No nuance and characters are saying the obvious stuff, because viewers are looking at another device while watching. We’re so cooked.
No nuance and characters are saying the obvious stuff, because viewers are looking at another device while watching. We’re so cooked.
This style of writing predates streaming, though i’m sure it’s more prevelant now.
Plenty of pre-internet shows have characters ham-fistedly repeating or summarizing the situation after ad breaks, or telling rather than showing their feelings, or telling you what’s at stake.
Stupid characters who have to have the plot point explained to them in case the audience still hasn’t gotten it are everywhere too, it’s super common in sitcoms.
I see this as kind of like the “loudness war” in radio.
It’s not a conspiracy or anything, it’s just the networks and producers adapting (correctly) to how people actually watch/listen to stuff.
Audiophiles can complain all they want about low dynamic range, but if you’re listening to radio in a noisy environment (like a car), high dynamic range is actually fucking awful.
Similarly, there’s nothing inherently wrong with watching a show when you can’t give it your full attention. Sometimes I watch TV while I’m doing chores, or even during my workday. You know what’s great for that? Those stupid competition shows where they narrate everything on screen, and have five instant replays plus recaps after ad breaks. I never feel like I’m missing anything even if I ignore 80% of the show. I’d never sit down and really watch this stuff though. My brain would rot. It’s just a step above white noise.
Honestly, podcasts are great for that kind of stuff. You can just listen while you do whatever needs to be done and don’t have to worry about glancing at the screen at all.
I do this a lot, put on TV as background noise while working. Really helps my ADD. I can’t stand reality TV though, so I usually loop through crime shows, old scifi channel programming, and horror movies. The live channel of MST3K has been my goto for a couple years now.