We are about to see a world of entertainment without writers behind it, and I'm scared.
The continuing Writers Guild of America strike is already hitting network TV big time, as most shows have already run out of episodes. Starting in January, reality and game shows are going to take over.
The prospect of more reality garbage is frightening in its own right. But what scares me more is what might happen if viewers just take it in stride.
We might never see a lot of scripted stuff again.
Think about it. Lots of people already think that there’s no qualitative difference between scripted and unscripted entertainment; in fact, many times they'll prefer the latter over the former. Our world is increasingly filled and occupied by "content" that can be produced, distributed, and consumed by just about anybody willing to share it with just about anybody else.
Skip art. Forget about drama, comedy, or any other genre. Lots of entertainment is already unscripted; out of the little that is, little of it is any good. It's all just stuff.
So we've seen glimpses of this unscripted world:
- It's mostly bad humor. Cheap, lowest common-denominator jokes seem to appear most, whether on a TV reality show or some homemade video on YouTube. Anything more complicated requires a script, or at least a point
- It's self-referential. Both the producers and presenters of unscripted entertainment share a similar utter fascination with...themselves. Forget camera eye; the unscripted world is one giant bellybutton for content-creators to adore
- It's very familiar. The numbnut models on Tyra Banks' show each season are shockingly similar, even if their hairdos and accents change. Characters, especially novel ones, require the invention of writers. Otherwise, we get the same stuff regurgitated, over and over
Do you think viewers will revolt against getting more unscripted TV shows, or will they simply adapt to it? This is a slippery slope...
Appreciating art -- even the simplest, most accessible creations -- requires at least some minimal effort, both on the parts of creators (you could also call them writers) and consumers. It's a habit, of sorts, or at least a routine, that involves possessing expectations and perceiving rewards.
I think the strike, if it lasts much longer, could break people of whatever residual habit they still possess. They could blithely settle for whatever is broadcast at them.
The corporations behind the entertainment could care less, as long as the content captures eyeballs. They’'e probably not scared by the further debasement of the content itself.
I may be a dim bulb, but I'm scared by the prospect. An unscripted world of entertainment would be just so mundane.
Let's hope somebody can write the script for resolving the strike and getting some scripted entertainment back on the airwaves or someday, sooner versus later, nobody will miss it.
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