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Post by pacinoyes on Mar 25, 2018 14:04:29 GMT
This is a weird discussion maybe but really I'm talking about HBO and the "HBO-ification" of TV and what that lead to including streaming services.
A lot of people - even older people now - when asked what their favorites from TV are will always say something distinctly now - The Sopranos or Mad Men or Breaking Bad and recent TV work for males or females - Michael Douglas and Jessica Lange or Sarah Paulson, etc. take on a much bigger frame of reference across the culture now, like films but not in the same way historically.
We don't think of TV (it seems to me) in the age prior as being that good but isn't that a bit of a raw deal or undeserved? I mean Duvall in Lonesome Dove, Close in Sarah Plain and Tall, Powers Boothe as Jim Jones, Tommy Lee Jones in The Executioner's Song seem to just belong to a lesser sphere but are clearly classic work.
Is this sort of the opposite of what is done with classic movies which are part of an accepted canon of work? I mean you don't have to care about Bridge On The River Kwai but movie fans know, it's an established classic. I'm thinking they may think TLJ in The Executioner's Song was just TV stuff before he made it.
Do you see "fans of TV" as distinct from "fans of film" in terms of how they go about learning or caring about those mediums?
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Post by The_Cake_of_Roth on Mar 25, 2018 22:15:57 GMT
This is sort of tangentially related... in response to the last question in your post, I have a friend who basically worships HBO (not just for their individual shows, but their entire image as a platform, and for their impact on the television format), but he claims to not really like movies that much in general. He really appreciates long-form storytelling, specifically shows with giant ensembles that span many seasons... in my discussions with him, he's sort of suggested that he thinks film is often unsatisfying in terms of storytelling and character development just because of the restrictive nature of the medium (the two-hour runtime, the three-act structure, etc.). We've talked about films that he has liked a lot, but he doesn't tend to watch a lot of movies in general (before this year, the last Best Picture winner he had seen was Lord of the Rings: Return of the King).
It's interesting talking to him because I'm not really much of a TV person (it's more of a time commitment, and I prefer things with a clear beginning, middle, and end, more focused stories without a lot of filler). He's the only person I've ever talked to with his particular perspective, but I'd be interested to hear if other people feel this way.
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Post by Martin Stett on Mar 26, 2018 2:44:34 GMT
This is sort of tangentially related... in response to the last question in your post, I have a friend who basically worships HBO (not just for their individual shows, but their entire image as a platform, and for their impact on the television format), but he claims to not really like movies that much in general. He really appreciates long-form storytelling, specifically shows with giant ensembles that span many seasons... in my discussions with him, he's sort of suggested that he thinks film is often unsatisfying in terms of storytelling and character development just because of the restrictive nature of the medium (the two-hour runtime, the three-act structure, etc.). We've talked about films that he has liked a lot, but he doesn't tend to watch a lot of movies in general (before this year, the last Best Picture winner he had seen was Lord of the Rings: Return of the King). It's interesting talking to him because I'm not really much of a TV person (it's more of a time commitment, and I prefer things with a clear beginning, middle, and end, more focused stories without a lot of filler). He's the only person I've ever talked to with his particular perspective, but I'd be interested to hear if other people feel this way. I'm in the middle. I like the long term storytelling possibilities of TV, BUT with great power comes great opportunity to abuse that power. The longer the stories go, the more they drag. I think writers in all mediums need to place limits for themselves to keep their bad habits in check. In TV or other serialized formats, that may mean writing stories that are only meant to run a single season, or perhaps a limit to write a chapter for a 30 minute timeslot as opposed to an hour (as an anime fan, this appeals to me: the best writers strip all fat from an episode to make it flow as smoothly as possible, while still telling a long form story). For Quentin Tarantino or anyone writing a gangster movie, it may mean placing a limit on how many times you can use certain vulgarities, forcing yourself to write actual dialogue instead of "fuck you!" "no, fuck you!" And so on. My point is that television has the potential to be greater than shorter stories (my two favorites pieces of fiction are TV shows). However, without proper oversight, it can screw up a hell of a lot easier. I haven't seen many of the big shows, but I rarely get more than a handful of episodes into anything because the story or characterization isn't going anywhere. |
