Nathan's Lucubrations

I've always been selective in what media I choose to consume. Due to the fact that experiencing most media is a passive activity best kept to a minimum, it logically follows that one should select only specimens of superior quality. That's not to say I don't occasionally indulge in a guilty pleasure, such as watching "Johnny Mnemonic".

In recent years, however, availability of quality entertainment has taken a noticeable downturn. It's not clear why, but I'm going to hypothesize that the issue is with you, the average moviegoer. Do me a favor and help me with this test: go to How it Should Have Ended and look up your favorite movie. Watch the flaws and bad writing pointed out, even if only lightheartedly. Now go to Screen Junkies and look up and watch the Honest Trailer for the same movie. Repeat, this time with CinemaSins. Just for completeness, go and read the plaintext review of the same movie at The Filthy Critic.

Did you notice a pattern? Perhaps that movie you thought was so awesome really wasn't very good. That "mindbender" you've loved for years isn't all that smart. The fact that you like these movies means you've probably paid to watch them, which means that you've lowered your standards and Hollywood is pandering to those low standards because they're easy to meet.

Don't believe me? I'm not the only one with this idea: people with more knowledge of moviemaking than I have come to the same conclusion. Movies are generally bad, they're getting worse, and they're not going to get better any time soon.

So what can you do? Stop. Watching them. Stop wasting your money, and more importantly, your time, on drivel. Go out and have your own adventures. This goes for games as well, which, while they have slightly more interactivity and stimuli, still have the same issues.