UNIT 3: ENTERTAINMENT
My name‿ is Paul. I watch‿ a film most‿ evenings,│ and‿ I have concluded that the most‿ absorbing narrative writingwri-ding‿ of the pas(t) decade has been produced for television,│ principally because‿ it‿ is no longer beholden to a ninety-minute structure.
The serial format permits‿ a character to be developed‿ across‿ eight‿ hours,│ which‿ is‿ a genuine‿ artistic‿ advantage,│ and‿ it generates‿ an‿ extraordinary quantity of padding. Derivative sequels‿ are commissioned│ because the original proved profitable,│ not because‿ anyone 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 constitutes‿ a defect. Several‿ of the fines(t) films‿ I have seen were wholly predictable,│ and‿ a formulaic conclusion can be vindicated‿ entirely by the performance that carries‿ it.
My son takes the contrary position‿ an(d) watches‿ only adaptations‿ of novels he has‿ already read,│ which guarantees that he is never surprised│ an(d) never disappointed,│ a bargain‿ I should not care to strike. I tell (h)im that‿ adaptation‿ is translation rather than transcription,│ an(d) that the camera carries‿ a subtex(t) no page can reproduce. He remains‿ unconvinced,│ which‿ is his prerogative. 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 preferable to an‿ evening spent‿ agreeing. It‿ is the argument,│ rather than the plot,│ that keeps me watching;│ the narrative‿ is‿ almost‿ incidental.