FollowI watched Netflix’s new series, Daredevil, with the intention of reviewing it. Instead, I came out the other end with more thoughts on the medium of Netflix itself than the latest Marvel Phase 2 installment.
Though I am an experienced binge-watcher, I found myself frustrated and bored with the process of watching a series that I was previously looking forward to. It wasn’t the show itself that I didn’t like—I thoroughly enjoyed it and am already counting down the days until AKA Jessica Jones comes out—but rather the format. Daredevil was created for Netflix, but the constant repetition of lines and reminders of character motives from episode to episode made it more suitable for television, where the audience needs these reminders because they watch episodes a week apart.
Netflix has transformed several times since its establishment. First, it offered a DVD service that entailed shipping a DVD to the customer off of their queue, and then sending them the next one once it was returned. Then, it made hundreds of titles available to stream online. Most recently, it has added a slew of its own content, such as Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, the Arrested Development season we don’t talk about, and now, Daredevil.
These services have changed television and film viewing practices in two important ways: They give viewers more control over when, where, and what they can watch, and they provide viewers with whole seasons, rather than episodes, at a time. But as viewing practices have changed, especially with the advent of Netflix’s (and similar sites, such as Amazon’s) original content, so should production practices.
Without the time and marketing constraints of television, Netflix shows immediately have more room for creativity. Some of its content, such as Orange is the New Black, recognize that freedom and move to explore it with an enormous cast and cutting-edge humor. On the other hand, in the case of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, a show that was originally destined for NBC, the suddenness of its move to Netflix is apparent by the awkward additions of previously deleted scenes, interrupting the show’s otherwise perfect flow and lovely character development.
Similarly, Daredevil is plagued by a paradoxical approach. As previously noted, it seems to be set up like that of a normal television series with its repetition of lines and motives each episode—a tactic used in television to keep new viewers up-to-date and old viewers feel included in the show’s world, but feels redundant when binge-watching. Still, Daredevil attempts to explore the freedom of time with their 53 minute episodes. This backfires, however, as the episodes are dragged out and the show’s main themes of sight and a “lone man making a difference” are more flashy-neon-sign than subtle. A long episode is fine—I mean, I watch Downton Abbey—but editing is a useful skill as important to writing as the ability to write Tolstoy-length novels.
Netflix’s original content is not television, but a new type of media that we have yet to name. It is a format still in its infancy, and with Netflix’s booming success thus far, it is safe to say that it will have the chance to develop into a fully matured form of entertainment all on its own.
Image source: Cinema Blend
No Comments