Why does everyone overreact to bad swings in entertainment?

[Drtooth]

Hey, at least I didn't say "everything"
But a bigger crop of crap vs good than in the past? For me, absolutely.

We have more cable channels and more movies are being made. There's more of a crap ratio because things are quite different now.

But even if everything did indeed suck, people really like to react to it as "End of the world" stuff that can hurt them. There's a LOT of stuff that would point to that, but none of it is television or bad music.

 

[jvcarroll]

I do think reality television is here to stay in one form or another and it's a shame. At the same time people complain about the state of things like they're caused by companies, political parties or network executives. The truth is the problem is us. We tell others want we want and how to treat us by our decisions.

Companies create products in overseas sweatshops because we the consumers won't pay more to ensure safer conditions. We simply vote with our wallets. Politicians spew half-truths and negativity because they know it reaches us. It is us, all the public, who need to change our hearts and priorities if changes are ever going to be made. I don't think it's likely, but I do believe it to be possible. Just not in the current occupy movement. It's different than that. It's not about finger waving. It's about looking within and being the change we want to see. That doesn't always have to be a big Gandhi-like gesture either. It can just as easily be the small things too.

Just my two cents.

 

[Drtooth]

I do think reality television is here to stay in one form or another and it's a shame. At the same time people complain about the state of things like they're caused by companies, political parties or network executives. The truth is the problem is us. We tell others want we want and how to treat us by our decisions.

The future isn't just the internet. The future is a combination of the two. Unfortunately, there are a LOT of technological things that are making how we get our media different, and making other things obsolete. Magazines are closing up shop, Mad only publishes half of what they ever did. But then again, Cracked is far superior as a comedy website than as a run of the mill Mad knockoff magazine.

The video game industry is in turmoil. Things are so good, they're terrible. There are always a lot of great games out there, even if I don't appreciate them. The problem lies in little American pop up companies that make terrible games based on nonsense franchises like Zhu Zhu Pets and Cold Stone Creamery. Japan's video game producing sector is hurting, hurting so bad that the brains behind Mega Man left Capcom, and 2 Mega Man games he would have fought for got canceled. Not to mention that iPad app games like Angry Birds are hurting the hand held industry, all the while having game producers to think about DLC only.

Then of course there's the whole "Kid's programming is too expensive to produce" problem that killed Saturday Mornings. Smurfs was an unexpected, undeserved hit at the theaters, but it did bring back a lot of interest in the characters. Why is nobody just simply rerunning the thing on Saturdays? Why not just rerun cartoons if developing them is too expensive? Instead we get infomercials and shows for preschoolers. I swear, there are more channels devoted to preschoolers than the meatier demo of 5-11 year old kids. I love Phineas and Ferb, but Disney needs to try hard, think back inside the box 1980's style and come up with the next Ducktales.

Companies create products in overseas sweatshops because we the consumers won't pay more to ensure safer conditions. We simply vote with our wallets. Politicians spew half-truths and negativity because they know it reaches us. It is us, all the public, who need to change our hearts and priorities if changes are ever going to be made. I don't think it's likely, but I do believe it to be possible. Just not in the current occupy movement. It's different than that. It's not about finger waving. It's about looking within and being the change we want to see. That doesn't always have to be a big Gandhi-like gesture either. It can just as easily be the small things too.

That's the stuff that's really hurting us. Not the fact there's something stupid on a channel you wouldn't watch anyway. I'm more worried about swings in entertainment, and ONLY if it affects what I'm watching directly (like that mid 00's era Pop Star show phase that Nick still thinks they have to be a part of). That was one of many factors that killed the cartoon. But on the other hand, we are producing less cartoon programming, and we're getting less garbage like bad adaptions of movies that were terrible to begin with, video game adaptions that never seen the video game it was based off of, and clones of the most popular thing.

I really don't want to discuss political things that harm us, but those are what we should be worried about. We're victims of refusing to look inside ourselves like that and question our own beliefs and priorities. I hate that our political system stems from people selling books, but it's OUR fault for buying the books. The polarizing stuff that turns everything into a race between someone wimpy and someone scary, rather than going after who's really to blame. The younger generation always thinks it can change things, and sometimes they do. The only thing so far Occupy made possible was the slight uptick in employment, because it was bad PR that these companies were making a fortune and sitting on it because they were afraid they were going to lose it. And they were losing it anyway, due to keeping the economy stagnant by not hiring and paying people, so they can't afford to buy things, which is essentially how capitalism works.

We are getting smarter by shedding light on things. Everyone wants jobs back here in the US instead of sweatshops overseas. We're ticked off about that ammonia treated paste in our food... even McDonalds wanted to get rid of it before everyone heard of the problem. McDonalds!

