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As lockdowns lift, media firms brace for an “attention recession”

economist.com

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Re: As lockdowns lift, media firms brace for an “attention recession”

#111

Post by kelnos »

brundolf wrote: post #69
Animats wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had it with the Marvel Overextended Universe, and Star [Wars|Gate|Trek|Craft]. Time for something new.

I've had it with scripts written by corporate committees. Star Wars can be good, just not under Disney's heel.

The thing that makes me sad is that IMO the best Star Wars film that came out since the Disney acquisition was Rogue One (even though it trampled all over the expanded universe novel Rebel Dawn, which I loved). Likely Disney views that movie as their second-worst Star Wars outing (after Solo), while I enjoyed it far more than episodes 7, 8, or 9.

On the optimistic side, I absolutely love The Mandalorian (which I didn't expect, and resisted watching until after season 2 was complete), and I'm looking forward to The Book of Boba Fett as well.

But I absolutely agree with you on the failure of "corporate written-by-committee". I think The Mandalorian is so great in no small part because it's run by a small number of people who really love Star Wars and have been fortunate enough to be granted near-complete creative control.

Re: As lockdowns lift, media firms brace for an “attention recession”

#112

Post by slibhb »

krapp wrote: post #105
slibhb wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I doubt there is anyone in any minority group who feels mocked by greater representation. But, as a Gay Black Asian Latino yourself, you can probably tell us what it's like. Are you unfamiliar with the concept of tokenism? To me and to many others, though not to you, certain parts seem to exist purely to collect diversity points. This seems like pandering to me, and I expect it is insulting to anyone who views it t…

Sure, having the one black or gay character in a tv show is obvious tokenism, particularly when portrayed as shallow stereotype, but it seems to me as if any attempt at representation nowadays is written off as "political" or tokenism, even when it's sincere. It's like, you can have Asians OR Latinos OR Blacks OR gays but no more than two, and they can't stack, and you definitely can't rewrite an existing character t…

> Sure, having the one black or gay character in a tv show is obvious tokenism, particularly when portrayed as shallow stereotype, but it seems to me as if any attempt at representation nowadays is written off as "political" or tokenism, even when it's sincere.

This is the crux of the issue. To me, "attempts at representation" are demeaning by definition. Giving someone a part because of their skin color or sex or sexual orientation is demeaning.

Diversity has to be genuine for it to be good. You have to cast an actor or write a part because you thought the actor was good or the part works, not as part of an "attempt at representation".

Re: As lockdowns lift, media firms brace for an “attention recession”

#113

Post by brundolf »

kelnos wrote: post #111
brundolf wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had it with scripts written by corporate committees. Star Wars can be good, just not under Disney's heel.

The thing that makes me sad is that IMO the best Star Wars film that came out since the Disney acquisition was Rogue One (even though it trampled all over the expanded universe novel Rebel Dawn, which I loved). Likely Disney views that movie as their second-worst Star Wars outing (after Solo), while I enjoyed it far more than episodes 7, 8, or 9. On the optimistic side, I absolutely love The Mandalorian (which I didn…

I watched the first episode or two and wasn't that impressed. It just felt like a pretty generic action/adventure storyline with Star Wars... stuff, plastered over it in a fairly superficial way.

Which is how I feel about most big franchise movies these days; they all just feel like cookie-cutter action flicks with some IP draped over top to promote the theme park and/or Fortnite tie-in. Nothing interesting or surprising ever happens. Nothing worth mentioning in terms of emotional spectrum. Even the set design - which is always very handsomely executed - is just ruthlessly on-brand. It looks precisely like "Star Wars stuff" or "Marvel stuff" or whatever, without exception, to a point where it all just becomes branded noise. Not a single thing is new or out of place. It constantly calls back and feeds into itself; nothing new under the sun.

I agree that Rogue One was a little bit of an exception, at least in terms of plot/emotions. I would also put Episode 8 in that category.

Maybe I'm just watching the wrong kinds of movies.

