I just watched the first episode of the new Futurama season and the running gag was their attempt to make fun of the Hulu streaming network (Fulu)… in the year 3023. Not only that, but they also parody Black Mirror which itself parodies Netfix (Streamberry) in their latest season.
What is up with all of this meta stuff? Does anyone actually enjoy it? Is this really the quality of TV prior to AI taking over the writing?
I feel like an old man yelling at the clouds right now ☁️, but look at how they massacred my boy, Futurama!
I dunno if you watched futurama, it was always cheesy commentary on contemporary subjects.
I get where OP is coming from overall, but that’s kinda been Futurama’s thing. Other places it’s shoe horned in and lazy but that’s been like half of Futurama’s episodes (and the vast majority of South Park) since the beginning.
That being said, I do think the quality of TV has been going downhill for years and few things seem to really be original anymore.
It’s the “Seinfeld isn’t funny” problem. If you’re the pioneer for something and it is lazily copied by everyone, the new ideas you had back in the day seem stale.
Futurama is literally a comedy about everyday life (in the future), and black mirror is literally a commentary on modern day life. Perhaps watch stuff that isn’t focused around parodying or doing comedy on real life stuff?
That said, a lot of metahumor and political commentary ends up in western media these days because the people making and controlling the stuff have this fetishization of deconstruction and attacking everyday things. Hence why it’s so rampant, even in places it doesn’t belong.
Its easy comedy. It’s so much easier to write what you’re thinking about when you’re writing the script rather than actually coming up with a joke or something in-character for someone to say. Right up there with references and gross out humor in the lazy writers playbook
- ∟⊔⊤∦∣≶ ( @luthis@lemmy.nz ) 8•2 years ago
I think it’s a combination of lazy writing, trying to be ‘in’, and also trying to be smart.
If you want a breath of fresh tv air, let me recommend a brilliant show that has a dedicated cult following and was cancelled after 2 seasons because Netflix gets more subscribers by adding new shows and advertising them instead of pleasing their current audience. The OA. I loved it.
I loved The OA! The second season was good too but just a bit on the meta side 😋
Yes, The OA was quality. Another show I liked was starring Hillary Swank about a first manned mission to Mars and the challenges both the astronauts, their families, and their societies faced.
- ∟⊔⊤∦∣≶ ( @luthis@lemmy.nz ) English6•2 years ago
Cancelled after one season?? It must be amazing! Fuck I hate netflix for their BS. Shitty tv shows get more seasons while the gold gets discarded.
I’ll check it out. On IMDB I was reminded she was in I Am Mother which is a great sci fi movie. At least movies can’t suffer the same fate as series. Kind of. Still want to see a Dredd sequel.
Hillary Swank is one helluva fine actress. I like her because she isn’t typically Hollywood beautiful. She has an imperfect beauty about her that positively radiates.
- ∟⊔⊤∦∣≶ ( @luthis@lemmy.nz ) English1•2 years ago
That explains so much. She is excellent
I just watched the first episode of the new Futurama season and the running gag was their attempt to make fun of the Hulu streaming network (Fulu)… in the year 3023. Not only that, but they also parody Black Mirror which itself parodies Netfix (Streamberry) in their latest season.
Up front I’ll say I haven’t seen the new futurama or black mirror so I can’t speak directly to these examples, however …
What is up with all of this meta stuff?
On the very specific level of a new Futurama season, I might guess that they’re chasing the Rick and Morty meta success that happened while they were gone, which brings us to the next question:
Does anyone actually enjoy it?
I think in some cases the answer is fairly objectively yes. Rick and Morty is one of the high ratest comedies of recent years, as was Dan Harmon’s prior creation, Community, which are both quite defined by their metaness, as was Everything, Everywhere, All At Once, which won Best Picture and was widely beloved. However…
I think it’s lazy writing. … Is this really the quality of TV prior to AI taking over the writing?
I think you’re entirely correct here that in many many other instances it is lazy writing that quite often ruins itself or whatever it’s grafted onto.
The real satisfying answer that I think you’re looking for though is this one:
Why Do Movies Feel So Different Now? - Thomas Flight
It’s one rooted in cultural trends, and is what would be described as moving from the Post Modern age to whatever we call the post-Post Modern period (the video refers to it as the metamodern period).
It’s not really lazy writing. It’s just one more symptom of capitalism. Why spend more money to develop ideas when it is cheaper and there are higher profit margins to keep recycling the same old stories but changing a few things.
I guess you could call post-modernism and it’s satire a consequence of capitalism. But I can’t call it lazy. I think it’s more of a “there are few opportunities for social critique and commentary where the source has enough means to survive backlash” issue.
And there’s a lot worth critiquing about capitalism, I’m glad someone is doing it and able to live on it.