UNIT 3: ENTERTAINMENT
My name‿ is Paul. I watch‿ a film most‿ evenings,│ and‿ I have concluded that the most‿ interesting narrative‿ of the pas(t) decade has been written for television,│ largely because‿ it‿ is no longer beholden to a ninety-minute structure.
The series format‿ allows‿ a character to develop‿ across‿ eight‿ hours,│ which‿ is‿ a genuine‿ artistic‿ advantage,│ and‿ it‿ also produces‿ enormous padding. Derivative sequels‿ an(d) spin-offs‿ are commissioned│ because the first‿ instalmen(t) was profitable,│ not because‿ anybody had‿ a secon(d) story to tell,│ an(d) the audience‿ is‿ expected to mistake familiarity for quality. What‿ irritates me is the assumption that predictability is‿ a defect. Some‿ of the fines(t) films‿ I have seen were‿ entirely predictable,│ and‿ a formulaic‿ ending can still be vindicated by the performance that delivers‿ it.
My son takes the opposite line‿ an(d) watches‿ only adaptations‿ of novels he has‿ already read,│ which guarantees that he is never surprised│ an(d) never disappointed. I tell (h)im that‿ adaptation‿ is translation rather than transcription,│ an(d) that the cinematography carries‿ a subtex(t) that no page can reproduce. He is not convinced. What neither‿ of‿ us disputes‿ is that the premise‿ of‿ a film matters less than‿ its‿ execution,│ an(d) that‿ an‿ evening spent‿ arguing‿ about subtext‿ is betterbe-der than‿ an‿ evening spent‿ agreeing. That,│ rather than the plot,│ is what keeps me watching.