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If you go to art school or study the humanities then this process of getting turned off after becoming aware of a piece’s “scaffolding” or let’s say... algorith

If you go to art school or study the humanities then this process of getting turned off after becoming aware of a piece’s “scaffolding” or let’s say... algorithm, usually happens much faster. The first thing that happened to me was I became aware that there is a production quality bubble in commercial media that keeps most people sealed in and once that popped I got more and more interested in obscure art related films, music, scenes, etc. like the things you would find on ubu.com. A lot of my old art school friends are still in this edgy mode and they no longer respect any populist media. Somehow I’ve come full circle because I got bored once I started seeing the “scaffolding” in all the radical 20th century and contemporary stuff too. Now I just try to find the free space where people are developing something new and involve myself somehow either as an early spectator or a participant. To put it simply, if you start watching Netflix as an anthropologist then you might enjoy the scaffolding once again.

EL_Loco 7y ago
'scaffolding' is a good term for this. It's hard for me to enjoy a movie, as I can see all the structure unfolding and can predict a lot of what's going to happen from the first 15 minutes or so. The good thing is that the very few great movies that escape this are true gems, but the bad thing is that I jus't don't have the drive/patience to watch movies anymore, so I don't get exposed to the very few gems.
- Apocryphon 7y ago
  Maybe this explains the explosion in “critical entertainment”, such as movie podcasts, YouTube video essays that dissect films, and TV Tropes. People can also enjoy examining the scaffolding, if not the original work.
- galaxyLogic 7y ago
  Isn't that much about how Hollywood works to produce "entertainment"? "Art movies" are different, more inspiring. For them the "scaffolding" might be there and made even more obvious it is scaffolding like in theater you sure know you are not looking at a real-life Swan Lake etc. There was a curious incident recently where Game of Thrones episode had a Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts coffee mug visible in some scene. It broke the "magic", revealed the scaffolding for most people. But if you believe in fire-breathing giant dragons then why not also believe in multi-verse where things from Starbucks universe can occasionally mingle with Game of Thrones. It's magic!

EL_Loco 7y ago

'scaffolding' is a good term for this. It's hard for me to enjoy a movie, as I can see all the structure unfolding and can predict a lot of what's going to happen from the first 15 minutes or so. The good thing is that the very few great movies that escape this are true gems, but the bad thing is that I jus't don't have the drive/patience to watch movies anymore, so I don't get exposed to the very few gems.

Apocryphon 7y ago
Maybe this explains the explosion in “critical entertainment”, such as movie podcasts, YouTube video essays that dissect films, and TV Tropes. People can also enjoy examining the scaffolding, if not the original work.
galaxyLogic 7y ago
Isn't that much about how Hollywood works to produce "entertainment"? "Art movies" are different, more inspiring. For them the "scaffolding" might be there and made even more obvious it is scaffolding like in theater you sure know you are not looking at a real-life Swan Lake etc. There was a curious incident recently where Game of Thrones episode had a Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts coffee mug visible in some scene. It broke the "magic", revealed the scaffolding for most people. But if you believe in fire-breathing giant dragons then why not also believe in multi-verse where things from Starbucks universe can occasionally mingle with Game of Thrones. It's magic!