this post was submitted on 08 Jun 2024
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I guess it's entirely possible that there's just an epidemic of bad writing.
When there's an existing beloved IP, it already had good writing. Being faithful to that = good writing. Not YOUR writing, but good writing.
It's theoretically possible to deviate from that existing good IP and still have good writing...it's just not very likely. Don't bet on it. Stick to the existing good writing.
I think you're right.
It also annoys me that the explanation for how common bad writing is, is that it still makes a lot of money. JJ can jump on to any beloved franchise, ~~shit on every established rule and charac~~ter, make the dumbest imaginable plot points that serve no other purpose than to move you from one visually pleasing trailer snippet location to the next... and people will go see it, and it'll make a pile of money. So, why should they care?
Everyone sees it the first time, but they tarnish the brand. Game of Thrones is the obvious example, but look at Star Wars. No one is clamoring to see the next Star Wars movie. If your outlook is the next 3 years, sure, bad writing will have a good opening day, but only because you're leeching off the corpse of the previous good releases. If your outlook is to preserve the brand, it's a terminal viewpoint.
You can take bad writing and even if it bombs in America, you can throw it at China and they'll eat it up because they don't know any better. But once a brand is dead, it's dead. China is not coming up with new plot lines. Hollywood and streaming studios are strip-mining the IP of the past because there's an industrywide lack of writing talent, for reasons that I'm too far removed to understand.
Luckily, we're still spoiled for choice. Or, I feel like I am. There are more quality TV shows and movies, than I have time to watch these days.
I wouldn't be too quick to dismiss Chinese media industry. They have made some amazing films. Infernal Affairs, comes to mind. But, I'm the wrong person to come up with examples. I'm sure there are plenty.
Other than that, I agree with you. It's the enshitification equivalent in Hollywood. It's just a bit less engulfing, since good movies and shows can still be made, in spite of some of the watered down drivel and ruined franchises for short term profit margins.