Case (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
case) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomsecrets2013-08-31 03:28 pm
case) wrote in fandomsecrets2013-08-31 03:28 pm
[ SECRET POST #2433 ]
⌈ Secret Post #2433 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
01.
__________________________________________________
02.
__________________________________________________
03.
__________________________________________________
04.
__________________________________________________
05.
__________________________________________________
06.
__________________________________________________
07.
__________________________________________________
08.
__________________________________________________
09.
__________________________________________________
10.
__________________________________________________
11.
__________________________________________________
Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 073 secrets from Secret Submission Post #348.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 1 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
no subject
I wonder if what you're responding to is the fact that -- aside from being a young art, which I do think is part of it -- TV is by its nature an ongoing art. Its Dickens, not Hemingway. Unlike most films and novels these days, the creator inherently cannot create an entire series first and then edit it to be "perfect." Even those few creators who do plot the entire thing out first are still only working off of an outline.
On top of that, it generally has more budgetary constraints than a film (at least a big studio film) and, with that, more time constraints, and obviously novels are not limited by budget in the same way -- words all cost the same.
Now, I personally think this just makes it a DIFFERENT art, not a lesser one, but it does mean even the best TV is less finely tuned than the best novel or film -- but OTOH you get something else in return. Yes, TV is more likely to show its flaws, but it also allows for a different kind of creativity -- for example some of the best episodes of TV are "bottle episodes" with only a few characters and locations. Created to save money, but those limits force the writers to think outside the box. Because creators and actors and writers are continually working on shows for what can be years and years and YEARS, you can watch both shows and characters grow into things that no one ever would have imagined when the idea was first dreamed up.
I think the thing about TV is because of the stuff described above, you'll probably never get an ENTIRE series -- at least one that lasts more than a season -- that is as tight as a Hemingway story or as perfectly crafted as The Godfather, but I don't really think that's a fair comparison. As someone who responds really well to TV, I personally think there are EPISODES of television that are as good as the best short story out there (I would argue that the TV show Louie alone has at least two or three), and I think there are seasons of TV that are as good as almost any novel (Season 4 of The Wire is one of the most satisfyingly crafted things I have ever consumed). But a series as a whole? Yeah, there are going to be flaws in a way that there won't be for the best of the best of the best in lit and film. But I personally think the fun and interest of watching a story and characters grow organically makes up for that.
(Plus, as a fan of characters specifically over perfectly crafted art as a whole, I actually think TV is one of the BEST mediums to get what I like most from stories. All but a handful of my favorite characters are from TV, because you just get so much time with them, PLUS the benefit of amazing actors.)
(This isn't to say you need to feel the same -- I just think it's interesting to must on the differences between different kinds of art.)
ETA: Though I would say that one thing I think is inarguable is that there ARE some creative geniuses working in TV. Not as many as fandom likes to claim, but they exist. Beyond the fact that some of the best acting in the world is happening on TV, there are certain showrunners who are just objectively amazingly talented. No one writers dialogue like David Milch. Very few people can blend acute social commentary and compelling stories and characters like David Simon. Louis CK is just straight up one of the most creative, insightful, and funny comedians alive. Etc. etc.*
* Though from that list of names I would acknowledge that there's a big gender problem in TV production, but that's a whole other thing. (I personally think Shonda Rhimes is am indisputable genius at creating addictive stories, but is that high art? blah blah blah).
no subject
(Anonymous) 2013-09-01 02:22 am (UTC)(link)