Saturday, October 19, 2013

The Golden Age?

Is this the Golden Age of television? I think there's a strong case that the late 1990s through today has been a steadily increasing explosion of creativity--that the best shows are much better than the best shows of yesteryear, and the worst not that much worse.

When you have people making big-name, successful movies and then moving from that to running a TV show, something has shifted. But what? My money's on the Internet--I don't think it's an accident that the shows commonly cited as major transitions between how television was done in the 1980s and how it's done now--Babylon 5, The X-Files, Twin Peaks--were also some of the first shows to have significant online fandoms, the Superwholock of the rec.arts era. Nor do I think it's a coincidence that the modern surge of improvement really kicks into high gear around 2005-10, at the same time that services like Netflix were killing off traditional video stores. The ready availability of past episodes, recaps, and discussion groups all allow shows to demand a level of attention and retention that would be unthinkable in 1985, culminating in intricate works rich in ambiguity and thematic complexity such as Mad Men and Breaking Bad.

Frankly, we've reached the point where "I don't watch TV" isn't a declaration of dedication to high culture and rejection of low; it's an admission of cultural illiteracy on par with "I don't listen to music" or "I don't read books."

4 comments:

  1. I'd been wondering whether to drop my DirecTV. Thank you for helping me decide.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Agreed. Which is why I can't help but laugh at the pundits who say that pop culture is backsliding and dumbing down and so on.

    Sure we have C.S.I. and Jersey Shore and other abominations, but if anyone thinks we didn't used to have those, they should go watch the movie Quiz Show. And good luck getting Mad Men greenlit in the era when M*A*S*H was the most popular show on TV.

    Also, eternally relevant.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I don't have a TV... but that is only a situation I am willing to put up with because if I actually feel motivated to watch something I can find it online. Heck, doing so is probably less inconvenient than going to the trouble of finding when it's on. Not as good if you want to multitask though.

    I find, though, that if I actually mention not having a TV in any conversation it is best to IMMEDIATELY follow that statement with one about watching stuff online. Because as you said, by this point not watching TV marks you as weird, not cultured.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.