There doesn't seem to be any discussion of the quality of the shows when viewership dropped. I loved the first season of Night Agent, but dropped out after a few episodes of the second season. I love Tom Hiddleston but the plot of season 2 didn't cut it for me. I also watched all of Avatar: The Last Airbender so far because I had watched the original animated version with my daughter. The live action version wasn't as good as the animated version, but I watched for nostalgia. FYI: I also read a lot every day since I've retired.
Sonny, terrific post which hit home for me. I’m a fiction writer, life-long reader and retired librarian. The nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth saw an explosion in magazines, paperbacks (dime and then pulp novels). News stands were full of fiction magazines of all sorts. Film no doubt had an impact on the huge market of short fiction, but it was really television that pulled so many readers away from print in the second half of the last century.
I also find it hard to concentrate, both on reading and writing, which is why I have a writing computer (Mac Mini) which is permanently offline, and why I put my iPhone and my Apple watch on their chargers in the bed room when I’m writing. Because if I don’t, a couple of hours go by and I haven’t gotten any words in.
During my library career (I retired in December 2019, right before Covid), I would see some young readers drift away when they reached middle school and especially high school but the avid ones would continue. Now there is a universe of short form for all ages. Attention spans have shrunk to the point where allegedly Netflix shows are often written to recap things multiple times in the course of an episode or movie, though I haven’t noticed this. Perhaps I watching the wrong ones ;-)
Reading can change a person’s life for the better, and all of us who love reading need to share that love with others.
I haven't seen some of the shows you mention, but I'd say The Night Agent saw a dropoff from the first to the second season because the second season wasn't nearly as good as the first season. And I hope it saw even more dropoff in the third season, because the third season was terrible.
Put in the most simple terms, the people who fund the media that are put in front of us are only concerned with the amount our eyeballs are frozen and glued to their content. My eyes, my mind, my attention are not up for sale. Nobody is forcing anybody to engage with the world as a captive. All of it comes down to choices people make. I agree that technology is having a negative impact on our way of life, but that is only because of individual choices we all have to make every day. I took myself off of fb 14 years ago because it was making my daily life worse. I have a life of very rich experiences with what I choose to do and engage with, and how I choose to engage with people and inanimate objects: what I read, the hi-res music that I own and that I select when and how I listen to, how I interact with and experience the music I enjoy, the kind and quality of movies and television I will sit through, by intentionally cultivating a deeper and richer life through meditation, and struggling with how much to engage with the noise and clutter of the outside world. Algorithms funded, designed, developed and deployed by the likes of Zuckerberg, Musk, Thiel, et al. — all of whom happen to be clearly identifiable sociopaths — do not control my life, my time, the quality of my experiences, unless I allow them to.
Do you know the Brit James Marriott's work? I've been following him (Substack) for more than a year and his is the best explanation I've seen how modern communications technologies (especially cell phones, social media. limiting posts to 140 characters) is dumbing humans down thereby eating into the mental capacities required for voters to render their judgments, as compared with their knees (knee jerks pertain to more than one phenomenon and American politics offers a classic example, especially if you start at the White House. Consider this puzzle; what media do we use to launch the Great Awakening campaign required to raise up our mental capacities "back up to the level a democracy minimally requires?
I recently went to watch Leviticus with a friend who was also very interested in watching it.
This friend unfortunately spent 80% of the time peaking at their phone discreetly. I say "discreetly" because it was subtle enough to not completely distract me and ruin the experience, but I was annoyed. The ability to focus is really degrading for all of us...
‘This was a problem, since “the medium cared no more about messages than Fritz Lang felt for people.” Which is to say, not at all.’
This piqued my curiosity. Google Gemini’s take on Fritz Lang as a person:
“Contemporaries viewed Fritz Lang as a visionary genius but also a tyrannical, deeply polarizing figure. His persona was defined by severe perfectionism, wearing a signature monocle, and a reputation for on-set cruelty that actors often found harrowing.
