Follow us on Google News
Get the latest updates directly in your Google News feed
Quite literally one of the biggest streaming platforms of all time, Netflix is continuing to grow and expand the streaming industry as it rages with numerous different plans to choose from along with offering multiple options. But while it’s growing, it’s also posing a real threat to the cinema, pretty much proving filmmaker Christopher Nolan right about his thoughts.
A few years back, theOppenheimerdirector expressed his disapproval and criticism of the streaming giant’s “day-and-date release” strategy. And with the orders for the screenwriters along the same lines, the streamer seems to be proving Nolan just right about his thoughts. If anything, these new strategies could kill cinema faster than how AI taking over Hollywood would do!
Netflix’s new strategies and orders are far scarier than AI killing cinema
Ever since Netflix came out, while it has been perfectly managing to make its place as one of the most profitable streaming platforms of all time, it has also been slowly contributing to mainstream and general cinema’s destruction. While older studios had a business model that actually rewarded the cinematic expertise and craft, this streamer doesn’t seem to be honoring those methods.
For one, asN+1 magazineshared, Cindy Holland, the first employee hired by Sarandos who eventually became the VP of original content, once compared the streaming giant’s rapacious DVD acquisition strategy to “shoveling coal in the side door of the house.” And somehow, this seemed to work for it since audiences at home are often barely paying attention to what they’re streaming.
In fact, this situation has been made so worse at this point that the magazine claims several screenwriters to have confessed to them that a common note from the company’s execs is to “have this character announce what they’re doing so that viewers who have this program on in the background can follow along.” To be more precise, this works for the people streaming casually.
How Scammers Used Netflix’s “Squid Game” to Orchestrate a $3 Million Crypto Scam
Additionally, the magazine further reports the streamer for having thousands of micro-genres including “casual viewing” — a term that is as literal as it seems. This category quite literally describes much of the film catalog offered by Netflix, as it includes films “that go down best when you’re not paying attention…A high-gloss product that dissolves into air. Tide Pod cinema.”
Needless to say, these very orders are more than enough to pose a serious threat to genuine cinematic experiences, which Hollywood appears to belosing along the way to all these streaming platforms. To say the least, this is even scarier than AI taking over Hollywood, for its “casual viewing” project-making strategies like these that will end up killing cinema faster.
Netflix’s orders are proving Christopher Nolan’s criticism right
Christopher Nolanis one of the most legendary visionaries in the entirety of the entertainment industry, and he wasn’t really wrong to express his dissatisfaction with Netflix’s “day-and-date release” strategy. In a 2017 interview withIndieWire, he candidly criticized this very strategy, which has kept its original movies from playing in most major theater chains.
Arguing for a model that’s inclusive of both cinema-going and streaming rather than being biased toward one, he said:
Netflix has a bizarre aversion to supporting theatrical films. They have this mindless policy of everything having to be simultaneously streamed and released, which is obviously an untenable model for theatrical presentation. So they’re not even getting in the game, and I think they’re missing a huge opportunity.
While this opinion must have unarguably earned him the critique of a few, Nolan was never wrong. If anything, judging from these recent confessions of what has been going around behind the scenes at the streamer, Netflix only seems to have proven Nolan’s criticism right. Now, even fans are criticizing this move, as they express toX:
You come to me on the day of my daughter’s wedding while I’m sitting in my dimly lit office, petting a cat…pic.twitter.com/aIlYO3Gk4W
Basicallypic.twitter.com/Ca32FzMuCI
This is the type of stuff that ruins writing, character development, and storytelling. These Execs man 😑
And, with that, the genre of radio drama was back.
Netflix characters about to sound like NPCs narrating their every move. ‘I am opening the fridge now!’
netflix is really ruining art. streaming is really the end time of visual art my god
Cinema as white-noise machine. Cinema to blunt the pain of your loneliness. Cinema as Gerber’s strained peas.
“I will now pick up my cup of coffee to take a sip. Taking a sip now! Mmm, that’s good. I am now putting down the cup of coffee.. Anyways, what do you mean we have no leads on suspects?’”
Perfect fit for the fast-food “art” they make
“Just insulting to the viewers”: 6 Reasons Virgin River’s Fate on Netflix Could Take a Dark Turn After Latest Season’s Mess
As the curtains draw on the cinematic experience, it’s clear that Netflix’s priorities are shifting the spotlight from the silver screen to the small screen. With its “casual viewing” approach and character-announcement notes, the streamer is redefining the art of storytelling, but it’s not for the better for true cinematic experiences.
But as the lights dim on the cinematic experience, one can’t help but wonder: Will the magic of movies be able to survive in a world of “Tide Pod cinema”? And if so, for how long?Either Netflix is looking forward to gaining some moreor it’s actually headed toward a critical downfall if the audience decides to step up — only time can tell.
Mahin Sultan
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2478
Mahin Sultan is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, where she brings a fresh perspective to entertainment news. Having been in the field for over 3 years now, she has already written more than 2,000 articles across a variety of niches, from entertainment to health and fashion. This diverse experience has allowed her to quickly build a solid foundation and a deep understanding of the industry.