Re: As lockdowns lift, media firms brace for an “attention recession”

#114

Post by cblconfederate »

Mountain_Skies wrote: post #4

Ratings for sporting events are down dramatically. People generally aren't returning to movie theaters. According to the article, overall media consumption is up 30 minutes per week, which makes me wonder if what happened was mostly a case of habit destruction. Now that habits have been disturbed, trends that were already taking place were accelerated. Is there any reason to think people will break their new habits t…

correct. the trend was down even before covid, it's just that instead of covid people's attention was in politics, and often stupid politics. I somehow wish the attention will shift to who can develop a vaccine/cure first, but i m not holding my breath for that

Re: As lockdowns lift, media firms brace for an “attention recession”

#115

Post by cronix »

Mountain_Skies wrote: post #4

Ratings for sporting events are down dramatically. People generally aren't returning to movie theaters. According to the article, overall media consumption is up 30 minutes per week, which makes me wonder if what happened was mostly a case of habit destruction. Now that habits have been disturbed, trends that were already taking place were accelerated. Is there any reason to think people will break their new habits t…

In the last year I've cancelled my cable service, totally deleted facebook and twitter accounts, quit watching (new) movies, quit watching pro sports and several other things. Why? I feel like I'm being preached to constantly rather than entertained, and not just a little bit here and there. It's constant. I refuse to pay for it or be a part of it. It offers no value to me anymore. Why would I pay for or be a part of something that just irritates me? It seems most movies are just running the same formula for the last 20 years and, well, I've seen it. Hyper-realistic non-stop over the top garbage and woke super heroes. Yay. There is no originality or good story line, with few exceptions. It's all messaging, and it's completely obvious. Messaging was always there, sure, but now it's just overly blatant and constant. It's not just a well-placed can of Coke in the shot. And sports...used to be an avid NBA fan. Haven't watched a single game in the last year+ since it became about political messaging rather than athletic prowess and physical competition. If I want to watch political opinions, I'll watch a political news show - not a "professional" basketball game. In short, the products suck and not worth my time or money, so I no longer participate.

Re: As lockdowns lift, media firms brace for an “attention recession”

#117

Post by infamouscow »

JadeNB wrote: post #39
elzbardico wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are lockdowns coming back in the UK for real? I had the opposite impression from the news in the last two weeks. Some concern about variants, a push for vaccine passports from Boris’ cabinet, but no much talk of lockdowns. Please remember, The Economist is a British magazine. There is a world outside American borders.

I expect lockdowns to come back neither in the US nor in the UK, but hope for them to come back in both places.

Stay at home if you're too afraid to go outside.

Re: As lockdowns lift, media firms brace for an “attention recession”

#118

Post by tomjen3 »

Animats wrote: post #60
underseacables wrote: post #5

I think people are just exhausted and numb to what Hollywood, etc has to offer.

I've had it with the Marvel Overextended Universe, and Star [Wars|Gate|Trek|Craft]. Time for something new.

I will watch Picard season two whenever it comes out. I just ordered STG:1 on DVD, and will probably do Atlantis after that. If keeping up with the Cardashians had been what I thought it was, I would definitely be watching that too.

Those aren't bad TV shows, unlike most of Marvel. I think maybe that is because they actually believe in/stand for something, as opposed to just being boobs and fights.

Re: As lockdowns lift, media firms brace for an “attention recession”

#119

Post by cronix »

tayo42 wrote: post #33
kmlx wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

not sure if this is coming back anytime soon: 1. games are a much bigger market than movies, which makes hollywood even more risk averse than usual 2. superhero movies make most income, sucking up all the talent 3. huge emphasis on TV series in the last decade, again sucking up all the talent for these three reasons i’m not sure if i’ll see another sin city/training day/etc in the near future

Tv is a better format for visual story telling then movies could ever be. now that we have streaming its not bound to time limits or irrelevant commercial pacing. The stories are longer and can be more in depth. Does TV get the best talent though? For some reason I thought they get paid less despite doing alot more work. All those actors from got went on to try movies afterwards.

> For some reason I thought they get paid less despite doing alot more work.

Are American TV shows as big of money makers globally as the movie industry? How much do American TV shows make in China vs Hollywood? Are they even shown? I don't know, but have never heard of it but have heard quite a bit about how much Hollywood makes in China.

I don't think it's the amount of work that dictates lower salaries for TV acting, but more likely the size of the market that the respective products are sold in and where that market is located (locally vs globally).

Re: As lockdowns lift, media firms brace for an “attention recession”

#120

Post by amelius »

drewg123 wrote: post #108
Mountain_Skies wrote: post #4

Ratings for sporting events are down dramatically. People generally aren't returning to movie theaters. According to the article, overall media consumption is up 30 minutes per week, which makes me wonder if what happened was mostly a case of habit destruction. Now that habits have been disturbed, trends that were already taking place were accelerated. Is there any reason to think people will break their new habits t…

Movie theaters can't go out of business soon enough for me. I hate being trapped with rude people talking and using their phones during the movie. Not to mention people who don't believe in baby sitters, and bring their infant or toddler along for a good scream fest in the middle of the show. And don't get me started on loud eaters, flatulent people, etc. I think they've been on borrowed time since the 80s, when vide…

Uh, you can just watch movies at home if you don't like theaters ...
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