When I watched the first episode of True Detective at a friend's house and while we were watching, his brother came home. He came downstairs and watched the show with us for a little bit before asking, "What movie is this?" Television shows were never mistaken for movies, as far as I can remember. The differences have been too obvious. Movies were big budget; there were expensive shots from helicopters, striking special effects and stunts, as well as big time actors, whereas television shows were simply low budget. Yet I believe that disadvantage has turned into an advantage while the opposite has become true for Hollywood. Big budgets have translated into more CGI and effects, but that hasn't consistently translated into big revenue. Big budgets always seem to cut into the storytelling aspect of films, while the lower budgets in television has forced show runners to focus on character-driven stories, which has amassed a loyal following of viewers. For the last episode of Breaking Bad, me and my friends went to a local theatre to watch it. There was something magical about watching a TV show in a theatre, but it didn't have to do with the big screen or the $10 dollar popcorn buckets. It was the simple fact that we were watching with other fans. There's a connection you feel watching a TV show with other fans that you don't with a movie. You've been on a similar journey of sorts and you've stayed up to ungodly hours to watch the next episode; you've talked about the plot point countless times; you've gossiped about a certain character as if they were a real person, and you've waited eagerly for Monday morning to ask your co-worker, "Did you see ______ last night?" But the future of television isn't just the advancement of our nerdy, fanboy culture or our mutual interest and meditation on the stories' meaning and themes. It's about how the stories we tell connects with others. I believe television and film will never be the same after True Detective, so much so that one day when I'm watching something on my Galaxy S20 I'll be asked, "What story is this?"
I'm a thinker/fantasizer who writes down his thoughts and fantasies hoping it makes sense to everyone else. Also I'm an aspiring screenwriter, but if I can work in film at all, I'd be happy. One day you may hear the name Ryan Kim and associate it with "Academy Award winning writer" or with "where's that guy with my coffee." If the latter comes true, please let it be Paul Thomas Anderson's coffee I'm getting.
