Entry 2020, on 2020-01-06 at 12:09:23 (Rating 2, Comments)
Movies and TV are an important part of existence for many people. When new movies are released a lot of people get quite excited about it, and TV series seem to be a highlight of some people's lives. But when I am asked what I thought of the latest movie or TV series I usually say something like "I didn't see it because I'm just not interested" or "I saw it and it was rubbish" or "I sort of half watched it on Netflix while surfing the web looking for some technical information, arguing with someone about politics on social media, or reading an article about World War II tanks on Quora".
The mainstream media seem to spend more time than they should covering "news" about movies and TV, and especially celebrating the lives of the actors and directors who make them, so that might be one reason why these forms of entertainment seem to hold a more important place in society than they really should. But what am I really saying here? Basically, that I can't be bothered with this stuff and I think a lot of people would be better off if they joined me in my dismissive and apathetic attitude.
So, why am I so negative? Well, there are several reasons. First, watching TV and movies is just so passive. Second, most of the material is very unoriginal, especially what comes from the "sausage factories" like Hollywood and Netflix. And third, the majority of the stories we see are extremely tame, predictable, and (you didn't think I would get through a post without mentioning this, did you?) politically correct.
I particularly dislike some of the more popular genres today, such as superhero movies. The problem there is that there are generally obvious good and bad characters and the good guys almost always win. This means I know the outcome before it happens, making the whole experience rather mundane, and making me feel like the writer or director is insulting my intelligence. And in these movies, along with others in the fantasy genre, there are no laws of physics to worry about, so the plot often involves the lamest "deus ex machina" contrivances, further making me feel like I've been insulted.
The next questions which should be answered regarding this subject are: even if this stuff is as bad as I say, what is the harm; and what should people do instead of watching movies and TV?
To answer the first question: the harm is that people spend a lot of time watching without gaining many benefits. They are wasting time that they could spend doing something more creative or active. And they are influenced in subtle ways to acquire the beliefs and attitudes of the people who made the programs, meaning they are being assimilated into the extremely "woke" culture of the entertainment industry.
And here are my thoughts on the second question: people should do something creative or at least guided by themselves instead of by whatever societal trends might be popular at the time. The best option for me is to create, which I do through writing for this blog, recording podcasts, or building web sites. Of course, there are plenty of other possible creative endeavours too, such as writing or performing music, participating in an inventive hobby, or playing a game or sport.
In fact, computer games are a great alternative to movies, in my opinion. At least they involve some input from the player, so they aren't completely passive. Actually, maybe I'm not the only one who thinks this way, because computer games are rapidly overtaking movies as an entertainment industry.
But games don't suit everyone, so what other possibilities would I recommend? I believe YouTube is a better source of material than conventional TV or movies (and these include streaming). YouTube offers a huge variety of material and, while its censorship rules are far from perfect, at least a variety of opinions can be found there. The "Up next" section has some great, unexpected material, so its possible to accidentally find some excellent videos which might never be viewed otherwise. And because a lot of YouTube material comes from "amateur" sources the bias and predictability found in standard TV and movies is often absent.
So the internet offers options whatever your tastes. You can watch the mundane stuff churned out by the conventional sources (and that includes Netflix now) or you can choose something different and more participatory. Of course, you can also do both, because watching inane drivel on mainstream broadcast TV or Netflix isn't all bad. We should just leave some time for doing more interesting and creative stuff too.
Comment 1 by Jonathon on 2020-01-08 at 22:15:19:
In past posts you have told us how great you think our culture is but now you say you don't like a big part of it. You seem inconsistent!
Comment 2 by OJB on 2020-01-09 at 19:57:03:
I think Western culture is superior to all the others (especially Islam) but its far from perfect (a point I have also made many times). I think the superficiality of entertainment, primarily as a result of commercialism, is one of the weak points.
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