The benefit of long-form storytelling (Off-Topic)

by EffortlessFury , Tuesday, November 29, 2022, 15:45 (504 days ago) @ Cody Miller

Andor is great. I also still staunchly defend what RJ did with TLJ. The what we're getting in Andor is a really interesting case study on what it would look like to break a film (Rouge One) and stretch it over 20ish episodes). Cassian's arc is (at a high level) the same as Jyns, but the difference is 10x's the runtime to explore WHY they end up joining the cause. It's super refreshing, especially after The Book of Boba Fett and Kenobi.

Runtime isn't the be all end all. I haven't seen the show yet, but Cyber's comments ring pretty true to me about filler. Yes you have more time in TV for your story, but the majority of TV shows do not use it wisely. There's filler, plot blocking wheel spinning constantly in shows that I see. It seems to me like too many shows today try to be 8-10 hour movies (some creators have even literally said exactly this). But… an 8 hour movie would be unbearable. And if you watch the show all at once, well, it is.

Remember that we fell in love with Luke, Leia, Han, and the others 2 hours at a time. Time is not the metric which makes us care or expand our imaginations. I've spent less than 6 hours with Marty McFly, and yet his story and its impact on me is greater than any television show that spends 10 or 20 or 30 hours with its characters. How much of the Princess Bride's 98 minute runtime was spent on Inigo Montoya? How did we fall in love with him and cheer for him when he's on screen for less time than Cassian is in a single episode? Remember the beginning of UP, and how 4 minutes was all it took to give you the backstory, and you were completely invested and heartbroken in that time?

That's the trap for me with TV these days. We need less, not more. Very rarely do I see TV shows wisely use their time. I haven't seen Andor, but my gut says Cyber is right on the money.

Long form media more often than not endears me to characters far more than short form. I'd argue the endearment to the movies' characters came from rewatching it, which turns the short form media into long form engagement. Long form media can endear you to a character with a single watch-through and can provide more meaningful reasons for that endearment, deepening the substance of that endearment.

I cared far more about certain characters in LOST than I do about most characters in Star Wars, despite really loving Star Wars, because the movie characters don't actually have that much depth. It's simplified, we fill in gaps with our imagination, and create expectations that can often be unfulfilled for that very reason.