Modern cinema is dead. The box office may still heat up, but movies can\u2019t hold a candle to\u00a0television.<\/p>\n
I looked up the top ten grossing movies right now. Three are book adaptations (four if Big Hero 6<\/em>\u00a0counts). Two are direct sequels with Penguins of Madagascar<\/em> being a spin-off of the\u00a0Madagascar<\/em> series. Only three of these ten movies are original. Such a lack of innovative titles\u00a0in theaters ought to be alarming, but there are plenty of other problems for Hollywood.<\/p>\n Storytelling is the core of any movie or television show, and storytelling is also the core of\u00a0movies\u2019 issues. A film\u2019s plot resolves within the hour or three that it runs. But television affords\u00a0more opportunity for plot development and complex narrative. A movie like Cake<\/em> spends two\u00a0hours to tell its story about one woman while a show like The Killing<\/em> can spend twenty hours on\u00a0one murder. Even if quantity alone isn\u2019t enough, television writers still have extra time to craft\u00a0an intricate storyline. House of Cards<\/em> weaves an interlaced story with various subplots in a way\u00a0that a movie such as Blackhat<\/em> can\u2019t.<\/p>\n In the same vein, characterization and character development are stronger in television. Riggan\u00a0from Birdman<\/em> may redeem his washed-up acting career, but he doesn\u2019t plummet from typical\u00a0chemistry teacher to calloused methamphetamine cook like Walter White does in Breaking Bad<\/em>.\u00a0Movies simply don\u2019t have time for the proportional and detailed character progression found in\u00a0television.<\/p>\n Television is inherently versatile. Given the episodic format, television can fluctuate in tone and\u00a0mood in a less constricting environment. The antics of It\u2019s Always Sunny in Philadelphia<\/em> can\u00a0vary by episode from lighthearted humor to satirical misanthropy. Dumb and Dumber To<\/em> can\u2019t\u00a0enjoy nearly as much mobility in its comedy.<\/p>\n Finally, television has an edge even before the viewer receives the product. Between competing\u00a0networks and smaller budgets, only the best television series survive. A television show has to\u00a0rely more on its quality and originality than a movie does. But while movie studios can hurl\u00a0money at marketing campaigns, the battle for distinction is still hard fought. Pushing a familiar\u00a0remake or a generic movie proves easier than shifting the tastes of an entire audience with a\u00a0unique film.<\/p>\n None of this is to say that one should only watch television. Many movies still shine despite the\u00a0constraints of the medium. But I\u2019d still much rather binge watch Cosmos<\/em> than go see Modern cinema is dead. The box office may still heat up, but movies can\u2019t hold a candle to\u00a0television. I looked up the top ten grossing movies right now. Three are book adaptations (four if Big Hero 6\u00a0counts). Two are direct sequels with Penguins of Madagascar being a spin-off of the\u00a0Madagascar series. Only three of these…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":7084,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[143],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/liftoffnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/4687192723_be13d64181_b.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3xfZw-1Qa","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7078"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7078"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7078\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7090,"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7078\/revisions\/7090"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/liftoffnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}2014: A\u00a0Space Odyssey<\/em><\/del>\u00a0<\/em>\u2014 I mean Interstellar<\/em>.<\/p>\n