Stranger Things is one of many television shows that has become a cultural phenomenon. And the home of the series is, well, stranger than most other television phenomena. Netflix was once known for mailing DVDs to people’s homes. Now, it is still allowing viewers to watch their favorite shows and movies from the comfort of their living rooms. Just in a different way, by streaming.
“I typically do streaming,” said Colette Lathan, a Television, Radio, Film Major at Syracuse University. “My computer doesn’t have a D-V-D player and neither does my T-V so it’s kind of my only option when it comes to watching the shows and movies I want to watch.”
Lathan also said that she watches most of her content on streaming services. And most of Americans these days are joining Colette. According to a study by Statista, the percentage of T-V households in the U-S with Netflix has almost doubled in the past several years. As I was speaking with Lathan, her friend, Cece Cheeks, also a film major at Syracuse, was watching a trailer online. As a film major, she is fine with people watching her projects on the web.
“Right now, kind of like how everything is going on digital, D-V-Ds and stuff are going to be obsolete soon, ” Cheeks said. “So yah, when I make films I hope it’s accessible to everyone so whether people see it in movie theaters or online is fine by me.”
Creators are going to have more chances to create programs for Netflix in the coming years. According to a survey conducted by the Los Angeles Times, just over 40 percent of all content on Netflix is original this year. This is almost a thirty percent rise from what the studio offered just two years ago. This includes the horror series “The Haunting of the Hill House” debuting to critical acclaim.
But Netflix also has the Will Smith film “Bright” which was universally hated by critics. So, how does making a film or show for Netflix or any other streaming service affect the quality of the program?
“The big conglomerates in our society at least get rewarded for gobbling up and so that’s the way the job is,” said William Osborne, a philosophy professor at Syracuse.
Major studio entities that are involved in streaming are a big factor in determining the types of content we get to stream. Disney, after purchasing all of Fox’s creative properties, is putting together its own streaming service. Amazon Prime is going strong and looking to add more content. Even Apple may try to delve into streaming. Such a rise in studio involvement in streaming has pushed YouTube away from creating premium content and focusing on shows primarily generating ad revenue. This is one casualty in the war for streaming.
“So, I think the quality and the time it takes for people to put into actually making work may change,” said Danielle Bulluck, a communications student at Syracuse. “Because they see how quickly it is to stream stuff so they may think it’s quicker to stream it why not be quick to start recording or start making these different films.”
The idea that some programming may be rushed could be an issue. Netflix is looking to have a total of 700 original series in the coming years, so it’s unlikely that all of them will receive a fair production timeline. But there are good reasons why we spend so much time watching streaming videos these days.
“What you find is that there’s a significantly greater untapped market or unknown market, you get all sorts of really interesting things happening before somebody establishes this really hegemonic dominance,” Osborne said.
While major studios may dominate streaming, that doesn’t mean that interesting, independent filmmakers can’t flourish.
“The great thing about streaming is that it created more avenues,” said Keith Giglio, a screenwriter and professor at Syracuse. “Netflix is a terrific buyer of products. Now, there still buying from the same people… but it’s given writers more rooms to work in.”
Giglio also sees more people working in television than in film because writers see television as a better avenue to make quality films from a diverse set of minds. “Especially since television is the forefront of diversity hiring for women and people of color,” said Giglio. “Television is making great strides in doing so.”
The increase in diversity hiring has opened the doors for more competition amongst filmmakers.
“There’s a lot of need for more content as well as there’s a competition with all the content out there,” said Caleb McDonald, a Television, Radio, and Film major at Syracuse. “because it’s no longer oh here’s this, here’s that, it’s just here’s a bunch of stuff you choose what you like.”
Such competition has forced services like Amazon Prime and Netflix to step up their game. Netflix has even jumped into producing films for the Oscars. Last year, Mudbound received several nominations. This year, Roma and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs are awards favorites heading into Oscar season.
Other streaming services are stepping up as well.Patrick Amazon Prime’s ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ certainly is. The show’s first season won five Emmys, including Outstanding Comedy Series. In addition, they have produced former Oscar contenders ‘Manchester By the Sea’ and ‘The Big Sick.’ Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” has also landed five Emmys, including Outstanding Drama Series.There are also so many creators that are able to work these days thanks to streaming. So, while there are concerns about studios controlling streaming and forcing content out too quickly, filmmakers see making a project for streaming as a golden ticket.
