Culture watch : Newsweek : TV vs Movies
If you got this week's newsweek you'll see on page 52, an article that showcases the changes in scope, focus, and star power given to the little screen; As well as a shift between the big screen movies and television.
And the shift has been dramatic. What do people talk about at work? Is it the latest movie in theaters or is it what happened last night on... "NOOO don't tell me I haven't seen it..!" More often than not the latest episode of (Name your poison here: Lost, Sopranos, Idol, Race, Survivor...) is the topic of the day around desks. Excitement bubbles, coffee consumed, and imaginations run wild at the thought of what next week, or tomorrow will bring. And way shouldn't it? The production value of television has exploded. With big name producers and writers taking part in this part of the craft, the escalation of the expenditure and scope was inevitable. Jerry Bruckheimer, Michael Crichton, and a host of others has brought great writing and visual story telling back to our homes during primetime.
Take the TV show LOST for example. Efforts to bring a sense of disaster, danger, and mystery, required the use of a real airplane cut in to pieces, fire, explosions, and a real island to tell the story of airline crash survivors. Take 24, a show about a federal agent and 24 phenomonal hours of intrigue and and explosive action. The level of scope and story telling have leapt beyond the efforts of recent memory, especially when we look at what I believe is one of our lowest moments in pop culture, the unadulterated glut of "reality based" shows.
And the shift has been dramatic. What do people talk about at work? Is it the latest movie in theaters or is it what happened last night on... "NOOO don't tell me I haven't seen it..!" More often than not the latest episode of (Name your poison here: Lost, Sopranos, Idol, Race, Survivor...) is the topic of the day around desks. Excitement bubbles, coffee consumed, and imaginations run wild at the thought of what next week, or tomorrow will bring. And way shouldn't it? The production value of television has exploded. With big name producers and writers taking part in this part of the craft, the escalation of the expenditure and scope was inevitable. Jerry Bruckheimer, Michael Crichton, and a host of others has brought great writing and visual story telling back to our homes during primetime.
Take the TV show LOST for example. Efforts to bring a sense of disaster, danger, and mystery, required the use of a real airplane cut in to pieces, fire, explosions, and a real island to tell the story of airline crash survivors. Take 24, a show about a federal agent and 24 phenomonal hours of intrigue and and explosive action. The level of scope and story telling have leapt beyond the efforts of recent memory, especially when we look at what I believe is one of our lowest moments in pop culture, the unadulterated glut of "reality based" shows.
Labels: entertainment, movies, society, television
posted by Dean at
11:23 AM
|
0 comments
