going to assist us once we improve costs once more,” proper?
What they’re saying, if that is being mentioned to folks — and I’ve personally by no means heard it in my reporting — what they’d be saying is, “We perceive that our viewers has much less consideration than they could have 10 years in the past, and our viewers has extra alternatives to place that focus on one other video format, whether or not they’re watching Reels or TikTok. And we perceive that that’s our direct competitor in a method that somebody flipping by way of {a magazine} whereas watching a film was not going to be a direct competitor.”
It’s not about dumbing down, it’s about acknowledging the place the way forward for competitors is coming from.
Why do you assume the concept of dumbing TV writing down makes us indignant?
All of us need to consider that we’re of higher-quality caliber than in actual fact we’re. I imply, I’d be outraged if somebody got here out and mentioned, “Netflix is purposely dumbing stuff down.”
However, in actuality, I used to be watching Frankenstein the opposite night time with my fiance, and he was enjoying Sweet Crush the complete time, after which, in a bunch chat the following day, he’s complaining concerning the high quality of movies. However, the standard of the movie, equivalent to Frankenstein, a lovely Guillermo del Toro film, has nothing to do with a Netflix government popping out and saying, “You’ve acquired to dumb this down.” It has every thing to do with the truth that they’re responding to what persons are saying with their actions.
The Lindsay Lohan Christmas films, for instance, and all these different Netflix fare that we affiliate with a particular trope are closely watched. One of many results of what you’re seeing play out is that we had a golden age of tv about 15 years in the past, numerous the larger film stars, and the writers, and administrators in movie who didn’t need to make Marvel films and didn’t need to make huge sci-fi blockbusters moved to TV. We had a terrific second of well-written, attractive tv.
Then, what occurred was the competitors for eyeballs on the TV display began to actually velocity up, and also you had YouTube are available in, and also you had Mr. Beast, and impulsively, folks had been watching them on their tv screens, and that meant that they had been watching much less Netflix or much less Hulu. So, all the status TV that labored on cable 20 years in the past stopped working as a lot as we speak. So, you’re getting much more unintentional slop, however it’s not as a result of they’re attempting to provide it, it’s that they’re attempting to provide simply extra content material than ever earlier than.
May you envision a world the place viewers say, “We don’t need the slop, we would like status,” or is that unlikely?
I really assume that’s precisely what’s going to occur. The quantity of generative AI content material, even these micro-dramas slightly bit, which, partly, are being made due to generative AI applied sciences which might be permitting them to make issues cheaper and sooner, goes to extend the quantity of content material. We’re going to enter an infinite content material period, and numerous it’s going to be sloppy.
As people who love good storytelling, we’re going to must go determine the place it’s. And we’re going to pay for it. And so, you might need an Apple TV plus or a Netflix in 20 years, 25 years, be $40, $50 a month, however you’ll pay for it, as a result of they may find yourself leaning into higher-quality programming and backing away from among the slop because it takes over all of our different content material viewing. However, with a view to get to that breaking level, issues have to interrupt slightly bit additional.
It’s unimaginable to me that your take is so optimistic.
There’s a world the place YouTube will eat everybody’s lunch. It’s been taking place; it’ll proceed to occur. However, it’s by no means going to switch the necessity to watch a extremely good film or a extremely good TV present.
Now, I believe the variety of these titles will come down, and I believe that’s going to be actually cataclysmic for individuals who work on this business, since you’ll have fewer jobs. However, actually, high-quality artwork has at all times stayed, and other people have at all times sought it out. I actually do consider that there’s a world for a few of these streaming providers — not all — a few of these administrators, and actors to proceed to depart a extremely robust mark, however it’s going to be a a lot smaller business than it has been over the past hundred years.
