i feel like a crankypants old man
in my silent cinema discussion this morning (at 9AM! why do i always sign up for early classes!!), my TA brought in her husband, who is a media producer (whatever the hell that is), to talk to us about "new media" and "transmedia" (which is basically the term for a show or movie crossing into the internet, videogames, ringtones, etc. to make more money).
HE IS THE REASON I HATE MEDIA TODAY. basically, what he does is figure out ways to make more money off less content, essentially orchestrating the takeover of art by capitalism. this means making twitter accounts, youtube videos, back stories, fan fiction, user communities, etc... his business is my biggest frustration about movies today: every freaking movie nowadays has sequels and prequels and spin-offs, etc. and these sequels just take away any semblance of art or coherent story that was within the original story! for example, "shrek forever after" is going to completely suck - simply because there is no longer any actual enjoyable story anymore! yes, movies should be universes in which the audience can completely immerse themselves and understand well, but that doesn't mean we need to squeeze every last nickel out of the "shrek" model or the "indiana jones" characters... it's ruining the sanctity of film!
i understand that filmmaking and screenwriting are people's professions, but that seriously doesn't mean that the content should be shit. people shouldn't just go see the next "indiana jones" movie because it's indiana jones, but because it's a good movie (which the last "indiana jones" wasn't)... this is why the oscar nomination pool for "best original screenplay" is sooo sparse this year! there are no original screenplays anymore.
plus, who is it he is referring to when he says that people want to interact more with films?? sometimes, a film is just a film. i don't like to have a forum created for me by business executives as a sterile environment for me to create hype/talk about their films. just let me be! if i want to talk about it, i'll talk about it, but stop making stupid online communities specifically for one film.
what i do not mind are things like nbc.com's short films that act as deleted scenes and are just for extra laughs... for example:
(also, does anyone else realize that the new secretary on "the office" is blow-job girl.)
end of rant.
HE IS THE REASON I HATE MEDIA TODAY. basically, what he does is figure out ways to make more money off less content, essentially orchestrating the takeover of art by capitalism. this means making twitter accounts, youtube videos, back stories, fan fiction, user communities, etc... his business is my biggest frustration about movies today: every freaking movie nowadays has sequels and prequels and spin-offs, etc. and these sequels just take away any semblance of art or coherent story that was within the original story! for example, "shrek forever after" is going to completely suck - simply because there is no longer any actual enjoyable story anymore! yes, movies should be universes in which the audience can completely immerse themselves and understand well, but that doesn't mean we need to squeeze every last nickel out of the "shrek" model or the "indiana jones" characters... it's ruining the sanctity of film!
i understand that filmmaking and screenwriting are people's professions, but that seriously doesn't mean that the content should be shit. people shouldn't just go see the next "indiana jones" movie because it's indiana jones, but because it's a good movie (which the last "indiana jones" wasn't)... this is why the oscar nomination pool for "best original screenplay" is sooo sparse this year! there are no original screenplays anymore.
plus, who is it he is referring to when he says that people want to interact more with films?? sometimes, a film is just a film. i don't like to have a forum created for me by business executives as a sterile environment for me to create hype/talk about their films. just let me be! if i want to talk about it, i'll talk about it, but stop making stupid online communities specifically for one film.
what i do not mind are things like nbc.com's short films that act as deleted scenes and are just for extra laughs... for example:
(also, does anyone else realize that the new secretary on "the office" is blow-job girl.)
end of rant.