I just watched the first episode of the new Futurama season and the running gag was their attempt to make fun of the Hulu streaming network (Fulu)… in the year 3023. Not only that, but they also parody Black Mirror which itself parodies Netfix (Streamberry) in their latest season.

What is up with all of this meta stuff? Does anyone actually enjoy it? Is this really the quality of TV prior to AI taking over the writing?

I feel like an old man yelling at the clouds right now ☁️, but look at how they massacred my boy, Futurama!

  • HousePanther@lemmy.goblackcat.com
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    1 year ago

    It’s not really lazy writing. It’s just one more symptom of capitalism. Why spend more money to develop ideas when it is cheaper and there are higher profit margins to keep recycling the same old stories but changing a few things.

    • fiat_lux@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      I guess you could call post-modernism and it’s satire a consequence of capitalism. But I can’t call it lazy. I think it’s more of a “there are few opportunities for social critique and commentary where the source has enough means to survive backlash” issue.

      And there’s a lot worth critiquing about capitalism, I’m glad someone is doing it and able to live on it.

    • qwamqwamqwam@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      I’m fascinated by this line of thinking. Are there good shows that’s are also symptoms of capitalism? Is it all parodies? How does one distinguish a show from “capitalism” from one that’s not?

      I suppose from one perspective you do have a point––someone never could have published a satire in the Soviet Union.

      • Luke@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        someone never could have published a satire in the Soviet Union.

        I don’t know if you are joking, but there was definitely satire published in the Soviet Union. See Krokodil, a satirical magazine published once a week for the entirety of the lifetime of the Soviet Union itself.

        • qwamqwamqwam@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          Oh, yes, a single survivor, who’s Wikipedia article calls it out as rare exception. The one that survived by sticking to safe topics like making fun of alcoholics and capitalist nations. All of it’s other peers died, of course. And that definitely compares to the Simpsons 20-something years long career of poking fun at just about every aspect of American culture and government, not to mention the thousands of other satirical print and media works generated by free Western society.

          My apologies, I guess you could publish satire in the Soviet Union, provided you were feeling lucky(and willing to bend the knee).

          • Luke@lemmy.ml
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            1 year ago

            I’m not sure why you’re getting so defensive over this, I’m not trying to start an argument here, I’m just pointing out that Soviet satire definitely existed.

            a single survivor … rare exception

            Maybe it was rare, I dunno, but there are plenty of other interesting examples of long running satire published in that region at that time. Deny their existence if you like, but that seems illogical to me.