The target age demographic is always at most (PG-) 13. Because this target does not change, if the viewer matures, the nostalgia of youth will never align with the expectations of the matured mind. It is the entire tenured ratings system and standardized ultra simplistic morality culture that prevent capitalization on an evolving demographic. Instead, everyone consuming this media is incentivised to remain adolescent of mind or complain about how elements of their childhood fail to align with their evolved and matured expectations.
Just because something is made for teenagers or younger doesn’t mean they have to be bad though. I would say the original three Star Wars are a good example of that, sure they were fun for kids, but they didn’t need dumbed down or made insincere for children to be able to enjoy them. Look at the golden age of Pixar movies which, sure, are children movies, but are also just movies that hold up for adults too.
There’s nothing wrong with disconnecting and enjoying simple things. I love watching some kids movies too. The observation is more nuanced and refers to the way we tend to fail to see our interpersonal growth over time. We tend to see nostalgia without the influence of how we matured. It is like our memory of the thing has matured in imperceptible ways.
I struggle for the words to really describe it outright now that I try. I’m coming from the mindset of writing my own hard science fiction universe and the perspective it has given me, especially when it comes to underlying storytelling frameworks, social/political structures, and defining what is fantasy magic.
Like is a solar ring structure used to make antimatter safely to one way interstellar generation ships magic? It is for the scale of human economy today. Is it fantasy to imagine self replicating drones? I think it is just a matter of time and scale, where I am willing to say at kilometers scale it is possible. It is basically packaging an industrial complex in space. So that seems reasonable. However I find moving faster than causality and space navies childish nonsense. I see exceptionalism as the doctrine of a neo feudal oligarchy, and a story of inevitable tyranny of an authoritarian monster repulsive.
I had no clue about these themes as a child, but now I can’t unsee them. I dob not think most people have or care about this kind of defined awareness, but I think these undertones exist just outside of their awareness.
Outside of the philosophical, just telling a congruent story is critical, and those failures are egregious in any story.
It was a paraphrased quote of Lukas himself that said he made the first films for 10 year olds and the second series for 5 year olds. You need to see it from the perspective of someone willing to risk losing tens to hundreds of millions of dollars in a gamble that is never a sure thing. The artistry is a very minor often overlooked aspect when this kind of money is in play. I’ve had a job spending a couple of million dollars a year where my mistakes could cost a chain of businesses closing and around three dozen jobs. Buying high end bicycles at that scale requires me to completely disconnect my opinion and style biases and become an account first and foremost. People do not take risks to tell stories, they tell stories that follow an interpretation of statistical metrics.
The targeted movie rating is key to demographic and without a demographic there are no numbers to make a financial argument for the risk. Films are made TO fit, not made AND fit. The risk is never blind.
The target age demographic is always at most (PG-) 13. Because this target does not change, if the viewer matures, the nostalgia of youth will never align with the expectations of the matured mind. It is the entire tenured ratings system and standardized ultra simplistic morality culture that prevent capitalization on an evolving demographic. Instead, everyone consuming this media is incentivised to remain adolescent of mind or complain about how elements of their childhood fail to align with their evolved and matured expectations.
This is why Andor is so great. It’s star wars but it’s for grown ups.
I’m not falling for that again. I’ve heard that many different times about different movies and shows, and they’re always very clearly made for kids.
You should make an exception.
Just because something is made for teenagers or younger doesn’t mean they have to be bad though. I would say the original three Star Wars are a good example of that, sure they were fun for kids, but they didn’t need dumbed down or made insincere for children to be able to enjoy them. Look at the golden age of Pixar movies which, sure, are children movies, but are also just movies that hold up for adults too.
There’s nothing wrong with disconnecting and enjoying simple things. I love watching some kids movies too. The observation is more nuanced and refers to the way we tend to fail to see our interpersonal growth over time. We tend to see nostalgia without the influence of how we matured. It is like our memory of the thing has matured in imperceptible ways.
I struggle for the words to really describe it outright now that I try. I’m coming from the mindset of writing my own hard science fiction universe and the perspective it has given me, especially when it comes to underlying storytelling frameworks, social/political structures, and defining what is fantasy magic.
Like is a solar ring structure used to make antimatter safely to one way interstellar generation ships magic? It is for the scale of human economy today. Is it fantasy to imagine self replicating drones? I think it is just a matter of time and scale, where I am willing to say at kilometers scale it is possible. It is basically packaging an industrial complex in space. So that seems reasonable. However I find moving faster than causality and space navies childish nonsense. I see exceptionalism as the doctrine of a neo feudal oligarchy, and a story of inevitable tyranny of an authoritarian monster repulsive.
I had no clue about these themes as a child, but now I can’t unsee them. I dob not think most people have or care about this kind of defined awareness, but I think these undertones exist just outside of their awareness.
Outside of the philosophical, just telling a congruent story is critical, and those failures are egregious in any story.
Yes. Senate hearings and trade disputes are for kids. 👍
It was a paraphrased quote of Lukas himself that said he made the first films for 10 year olds and the second series for 5 year olds. You need to see it from the perspective of someone willing to risk losing tens to hundreds of millions of dollars in a gamble that is never a sure thing. The artistry is a very minor often overlooked aspect when this kind of money is in play. I’ve had a job spending a couple of million dollars a year where my mistakes could cost a chain of businesses closing and around three dozen jobs. Buying high end bicycles at that scale requires me to completely disconnect my opinion and style biases and become an account first and foremost. People do not take risks to tell stories, they tell stories that follow an interpretation of statistical metrics.
The targeted movie rating is key to demographic and without a demographic there are no numbers to make a financial argument for the risk. Films are made TO fit, not made AND fit. The risk is never blind.