OK…I give up. I have
to write. I no longer have any
reasonable choice.
Before I get in to this I have to say there is good, even
exceptional writing and story telling out there. Some of it as good as or possibly even better
than anything I will ever write…BUT.
Truth be told I’m pretty lazy. I watch too much TV I’m as likely to read a
decent book that’s close as go and get a better one of the shelf eight feet
away. I just don’t like to work harder
than I need to.
I have now reached the point in fine tuning my understanding
of story what makes good ones and what makes bad ones that, well, the vast
majority of TV (not all just most) is utterly unwatchable. Movies are nearly as hard and it’s getting
harder and harder to find stories in books that don’t make me want to heave the
books and their incompetent writers into a bottomless pit full of broken glass
and razor wire infected with flesh eating viruses.
I’m watching shows and reading books in which the
fundamental motivations and character of the people in the story changes from
episode to episode or chapter to chapter depending on what hopes the inept
writers need them to jump through.
A friend asked not long ago with a shrug, it’s
entertaining? As long as it’s entertaining
why do you need more? (I paraphrased it a tad, but that was definitely the gist
of it.) Why? Why demand some sense that they understand
the laws of nature and physics? Why
require them to have some grasp of logic and reason? Because it’s insulting and it’s
disrespectful, that’s why. Because most
of them get paid to do this and it is not unreasonable to demand that they show
the readers or viewers a certain level of respect even if many of them don’t
know better and don’t deserve it.
How can anyone with any self respect or respect for the
people who pay for this entertainment do such a piss poor job and still cash
the checks?
SO. I must
write. If for no better reason than to
prove once and for all that-YES- by gods I really can do better than that.
Jack, we'e glad to see you speaking out.
ReplyDeleteI agree. What's worse, sometimes shows actually do have some continuity to them (the recent TV series "Awake" has a SFnal premise with two realities -- which one's the "real" one, or is it all the parallel worlds theory?) and they end up getting canceled as networks don't take the chances they used to -- Hell, they take _zero_ chances if they can get away with it.
ReplyDeleteThat, I'm afraid, is why we get so many ridiculously bad books, TV shows, and movies.
Art of any value is always a risk. You never know exactly what effect it will have on others. I'm a huge fan of capitalism in general, but it just doesn't work when it comes to art. You can't treat art like other commodities. The value of art is a very personal and unpredictable thing. Sadly the people in the business of selling and distributing works of art and entertainment don't often seem to grasp that, and we are all the poorer for it.
ReplyDelete