 

[beatnikchick300]

Nothing personal, but usually, when people talk about how things being so dumbed down is a sign of the Apocalypse, as you say, that's usually tongue-in-cheek. Sometimes I think people take things way too seriously on all sides. Everybody, just chill out and watch/listen to/read things you enjoy.

 

[mr3urious]

Not to mention that iPad app games like Angry Birds are hurting the hand held industry, all the while having game producers to think about DLC only.

If there is one good thing about the modern industry is that there are more indie games out there thanks to services like XBLA and PSN easing modern costs of developing them. But the DLC issue with some companies forcing people to pay extra for stuff that's already in the game does indeed suck.

We are getting smarter by shedding light on things. Everyone wants jobs back here in the US instead of sweatshops overseas. We're ticked off about that ammonia treated paste in our food... even McDonalds wanted to get rid of it before everyone heard of the problem. McDonalds!

I see sweatshops as a necessary evil. Sure, there's the issue of Foxconn and its suicide nets, but if we take all these jobs away -- where workers choose to work because there are no better alternatives there -- the workers would turn to something like trash picking or prostitution, especially the kids. And the wages there may be puny compared to our country, but they're often higher than what most of their population already lives on. Plus, sweatshops are essential to help those third world countries become prosperous, just like with Britain and America during the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s. This eventually improves labor standards in the long run.

http://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/22/w...-for-more-sweatshops.html?pagewanted=2&src=pm
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/14/opinion/inviting-all-democrats.html

And as for the "pink slime", it's really just lean scraps and connective tissue removed by machines that human butchers may have missed, and treated with a tiny puff of ammonium hydroxide (ammonia is naturally occurring, BTW, even found in our own bodies) to kill bacteria. This also means fewer cows to slaughter since there's more meat to use.

http://www.thedaily.com/page/2012/03/23/032312-news-multi-pink-slime-costa-concordia/

 

[CensoredAlso]

I see sweatshops as a necessary evil. Sure, there's the issue of Foxconn and its suicide nets, but if we take all these jobs away -- where workers choose to work because there are no better alternatives there -- the workers would turn to something like trash picking or prostitution, especially the kids.

I see sweatshops as just as big a form of evil and oppression as stealing or prostitution.

 

[minor muppetz]

The 1970's. Movies, drama series, action shows, sitcoms. Everything grew and improved in this era, except cartoons. We had ripoffs of Archie, Ripoffs of Scooby-Doo (which, while technically in its earliest form WAS an Archie ripoff).

I read on Mark Evanier's blog that Scooby Doo was originally intended on being based on Dobie Gillis, but by the time it premiered it no longer resembled that series.

 

[Drtooth]

I see sweatshops as a necessary evil. Sure, there's the issue of Foxconn and its suicide nets, but if we take all these jobs away -- where workers choose to work because there are no better alternatives there -- the workers would turn to something like trash picking or prostitution, especially the kids. And the wages there may be puny compared to our country, but they're often higher than what most of their population already lives on. Plus, sweatshops are essential to help those third world countries become prosperous, just like with Britain and America during the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s. This eventually improves labor standards in the long run.

Not everything has to be made overseas. Sure, tiny inconsequential things like toys... things that if you sold with the mark up that large, it couldn't sell. But the bigger ticket items like televisions and washing machines and furniture... they need to come back here. Printing needs to come back here, too. I heard companies complaining that with shipping and tax dodging, they barely make all that much more anyway.

Still, Foxconn is the problem of China's government. I do NOT want to go there. But if everyone was willing to pay just a little more for electronics, we could make the same stuff here and just charge a tiny bit more. Leave sweatshops for bootlegg goods.

Nothing personal, but usually, when people talk about how things being so dumbed down is a sign of the Apocalypse, as you say, that's usually tongue-in-cheek. Sometimes I think people take things way too seriously on all sides. Everybody, just chill out and watch/listen to/read things you enjoy.

Sometimes, sometimes not. Sometimes people take it all too personally and act like something stupid can hurt them. There is actual damage that the culture of reality television does, but the damage has already been done, and most people are pushing away from that attitude.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Not everything has to be made overseas. Sure, tiny inconsequential things like toys.

As long as they're not, you know, poisoning children!

People thought it was so great to have toys from Wal Mart at such low prices. But you get exactly what you pay for...

 

[mr3urious]

Not everything has to be made overseas. Sure, tiny inconsequential things like toys... things that if you sold with the mark up that large, it couldn't sell. But the bigger ticket items like televisions and washing machines and furniture... they need to come back here. Printing needs to come back here, too. I heard companies complaining that with shipping and tax dodging, they barely make all that much more anyway.

I've even heard in Wired Magazine that some companies have stopped producing goods in those third world countries due to the extra expenses of what you've mentioned.