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Zeb31
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Post by Zeb31 on Mar 26, 2018 3:24:09 GMT
(before this year, the last Best Picture winner he had seen was Lord of the Rings: Return of the King) That's not gonna make him any more inclined to watch the rest if he's big on character development! |
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Post by pacinoyes on Mar 26, 2018 11:21:11 GMT
It's interesting talking to him because I'm not really much of a TV person (it's more of a time commitment, and I prefer things with a clear beginning, middle, and end, more focused stories without a lot of filler). He's the only person I've ever talked to with his particular perspective, but I'd be interested to hear if other people feel this way. I totally agree with this - my love of film is based on this beginning/middle/end and the tightness of it, same with novels. Even the best TV like The Sopranos to me suffered the "making it up as we go along" syndrome...........I know many will disagree but I thought it would go on a 5 just ok episodes to a then brilliantly realized stand alone episode..............repeat. But I know people who love The Sopranos in a way they never would The Godfather (too romanticized?) or Goodfellas (too sketchy in comparison?)....... |
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Post by Mattsby on Jun 30, 2021 22:10:39 GMT
I thought we might've had a thread on how we consume tv nowadays but couldn't find one, so I'm bumping this! Very thought provoking thread and in line with what I've sort of been questioning recently. I noticed among friends and family how often "What are you watching?" is really asking: What good new shows am I missing out on? and is it good to binge? That's a big one - and I guess a whole new drum in our era of tv, THE BINGE! I know more people who waited to binge Mare of Easttown then those who watched weekly (like me) and I swear those who binged it seem to really like it more. I liked it, but the weekly waiting was bothering me in this case, I was forgetting little details of it and the whole grief theme sort of wants you inside of it to move you which binging benefits. Conversely, there's Underground Railroad (Amazon) which dropped all 10 of their eps at once, such a missed idea bc it's impossible to binge.... not just lengthwise but subject, it's very unsettling, upsetting, often gruesome stuff - I had to take time between eps and I think a weekly drop would've given the show better space for viewers to digest and discuss. Anyway back closer to topic - I actually have friends who are specifically tv buffs... like if I want two cents on Oz or X Files or Twin Peaks, I go to them, not my fellow cine-psychos. And as for modern tv seeming to date or dwindle the old, I see it slightly the other way around - I do gravitate toward older anthology shows (all those mentioned in our beloved Twilight Zones-type Shows thread) and my Columbos but I'm also a reallllly big fan of 1970s TV Movies, they almost always work for me as curio quick watches. And HBO peaked with Larry Sanders and Curb anyway  |
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Post by Martin Stett on Jun 30, 2021 22:24:43 GMT
I thought we might've had a thread on how we consume tv nowadays but couldn't find one, so I'm bumping this! Very thought provoking thread and in line with what I've sort of been questioning recently. I noticed among friends and family how often "What are you watching?" is really asking: What good new shows am I missing out on? and is it good to binge? That's a big one - and I guess a whole new drum in our era of tv, THE BINGE! I know more people who waited to binge Mare of Easttown then those who watched weekly (like me) and I swear those who binged it seem to really like it more. I liked it, but the weekly waiting was bothering me in this case, I was forgetting little details of it and the whole grief theme sort of wants you inside of it to move you which binging benefits. Conversely, there's Underground Railroad (Amazon) which dropped all 10 of their eps at once, such a missed idea bc it's impossible to binge.... not just lengthwise but subject, it's very unsettling, upsetting, often gruesome stuff - I had to take time between eps and I think a weekly drop would've given the show better space for viewers to digest and discuss. Weekly episodes in a serialized story is a recipe for disaster. You can't keep track of what is happening, and the suspense is cool for a day or two... and then we just want to hurry up and get on with things. On the flipside, I refuse to "binge" anything. Shows are long, and individual chapters of a serialized show will each have a very specific punch to them. Well, they will if you're doing it right. You can miss out on key themes and emotional power to a long story if you're cramming it into a day. You want to have that suspense of asking what comes next without the extra-long waiting period. I watch one episode of whichever show I'm on per day. That gives me time to absorb what has happened and to ponder where things go next, but not so much time that there's no damn point to staying invested. Some miniseries roll out in this way. |
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