Does anyone remember the writers' strike from late 2007 - 2008? All I remember was my mom saying something about not seeing the season finale of NCIS. But apparently it had a much larger impact on the entertainment industry than my thirteen-year-old self realized. According to the Economist the writers' strike threatened to shut down the Oscars and decreased the 2008 TV audience size by 21%. The writers, typically the most overlooked members of the entertainment industry, had the power to shut down production for three months.
How is that important now? Because in the second Golden Age of Television that started about 20 years ago (some people say the 1950's hold the original title) the writers are the main players. According to CNN, the huge number of channels and networks available has given writers elbow room to get their creative juices flowing. What used to be the norm of "gold-standard TV" existed only on subscription networks like HBO. Enter The Sopranos and Mad Men on AMC. Intense dramas with complex plots and intricate dialogue are now available on cable to a wider array of viewing audiences. Then the higher register of complexity enters comedies and even sitcoms. Television begins to address serious contemporary issues even in the form of traditionally "low-brow" comedy. (Thank you The Simpsons). Even a company that didn't have a widely accessible market ten years ago is creating quality TV shows! Netflix started creating shows this year and its first trial run already got an Emmy nomination. Even Amazon is starting to pilot TV shows. Remember when it was a book shipping company?
So in short, the writers are the creative gurus that made quality the norm and made this Golden Age of Television possible. And honestly, I think that's where the power should be. The increased opportunities and avenues for creativity allow entertainment and its consumers to become more conscious and self-aware of contemporary issues. I'm not going to lie, I am a TV addict. Avatar the Last Airbender changed my life when I was 10 by making me believe that everyone deserves a second chance. 24 changed how I thought of TV shows' inferiority to books because of the creative decisions involved in episode structure. The opening scene from The Newsroom made me realize the importance of speaking out when it's so much easier to be complacent. And Saturday Night Live and the Colbert Report introduced me to the glorious genre of satire. In this Golden Age of Television, good quality TV that makes people think and inspires conversation can be a valuable tool in sparking change.
(OK I might have taken it a bit too far in that last little testimonial, but I really love those shows. If nothing else, the second Golden Age of TV has made millions of people care about something in their daily lives.)
First, I'd just like to take a moment to complement your style - impressive.
ReplyDeletenow then...
you mention that the power of the shows should remain in the hands of the writers, yea? I assume this means that the whole writer strike was against the producers/major companies. This gets me thinking about the odd nature of artist (or writer) and producer. The artist doesn't need, but benefits greatly from the producer who's willing to shell out major cash. Producers NEED good writers, yet, in almost EVERY creative industry, it seems contract owning producers feel they can abuse their artist...unless you're lucky enough to own your own company (e.g. George Lucas), record label (e.g. Serj Tankian), publishing org. (e.g. idk), or be your own benefactor (like already rich visual artist), the creative flow is stunted -- even with all of the media outlets one can choose from... Gold Age? More like the Pyrite Age, a trick...
I really enjoyed this post and I think there is something to said with the writing that goes into a program. Some programs have a really awesome cast, usually fantastic episode base, but occasionally you will get an episode that just goes on and on and its painful and feels like it will never end. Like falling down an escalator. Also, the idea of the values that you got from watching TV shows. Avatar the Last Airbender was a super awesome show and showed all those values like love, and forgiveness, friendship, etc.
ReplyDeleteI still remember this clip from The Daily Show during the writer's strike: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-january-8-2008/olivers-on-the-strike . I was wondering how they got away with "not writing" their content at the time.
ReplyDeleteIt does seem like writing is really a new dividing line between high and lowbrow shows. I wonder if another part of the story is not the rise of reality shows. The writers strike brought writing into a kind of prominence and gave it a certain leverage. But reality shows, which do not really use writers to the same extent, also has made writing almost into a luxury good. Writers are expensive, and perhaps it is not that there is an absolutely larger quantity of good writing, but simply it is that there is less writing in general so we notice the good stuff more.
Where does the idea that this is the second Golden Age come from? The article we read (/clears throat) dates things slightly differently, arguing for a third golden age right now. But I think that you could make a case that this current age really extends back to the late 80s early 90s with the rise of shows like The Simpsons, Twin Peaks, the X-Files (Bryan Cranston and Vince Gilligan first worked together and met each other on the X-Files).