Despite technological advances, several systemic issues degrade the quality of mainstream entertainment:
For the purpose of this exercise, let's consider Jessica Portman as a figure of inspiration.
We are not passive victims of the algorithm. Consumer behavior dictates the market. If we want better entertainment content and popular media, we have to change how we consume. joymii191130jessicaportmanbemymusexxx better
The 24-Hour Rule When you finish a movie or show, do not immediately start another. Sit with it. Journal about it. Discuss it with a friend. The media that haunts you for 24 hours is the media worth seeking out. The content you forget as you reach for the remote is noise.
Cancel the Background TV The single worst habit for the industry is "comfort rewatching." Playing The Office for the 12th time while scrolling TikTok. This tells the algorithms that you want familiar, sterile, predictable content. Turn it off. Listen to silence. Create scarcity. When you only watch one film a week, you will choose a better one. If we want better entertainment content and popular
Pay Differently If you love a niche movie, buy the digital rental instead of waiting for it to hit a subscription. If you love a podcast, join their Patreon. Subscriptions flatten value—a $10 billion flop looks the same as a $50,000 indie gem. Direct payment creates direct incentive for creators to take risks.
Use Human Curators, Not Algorithmic Ones Follow a single film critic whose taste aligns with yours (e.g., Mark Kermode, Walter Chaw, K. Austin Collins). Subscribe to a newsletter (like The Mick or Everything Is Horrible). A human curating five great things a week is infinitely more valuable than Netflix suggesting 500 vaguely relevant things an hour. Journal about it
We are at a crossroads. AI-generated scripts and deepfake actors threaten to flood the zone with even more synthetic, soulless content. But simultaneously, the barriers to distribution have never been lower.
The future of better entertainment content and popular media lies in the niche. The era of the "monoculture" (where 40 million people watch the same MASH* finale) is dead. In its place is a thousand small towns of taste.