Sublime
An inspiration engine for ideas
Will Tavlin in N+1 on how Netflix has moved towards forgettable, low-end-of-middlebrow content. This is a function of the invisible base rates problem: when Netflix launched its streaming service, it was great for people who loved movies; these people raved to their friends who merely liked movies, and there are simply more people with taste close ... See more
Media.
Scott Berinato • Good Charts
reflects the generativity of cultural forms;
Shaka McGlotten • Virtual Intimacies: Media, Affect, and Queer Sociality
The earlier era of prestige TV was predicated on shows with meta-narratives to be puzzled out, and which merited deep analyses read the day after watching. Here, there is nothing to figure out; as prestige passes its peak, we’re moving into the ambient era, which succumbs to, rather than competes with, your phone.
Kyle Chayka • “Emily in Paris” and the Rise of Ambient TV
It’s not just a vibe shift. Being “good” simply doesn't cut through the noise as once it did in today’s media.
Nick Houde • Good Is Out, Evil Is in ♞
In all stories, we take care of our audience by ensuring that they are not repulsed, offended, or disgusted by what we are saying.
Dan Kennedy • Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling
Pop culture soothes and placates with a steady series of uncomplicated morality tales in predigested narratives where nothing ever really changes and so there’s no worry that the storyline will move in a way that hurts your feelings. Crowdsourced “content” is built on ephemerality.