The Rise and Fall (and Hopeful Return) of Storytelling

Having been locked away from a worldwide pandemic for the last two years, I emerged from my house like a slumbering grizzly bear in a Cheetos-induced coma. Once I remembered my blog, my password (and exactly where my office was), I quickly fired up my computer with some stories to tell -- and an axe to grind.

If there's one thing we weren't in short supply of during our exile from the real world, it was television and movies -- streamed to us non-stop, courtesy of studios and streaming services that had suddenly found themselves with a captive audience. Like many of us, I anticipated a couple weeks of free time and some good entertainment with which to while away the potential boredom. Unfortunately, like the rest of us, I quickly realized 1) this wasn't to be a simple two-week vacation and 2) there was some serious lack of storytelling in the storm of entertainment we were weathering. 

Don't get me wrong, there was plenty of mind-numbing Netflix fare like Tiger King and The Floor is Lava, along with the return of fan favorites like Ozark and The Umbrella Academy. But for every captivating narrative like Squid Games and The Queen's Gambit, there was Space Force and Snowpiercer -- frustratingly vapid shows with gaping potholes, zero character development, and absolutely no method to their madness! 

So what happened? Why the sudden rebellion of the masses against our once glorious streaming overlords? I argue that with more time to examine the deluge of movies and television, viewers took a harder look at what was coming down the streaming superhighway and didn't like what they saw. As the pandemic wound down and viewers' patience ran thin, shows seemingly took a turn for the worse -- aiming not to solidly entertain as they once did, but rather to make a point, check a box, or simply take the easy way out. The story had quickly taken a backseat to message, or agenda, if you subscribe to the notion that most modern shows have them -- and you'd be hard-pressed to convince me that they don't.  

With the rare exceptions of genius storytellers like Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni (two men who single-handedly managed to keep a floundering franchise from completely sinking), most fledgling showrunners opted to butcher storylines, ignore character development, and insult the fandoms of multiple franchises in their quest to spread "the message." It was if they either simply forgot or outright refused to create content based on quality, solid storytelling. These are now the very same showrunners who stand open-mouthed as their viewerships dwindle and fans undertake a mass exodus of biblical proportions.  

"You can express any type of message when you prioritize good storytelling; you cannot get good storytelling when you prioritize the "message."' 

This genius quote comes from Gary Buechler, a very knowledgable YouTube commentator, self-ascribed geek, and content creator with a deep love for storytelling. I couldn't agree more with his assessment. Storytelling has become (at least in the visual medium) a lost art form, thanks in large part to talentless "writers" on a quest to interject their personal views and revisionist interpretations into what would -- should -- otherwise be entertaining, story-driven content. One only has to watch a few episodes of the latest iterations of Star Trek or examine the lore-defiling trailer for the upcoming Lord of the Rings television series to see glaring examples of this very phenomenon.  

Audiences hunger for good storytelling, they yearn for it, they actively seek it out and when they're given something that is devoid of story, they spit it out like the burning sands of an oasis mirage. The audience is not stupid -- despite what some elitists may believe -- they know when they're being duped out of quality entertainment and stripped of a good story. Ultimately, the storyteller must respect their audience and the sanctity of the story, regardless of their own personal feelings, if they hope to have any success at all. 

Fear not, weary viewer. All is not lost. 

Hope is on the horizon, for as the adage goes, you can't kill a good story. At least, that's the adage I'm going to spread until it's etched in the walls of every writer's room from sea to shining sea! The tide is turning, as more and more audiences are demanding a return to quality storytelling and entertainment that doesn't preach. A "good story" is something worth telling that the world wants to hear. Finding what that is is the lonely task of the writer. Luckily, many of us respectable writers are getting the message and taking up the sword. We hear you loud and clear and are ready to fight for the honor of the good story. 

To quote the great scholar and writer Robert McKee, "Story is king." Long live the king!