“Despite his brilliance, Lang epitomized the stereotype of the dictatorial European director. He had an obsessive, unrelenting drive for perfection. Actors complained bitterly about his fastidiousness and physical demands. For example, during the climax of M, he allegedly threw actor Peter Lorre down a flight of stairs multiple times to achieve an authentic battered look.”
I wonder if the drop in Netflix viewership was impacted by their efforts to eliminate subscription sharing.
Also,has Amazon’s adding ads had an impact on Prime Video shows. I can imagine that decreasing attention spans + ads might influence viewer’s choice of particular content.
I enjoy your writing and the Bulwark overall. Below is a description of my new book. I'd be glad to send you a copy (digital or print) if you send my your email address. Cheers, https://stickingplacebooks.com/books/cheshire-on-film
Yeah, for sure, I have the collection of the NY Press reviews that came out a couple years back with MZS and Armond. Will get your email out of the subscriber banks when I get back to my laptop.
I ordinarily skip this film review Bulwark, not sure why. I did read The Atlantic article and just had an epiphany. I listen to 1 audiobook and read another on my Kindle. I have statistics that show in the range of 100 days of consecutive listening and the same numbers on reading. Over the last several months, my listening to Audiobooks has remained steady. My reading days on my Kindle have fallen because all of my reading has been on my email and Substacks. My writing has been in comments. Note that I don’t read physical books. Digital is just too easy. I don’t skip books in my favorite series or by my favorite authors. Once I start a TV series, I stay with it unless it’s rotten. I watched 1 episode of Amazon’s The Agent and decided it wasn’t for me, but we watched all 7 seasons of The Closer, same for Scandal. I will be so glad when I no longer dwell on my email to see what awful thing this administration has done.
There doesn't seem to be any discussion of the quality of the shows when viewership dropped. I loved the first season of Night Agent, but dropped out after a few episodes of the second season. I love Tom Hiddleston but the plot of season 2 didn't cut it for me. I also watched all of Avatar: The Last Airbender so far because I had watched the original animated version with my daughter. The live action version wasn't as good as the animated version, but I watched for nostalgia. FYI: I also read a lot every day since I've retired.
Sonny, terrific post which hit home for me. I’m a fiction writer, life-long reader and retired librarian. The nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth saw an explosion in magazines, paperbacks (dime and then pulp novels). News stands were full of fiction magazines of all sorts. Film no doubt had an impact on the huge market of short fiction, but it was really television that pulled so many readers away from print in the second half of the last century.
I also find it hard to concentrate, both on reading and writing, which is why I have a writing computer (Mac Mini) which is permanently offline, and why I put my iPhone and my Apple watch on their chargers in the bed room when I’m writing. Because if I don’t, a couple of hours go by and I haven’t gotten any words in.
During my library career (I retired in December 2019, right before Covid), I would see some young readers drift away when they reached middle school and especially high school but the avid ones would continue. Now there is a universe of short form for all ages. Attention spans have shrunk to the point where allegedly Netflix shows are often written to recap things multiple times in the course of an episode or movie, though I haven’t noticed this. Perhaps I watching the wrong ones ;-)
Reading can change a person’s life for the better, and all of us who love reading need to share that love with others.
I haven't seen some of the shows you mention, but I'd say The Night Agent saw a dropoff from the first to the second season because the second season wasn't nearly as good as the first season. And I hope it saw even more dropoff in the third season, because the third season was terrible.
