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[return to "Casual Viewing – Why Netflix looks like that"]
1. cs702+Nn[view] [source] 2024-12-28 14:23:57
>>exitb+(OP)
Nowadays, whenever I browse Netflix, I feel like that Bruce Springsteen song, "57 Channels (And Nothin' On)."[a] Sure, there are lots of choices, but they all kinda suck. I find myself wondering, why? The OP weaves an insightful, opinionated narrative that explains how we got here. Much of it rings true. This passage, in particular struck a chord with me:

> Several screenwriters who’ve worked for the streamer told me a common note from company executives is “have this character announce what they’re doing so that viewers who have this program on in the background can follow along.” [...] One tag among Netflix’s thirty-six thousand microgenres offers a suitable name for this kind of dreck: “casual viewing.” Usually reserved for breezy network sitcoms, reality television, and nature documentaries, the category describes much of Netflix’s film catalog — movies that go down best when you’re not paying attention, or as the Hollywood Reporter recently described Atlas, a 2024 sci-fi film starring Jennifer Lopez, “another Netflix movie made to half-watch while doing laundry.”

In other words, people like me, who want to focus on and experience a great film or series, are no longer the target audience.

Apparently, there's no money in targeting people who want to pay attention.

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[a] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/57_Channels_(And_Nothin'_On)

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2. bryanr+ds[view] [source] 2024-12-28 15:04:22
>>cs702+Nn
I mean it is also somewhat dependent on how much bandwidth you have free while doing laundry, some people can handle watching the complicated stuff while doing their daily tasks and I guess those people also hate these half-assed shows.
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