Okay, it's time to ignore politics for a bit and get into the state of Hollywood. It's been an interesting year, and a lot of long-running concerns about the industry are coming into better focus. The strikes are mostly over, but the labor issues are not. Streaming is quickly becoming a worse deal now that it has more of a monopoly on our attention, and broadcast is continuing to limp along. The box office is in recovery, but the movies coming out seem to be safer and blander than ever. Looking back on last year's wishlist, things have gotten better and things have gotten worse.
So this year for the holidays, I want…
For seasons of television to be longer. There were too many seasons of ongoing shows this year that were eight episodes and barely progressed their stories. It seems to be a cost-cutting measure, exacerbated by the strike, and it's driving viewers nuts. Some of the bigger budget series like "House of the Dragon" and "Rings of Power" take multiple years to produce a season, and the momentum and interest just die if they don't deliver something more substantive to keep the anticipation going. There are a lot of big titles on their way in 2025, including "Stranger Things," so this is definitely going to come up again.
For the demonetization of the culture wars. After the anti-woke mobs set their sights on titles as disparate as "True Detective: Night Country," "The Acolyte," and the upcoming "Snow White" live action movie this year, it's pretty clear that this is all an excuse for the online deplorables to harass women and minorities. The primary targets are almost always women. The primary tactic is endless online vitriol about what women are doing or saying or making. A big contributing factor that has emerged this year is that anti-woke content gets lots of attention on platforms like Youtube, which means there's a significant monetary incentive to keep generating more ragebait. Youtube and their ilk could fix this - if they wanted to. Instead, I expect they'll wait until things get out of hand again. And they will.
For the superhero movie industrial complex to proceed with caution. 2025 is going to see James Gunn's rebooted DC cinematic universe release its first film with the new "Superman," and Marvel release at least three new MCU superhero titles. If the past few years have shown us anything, it's that less is more when it comes to superhero media. The flow of Sony Spider-verse movies seems to have finally dried up, but Marvel and DC seem determined to maximize their output. If we're not careful, things could quickly go back up to pre-"Endgame" levels. At least the releases of new MCU series on Disney+ are slowing down. For now.
For the streaming services to get better about marketing. I'm not sure how anyone is finding out about shows these days, but I know people are looking for more to watch. I don't know if I've ever had more requests for recommendations than I have in the past year. My own watchlist is a mile long, but nobody else researches this stuff the way I do. I'll note that it has been a little easier to keep up with new shows this year thanks to some delays, but there's no shortage of good stuff to watch. The problem is definitely awareness.
For one of the Twitter alternatives to gain enough steam to become a real contender in the social media race, because original recipe Twitter is pretty much FUBAR at this point. I'm rooting for Bluesky myself, though it's quiet enough over there at the moment that I'm actually enjoying the environment.
For my kids to latch on to a new musical with a soundtrack that doesn't make me want to strangle myself. I curse the day that "Wish" was unleashed on the unsuspecting public.
And finally, for all the media coming next year to exceed my expectations, and the creators behind them to have every opportunity to do good work.
Happy Holidays
---
No comments:
Post a Comment