Don’t worry, dear reader, I don’t think you are. Dumb, I mean. Or wait, you already knew what I meant right? Using the title as a context clue?
See, the way you were able to understand the first line of this article just by reading the title leads me to my point: Entertainment executives think you’re dumb. Therefore, sometimes they make predictable, annoyingly clear, safe films and TV series. I am by no means a cinema expert, but I’ve sat through plenty of movies and TV commentary videos on YouTube to know my feelings are shared by at least a few people.
There’s this technique in storytelling called “show, don’t tell.” For example, if a character is angry, there shouldn’t be a line saying, “I’m angry;” there should be scenes of them hitting something, speaking in an angry tone, etc. Since I’ve become aware of this technique, I find most poor movies and TV shows don’t do it and better ones do. Try looking for yourself.
Nowadays, all too often a plot or a character’s emotions are blatantly delivered to us as an audience. Do they really think I can’t tell a character is sad if they’re crying or they have something on their mind if they’re acting differently?
The most recent example I can think of is in the new live-action Netflix remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender. This new live-action series did one key thing that lots of movies do nowadays: repeat information. Not just repeat it, but burn it into your mind.
Mild spoilers for both the animated and live-action series: a key point of the story is how the main character, Aang, initially resisted his job as the Avatar, which resulted in his absence for 100 years and war raging on in the mists. The anguish Aang faces is clearly laid out to us early on in the live-action series as Aang shows remorse for his actions.
However, as Aang goes on to face new challenges, we are consistently reminded of this inner turmoil. We aren’t shown this conflict; we’re constantly told about it. If I had a dollar for every time Aang verbally said something like, “I’m the Avatar, I don’t know if I’ll ever be good enough,” I’d have way more than I should for an eight-episode season.
This lack of respect that some series and movies may have for their audience’s intelligence may be because of fear from executives. After all, box-office failures can reflect poorly on a studio or executive, so why not make a film that’s less likely to fail? This fear may be where such predictable, excruciatingly clear stories come from, as they are generally safer since the audience won’t leave confused. This is why we tend to see sequels, remakes, and reboots of everything nowadays. There’s less risk in what’s worked before.
Given this, are we also too dumb to understand and appreciate something new? Are we too dumb to understand complex work? I don’t think so. Consider Dune: Part Two. This epic, arguable masterpiece of a film serves as an important example of risk and audience intelligence being put on display.
Although admittedly based on the widely successful 1965 book Dune, this movie took tons of risks. For starters, it’s an entire creation. The original 1984 movie adaption absolutely bombed at the box office, so there was already proof that an adaption of the book could end in failure. What’s more, deciding to split the movie adaptation into two parts was a risk in itself. This sequel’s entire creation depended on the success of the first and, if left unmade, would make for Dune: Part One to forever stand as an obviously unfinished story.
Nonetheless, Dune: Part Two was, in my opinion, incredible. For such a lore-heavy story with extensive world-building, it perfectly balanced spoon-feeding me information and letting me figure it out for myself. It currently stands as the eighth highest-scored movie in the history of IMDB, and reasonably so, given how unique and well-crafted the movie was.
The success of Dune and the shortcomings of the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series, I believe, serve as a testament to why executives should consider taking on more risky projects and treating their audiences with a bit more respect. None of this is to say that not even a great movie won’t leave me a bit puzzled or lost at points.
What’s important is recognizing that the dumbing down of plots as a result of wanting to make safer projects is hurting the reputation of the industry as a whole. It’s obvious there is a focus on profit rather than entertainment, and it’s a trend I hope will end soon.
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