I loved reading Open TV. This is my second time reading the intro (I read parts of the book in 2018 when the book was first published, but I did not read it all the way through) and I find Christian’s writing to be excellent. His ideas are clear. I especially like his terms: Legacy TV, Open TV, and Indie TV. TV cannot be defined as the way it has been for the past 70 years. Thanks to the internet (specifically web series) it has become much more expansive. I think that Christian was the first to really nail this research. I love how he discusses Legacy television’s relationship with indie TV. This is especially interesting to me as I am currently researching shows that started as web series and later became sensations on Legacy TV: High Maintenance, Insecure, and Pen15 (hulu show). I certainly do see these texts catering to a diverse population, whereas many of the premium HBO shows were targeted towards middle aged white men. I appreciate what TV is becoming, even if. indie platforms are attempting to subvert Legacy TV. Interesting, it seems as though Legacy TV is advertising indie TV as something that will “ruin TV”–which is what Hulu boasts on their billboards. This begs the question: is legacy TV gloating about ruining their own industry/standards? (I ask this question because web series are becoming flagship shows on legacy channels, i.e. High Maintenance on HBO) If legacy TV is appropriating indie TV for their own gain, is anything changing? Who is ruining what?
I must give J.D. Connor credit for showing me this image as he posted it on his Twitter with the caption “odd flex.” I loled.
I wonder if this is some sort of hint at what is to come. If the previous "stealing" of indie-TV came from short content digital streaming like Youtube, I wonder if Hulu or Legacy TV will begin to extend their search to TikTok, or gosh forbid old Vines. Can you extend an extreme short form, seconds long video into an entire series? Will this "ruin" television, or ruin what you thought good television was because they are completely remodeling the parameters of what television even is.
ReplyDeleteIt is an “odd flex” indeed, but I think it’s important to remember that quite a lot of current executives in legacy TV also do have problems with the traditional system and are trying to find ways to do things differently. This logic of advertising strikes me as a comment on the long-lasting bad reputation of classical TV as a waste of time, a form of entertainment that will make you stupid. By presenting itself as something that will ruin TV, indie TV may be trying to separate itself from this perception and remind audiences of its “coolness”.
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