Put in the most simple terms, the people who fund the media that are put in front of us are only concerned with the amount our eyeballs are frozen and glued to their content. My eyes, my mind, my attention are not up for sale. Nobody is forcing anybody to engage with the world as a captive. All of it comes down to choices people make. I agree that technology is having a negative impact on our way of life, but that is only because of individual choices we all have to make every day. I took myself off of fb 14 years ago because it was making my daily life worse. I have a life of very rich experiences with what I choose to do and engage with, and how I choose to engage with people and inanimate objects: what I read, the hi-res music that I own and that I select when and how I listen to, how I interact with and experience the music I enjoy, the kind and quality of movies and television I will sit through, by intentionally cultivating a deeper and richer life through meditation, and struggling with how much to engage with the noise and clutter of the outside world. Algorithms funded, designed, developed and deployed by the likes of Zuckerberg, Musk, Thiel, et al. — all of whom happen to be clearly identifiable sociopaths — do not control my life, my time, the quality of my experiences, unless I allow them to.
Do you know the Brit James Marriott's work? I've been following him (Substack) for more than a year and his is the best explanation I've seen how modern communications technologies (especially cell phones, social media. limiting posts to 140 characters) is dumbing humans down thereby eating into the mental capacities required for voters to render their judgments, as compared with their knees (knee jerks pertain to more than one phenomenon and American politics offers a classic example, especially if you start at the White House. Consider this puzzle; what media do we use to launch the Great Awakening campaign required to raise up our mental capacities "back up to the level a democracy minimally requires?
Pleasure to be a paid Bulwark subscriber. Thank you.
I recently went to watch Leviticus with a friend who was also very interested in watching it.
This friend unfortunately spent 80% of the time peaking at their phone discreetly. I say "discreetly" because it was subtle enough to not completely distract me and ruin the experience, but I was annoyed. The ability to focus is really degrading for all of us...
Sentence lengths in bestseller books. Yup. Nailed it.
‘This was a problem, since “the medium cared no more about messages than Fritz Lang felt for people.” Which is to say, not at all.’
This piqued my curiosity. Google Gemini’s take on Fritz Lang as a person:
“Contemporaries viewed Fritz Lang as a visionary genius but also a tyrannical, deeply polarizing figure. His persona was defined by severe perfectionism, wearing a signature monocle, and a reputation for on-set cruelty that actors often found harrowing.
“Despite his brilliance, Lang epitomized the stereotype of the dictatorial European director. He had an obsessive, unrelenting drive for perfection. Actors complained bitterly about his fastidiousness and physical demands. For example, during the climax of M, he allegedly threw actor Peter Lorre down a flight of stairs multiple times to achieve an authentic battered look.”
Boy, talk aboutcher cinema vérité.
I wonder if the drop in Netflix viewership was impacted by their efforts to eliminate subscription sharing.
Also,has Amazon’s adding ads had an impact on Prime Video shows. I can imagine that decreasing attention spans + ads might influence viewer’s choice of particular content.
Now that comment I could read all the way through! :) But one less NO would help me stay with it.
I had a hard time reading this all the way through. Could you repost it as a YouTube short? :)
NO NO
Wondered if it was just me. Good piece; thanks.
Too long; didn’t read.
I enjoy your writing and the Bulwark overall. Below is a description of my new book. I'd be glad to send you a copy (digital or print) if you send my your email address. Cheers, https://stickingplacebooks.com/books/cheshire-on-film
Yeah, for sure, I have the collection of the NY Press reviews that came out a couple years back with MZS and Armond. Will get your email out of the subscriber banks when I get back to my laptop.
Great thanks. Glad you already have the NY Press book.
I ordinarily skip this film review Bulwark, not sure why. I did read The Atlantic article and just had an epiphany. I listen to 1 audiobook and read another on my Kindle. I have statistics that show in the range of 100 days of consecutive listening and the same numbers on reading. Over the last several months, my listening to Audiobooks has remained steady. My reading days on my Kindle have fallen because all of my reading has been on my email and Substacks. My writing has been in comments. Note that I don’t read physical books. Digital is just too easy. I don’t skip books in my favorite series or by my favorite authors. Once I start a TV series, I stay with it unless it’s rotten. I watched 1 episode of Amazon’s The Agent and decided it wasn’t for me, but we watched all 7 seasons of The Closer, same for Scandal. I will be so glad when I no longer dwell on my email to see what awful thing this administration has done.