It’s Not TV: The Spectacular Rise, Revolution, and Future of HBO

Post by bogomipz » Wed, Mar 08, 2023, 1:16 AM UTC

fleddr wrote: post #15

wkat4242 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

TV shows are about human life and sexuality is as much part of life as anything. A lot more than violence. I do also wish this wasn't such a taboo. But the US is far from the only country that's so sensitive about it. Pornography in China is forbidden, in India is very iffy. In Islamic countries it can be extremely illegal. Even in the Netherlands where I'm from movies have become a lot more prudish since the 70s/80s…

In the 80s/90s, on Dutch TV we'd have daytime deodorant commercials on public channels featuring naked women applying the product. Wasn't even considered sexual content, and in no way shielded from kids either. The context isn't sexual, and it's a perfectly normal body part. The sexualization of the human body is nothing but a cultural invention.

Post by PrufferFrish » Wed, Mar 08, 2023, 1:35 AM UTC

pstuart wrote: post #30

echelon wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Twitter and Reddit have shown that the population doesn't care if porn is mixed in with everything else. It's fine, it's fun, and it's harmless. The American WASP prudishness needs to die. We love our violence in film and drama. We should love our sexuality too. Game of Thrones was better for it.

Game of Thrones got a little too "rapey" for many (myself included).

Post by robbiet480 » Wed, Mar 08, 2023, 2:02 AM UTC

Post by andsoitis » Wed, Mar 08, 2023, 2:20 AM UTC

yrdmb wrote: post #10

TMWNN wrote: post #4

I find interesting that HBO, a US TV network, has become a worldwide brand name in a way that CBS,[1] NBC, and ABC didn't; only BBC has also transcended its home country this way, and did so with a 50-year head start. To global audiences HBO is associated with Game of Thrones , The Sopranos , and other top-quality TV; The Last of Us seems to be on its way to adding to the list. Outside TV networks, I would count Disn…

> I find interesting that HBO, a US TV network, has become a worldwide brand name in a way that CBS,[1] NBC, and ABC didn't; That's because CBS, NBC and ABC are national broadcast networks while HBO is a cable network, like CNN. CNN is broadcast internationlly. > only BBC has also transcended its home country this way, That's only because of the british empire. Who but their former slave colonies watches BBC? > None…

Post by ChrisMarshallNY » Wed, Mar 08, 2023, 2:24 AM UTC

nottathrowaway3 wrote: post #36

roldie wrote: post #32

I don't see how HBO can maintain their reputation and prestige with the way Zaslav is running things. Canceling niche, creative, and risk-taking shows and removing accesses to back catalog shows like Westworld entirely. Flooding HBO with cheap Discovery reality shows, and now forcing HBO Max to merge apps with Discovery. All of these are great ways to dilute the HBO brand and make it insignificant.

The article talks about how great the HBO gritty depressing character dramas like The Wire , The Last of Us , etc., were. That kind of content was interesting and fresh in the 90s and 00s. Personally though, whose life is so great today that they need to escape by watching something depressing? Most people I know (and knew) were generally feeling beat down, afraid for the future, tired of not being able to say what t…