Creativity: Sacrificed for Addiction

In their very first stages, the most advanced computer was designed with a millionth of the ran used by the smartphones of today. That fraction of what a chrome browser consumes to launch a site, was used to send the moon launch. To them, this wasn’t some technological miracle, it was just simply what was in their capabilities with limited resources when they applied precise care for the things they created. A dedication of effort ultimately forgotten, when reminders for the weather today costs multitudes of that amount, and when corporations burn the content under their platforms simply to monopolise the bare minimum of media entertainment so you never stop subscribing to them. Access to streaming has easily given people an excess of freedom with what they can enjoy at any given, aiding in forming a digital addiction that corporations would rather keep exploiting for more money to be shelled their way. They deal in this addiction, and worse yet when it comes to artistic creations under their mediums, they'd rather throw away all attention to quality for more and more marketable wastes of content potential at faster and faster rates. 

Many brands have taken to building monopolies in this field, but when it comes to the crime of robbing great titles and iconic franchises of their beauty, for the sin of greed to prioritise only the direction of capitalism, these 3 examples should suffice in painting a picture. Netflix’s crime here would be their drift from the original material entirely in their production of The Witcher, as hinted by their release of the show's star, Henry Cavill. He is incredibly beloved, most especially by the nerd community, for his dedication in works of fiction and their accurate portrayal. The exact same aspect of him that couldn’t agree with Netflix as they diverted more and more from what the lore of the Witcher was meant to be. Plots were rewritten or remade entirely to fit the production Netflix demanded of their show, and by the end of it the resemblance to the original universe it was themed after was near faded.

This is put into greater clarity with their most recent adaptation of an older work into the live-action medium with ATLA, a show that's been cherished by such a wide audience from their youth to adulthood. While its reviews are still rather mixed, it shows just exactly how Netflix's greed in production interferes with respect a franchise demands when readapted under their rights. Complexities that are shown through the characters’ flaws, like Katara's feminine anger or Sokka's original mysogyny were watered down entirely, out of fear of what it might do for the brand's selling image. The characters can't have as impactful of a growth because the show doesn't let them have anything to grow from, and the plots, by extension have to try a lot lot harder to do anything more than live-action fan service. A flame of a problem fanned even harder when the show insists on telling every point of lore point-blank on the surface, rather than showing it with subtlety and discovery as stories rich on world-building typically do. Even the show's translation into a live-action, with how Netflix has made it seem, doesn't show any intentions of respecting the original well-loved universe, but rather just because they know big names with big cinematics will make big money.

HBO, as another culprit guilty of this crime, disappointed the fans they collected around the giant work, Game of Thrones, with the quality of so many characters and storylines practically all rushed and ruined by the end. One key example here is with Daenerys Targaryen, one of the most complex contenders for the Iron Throne and symbol for the lore-point with the longest build-up, reduced to simply a mad dictatoe because, as they chose to explain, “she’s a Targaryen”. Everything complex about the show, an aspect which set it so unique to be enjoyed as compared to other fantasy worlds, was stripped down to nothing more than excessive stereotypes for what the producers thought either as funny or cheap enough.

The point here is that with all these new big monopolies wanting to make some money out of this exploding new medium, they disregard all creativity and passion simply because they know that it’s all they need to make profit. Tact is utterly lost to them, and no story for them is anything more than another means to exploit the hooks of their platforms. The issue is care, and the lack of it given to preserving the passion to genuinely sculpt content up to the standards of art. The only standard they push is for the minimum, for what money follows, and soon it’ll be praised as a commodity when they produce art that can actually inspire.