Read this article if you’re interested in the future of Hollywood

Over the weekend, in between nervously checking the Duty Watch app to see if the fires were getting any closer to us, I had a chance to read the article Casual Viewing in n+1.

(Note: I and my family are fine. While we do live in between all four major fires, topography and the wind conspired so that we were never in any real danger. I will have thoughts, in the form of a flash fiction, later.)

Anyway.

Give it a read. I found it a well-researched and thoughtful look the story of Netflix’s business model and exactly why all their movies seem to be so replaceable. Through it, I think I can see how Hollywood has gotten to the position that we’re in, with so many out of work and so little being made right now.

It solidified something that I’ve long felt. That we were all chasing an imaginary high that was never truly real. But the hangover comes for everyone, and here we are.

I think I underestimated just how false the numbers really were, and how deeply backed into a corner the streaming business model had gotten itself. It’s heartening to see Netflix taking steps to get out of the corner near the end article. Ironically, by going back to the past. But I suspect we have miles to go before we sleep on that particular issue.