Remember Upworthy? That’s Netflix now. The only real difference is that one Netlfix story plays on your emotions for an entire weekend on the couch whereas a viral post like "This Kid Just Died. What He Left Behind Is Wondtacular." only took 30 seconds at your desk at work. Last week, Netflix announced a subtle but significant new feature. A new row on the familiar home screen will now show everyone the top 10 most popular titles in your country. It’s an admission that Netflix virality has replaced social media virality as the new goal for cultural producers ranging from journalists and artists to media conglomerates and celebrities. Last decade, sites like BuzzFeed and Upworthy crafted stories for social media, when Facebook and Twitter were the gatekeepers between a story and its audience. Almost all publishers, even the most traditional, chased social media trends to create hit stories. Streaming has become the platform for which stories are shaped. Two weeks ago, Condé Nast, the parent company of The New Yorker and Vanity Fair, announced five new studios that will convert print stories into documentaries, movies and TV shows for streaming platforms.
A week later, John Legend joined the board of Vox, adding entertainment industry muscle as the company emphasizes its streaming-focussed Vox Media Studios."Love Is Blind." "The Circle." "The Pharmacist." "The Trials Of Gabriel Fernandez." "Babies." Each went viral in recent weeks and each engineers emotions as formulaically as any BuzzFeed bait ever did. Even celebs, those click magnets, are carried over from the social media virality era to this new streaming one. Last week, the most popular title on Netflix was The Last Thing He Wanted, a film adaptation of a Joan Didion book that surely wouldn’t have trended if Anne Hathaway and Ben Affleck were not in it. And of course, the Jennifer Anniston and Adam Sandler flick Murder Mystery was the most watched title on Netflix of 2019. Trending on Netflix replaced trending on Facebook in the cultural conversation before Netflix made it official with its new top 10 titles row, but now we can all see the consequences of it when we open up the app. Tears. If I had to identify one common theme among the content trending on Netflix, it would be tears.
Documentary series like "The Trials Of Gabriel Fernandez" and "The Pharmacist" are first sad stories about children and second sweeping stories of societal crises. "Love Is Blind" is pure sap, an obviously phony promise for true romantics. Letting an algorithm-based industry determine our entertainment might lead to the most baldly formulaic emotion-inducing content possible. An algorithm doesn’t care how it creates pathos or nostalgia or comfort, only that it does to a maximum degree and for a maximum length of time. Checking these trending shows out, I was reminded of the scene in "The Sopranos" when Dr. Melfi realizes that Tony’s fixation on animals, babies, children and mothers may be a ploy used by sociopaths to justify their crimes. At risk of sounding hyperbolic by comparing Netflix to a sociopath, I can at least say with certainty that the streaming platform felt no remorse for having made me watch ten minutes of "Love Is Blind."
The shorter stuff
The Screenland column is so good every week I kinda want to throw in the towel. (NYTMag)
If a streaming series about these Hollywood assistants' nightmare stories is not in the works yet it should be. (Vulture)
Is it me or does Tom Ford hate living in L.A.? (VF)
Speaking of L.A., this profile of an L.A. celeb hairstylist begins with her explaining that she's a little drained because she worked with a shaman the day before. (NYT)
My jaw dropped when I read Ben Smith say, parenthetically, that A.G. Sulzberger "no doubt would have flourished in that midlevel product job I offered him." (NYT)
Social media has become so polished that Keith McNally showing even the barest amount of honesty is refreshing and newsworthy. (Eater)
Rian Johnson says the Knives Out sequel will have a new cast besides Daniel Craig. I suggest the franchise keeps the WASPiness, though. (THR)
Why do I imagine Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Adam Driver complaining about their medieval costumes? (TMZ)
Speaking of Affleck, I've gotten a kick out of his promoted tweet for new flick The Way Back, in which he claims to be excited but comes across as not excited at all. (Twitter)
Cynical people in my circles think this country ballad trap video is engineered to go viral but I think it's good. (YouTube)
Older millennial rock nerds know Built To Spill. Now a lot of very young, very intense K-Pop fans do, too, thanks to Pitchfork. (Twitter)
Looks like Venom 2 will be unsubtle and schlocky like the first one. (Twitter)
I would only watch this show if I was professionally obliged. (NYT)
Baking old bread is apparently an actual hobby among rich dorks, not just made up for "Succession." (VF)