The un-death of the author
I don't usually count things that happen on Twitter an event, but this was a moment that made me think about the state of the content creator/audience relationship. I was playing Candy Crush while watching A Real Housewives show on Hulu and in an automated play algorithm, the first episode of Y: The Last Man started playing. It was fine; I enjoy watching the pure terror of the catastrophic devastation of humanity. After the event (biological men die) there's a flashback to the main character, and it plays out like any other scripted "important" television show: tons of exposition vomited onto the audience. The main character (Yurick) is giving some sort of magic/illusion lessons to a young boy. Half paying attention, feeling spicy, I tweeted the following.
[See here if the photo doesn't show up]
The first which was an "um actually" response and I paid no mind. Then, Marin Ireland an ACTRESS on the show responded, with some sort of joke about the actor/character? The first person is the Executive Director of the show. And there's more- her recent credits are The Freaking Hunger Games.
Why are these very successful women doing Twitter searches (I didn't tag anything) about their show and answering critiques about the show, even though mine was just more flippant? Are they this sensitive to criticism? Is this the state of making television: there's an engagement portion that goes along with acting? SHE WAS ON BROADWAY!
It made me sad. Sad that these two successful women had to interact with randoms on Twitter or that they are truly affected by every criticism. Yes, your audience does matter, as you need an audience to continue to produce a show. But this seems to be too much! It's too much! I'm not one to get excited when a blue check person responds to me...but this just made me sad.
The show is fine, I guess. I'm not gonna watch it because it seems like most mid-prestige cable shows with primarily white characters have melded into the same sort of style-- maybe some flashbacks with people and the stressful relationships with family members. All relatable, but why do I want to watch something relatable in this hell hole of a time.
An artist never has to listen to criticism from the masses. But if studios count "social media buzz" as some kind of measuring indicator, this is what tends to make all production really bland and has to appeal to the most amount of people.
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What I've been reading/watching
Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation
The show Physical on Apple TC + Forget Ted Lasso, this is Apple's hidden gem.
The film Butcher Baker Nightmare Maker