Oh, I see! You correctly did identify a trend, and missed the cause.
I know that's the cause for the more complex narrative shows existing. I'm just amused at the fact that there seems to also be a correlation between these and the amount of garbage TV that's going on the air.
I'm wondering if it isn't that the moron demographic makes these shows viable because other shows are becoming increasingly complex, and the solutions (like downloading episodes off torrents, streaming them online, or having to wait for the DVD which is killer when a show leaves you on a cliffhanger every week) aren't exactly at reach for the average moron.
Like, I don't think moron TV resulted in the more complex shows. I think the opposite, though, might be true.
Really? Because the Twin Peaks and Star Treks of the world were always out there.
Star Trek still mostly follows the old TV convention of episodes being independant entities from each other, reducing the narrative complexity to whatever can fit into one episode. The difference with something like Dexter or Lost, for instance, is clear. Continuity mostly only occurs for special events that take place over two or three episodes, and the occasional recurring character.
Buffy was a popular show with reasonably high intellectual appeal,
I don't subscribe to the view that the majority of people are morons. I don't see a tension between intellectual and popular. What I'm saying is those new garbage TV shows directly target the moron demographic. Also, Buffy isn't that old, and can be seen as a precursor of the trend. Buffy was an exception on TV at the time, now that sort of narrative structure is very common.
the Simpsons for the early seasons consistently had some of the better commentary on television disguised as a popular cartoon.
But it's the perfect example of what I'm saying. It's a show that appeals to both demographics, instead of one of those new shows that decides to target one or the other. It doesn't have a complex narrative that spans multiple episodes. Continuity only started getting inserted very recently in the show and they poke fun at the sitcom convention of 'everything goes back to normal in 30 minutes' constantly.
It's also much older than the trend I'm mentionning. It predates it. It's normal that it doesn't follow trends that came after it.
Maybe 'intellectual' is not exactly the word. What I meant is *complexity*. There is very little middle ground in show complexity nowadays, it's either a complex narrative that if you were to start watching the series in the middle you'd be completly Lost (heh) or a festival of moronitude. You don't get many shows like the Simpsons anymore, that are both accessible to most and yet don't insult their audience's intelligence (you still get some but they're the exception now, just like a series with strong continuity over an entire season was rare before).
I find it interesting that the rise of garbage reality TV coincides almost perfectly with the rise of intelligent series like Firefly, Mad Men, The Wire and such that have somewhat complex storylines and aren't contained into a 30 minutes episode that resets the state of the world at the end of each episode. It's almost as if TV writers decided to stop making shows that can work for both the bright and the stupid and decided to have them specialize. So you've now got TV shows entirely devoted to raging morons and shows that work for average-or-higher intelligence people, and never the twain shall meet.
The current rape charges against Assange seem way too coincidental on timing, so it's hard to believe at this point that it's not trumped up, but I'm willing to wait for the facts to come out and witnesses to come forward before directly accusing the CIA (or friends of the CIA) just yet.
I doubt they are trumped up. But since rape (that isn't of the 'stranger jumps out of a bush' variety) is usually low priority and victims are often discouraged by our culture of rape denial from pursuing their assaillants, it's quite possible this was put on top of the To Do pile and the victims were encouraged into going forward with their complaint because of pressure from the top to make any skeleton in his closet a top priority.
Most people have some sort of skeleton in their closet. Most people, however, aren't targets for governmental agencies, so these stay in their closet. What black operatives usually do isn't so much as trumping up charges, as finding out what they can bring up to the surface.
This is in large part why being homosexual in a high level post used to be considered a potential national security breach. The problem is not so much that gays are untrustworthy, but that in a culture where homosexuals are shunned, that secret becomes a potential method of discrediting or blackmail.
X-2 was great if your masculinity wasn't so fragile that you couldn't stand a game fronted by 3 women. The mission-style system was pretty cool and so was the battle system.
XIII has the best battle system of the series bar none. It's the only game in the series where you must think strategically (at least a bit) and not just about tactics.
Those are the things that make a game good. Now if you're asking about the story (which is extraneous to the definition of 'good game')... all the FFs suck according to that metric.
It's insanely stupid and chance that the same person behind dropping a ☺☺☺☺storm of info on the world is suddenly an international criminal sex offender.
Rapists are common as dirt. The only conspiracy involved is likely to be that a crime that usually the police has no interest in actively prosecuting was put on top of the To Do list because the guy was an embarrassment to high level people.
@Phiting_Chicken: This is about as much a 'conspiracy' as the statement 'the social purpose of a limited liability corporation is to make a profit for its shareholders'. All institutions are made up of rules and customs which gives them an existence as something akin to a social organism, in which individuals are only cells, and the purpose of the whole is a particular goal and no individual's or group of individuals' will is directly responsible for that.
@ljossberir and @Ulfsaar: Scratch a 'libertarian', find a police state apologist!
The 'girls acted like idiots' in the sense that someone who refuses to give their money to a robber are acting like idiots. Yeah, sure, it lacks a minimal sense of self-preservation.
you are being tools right now. Police officers are employed for a reason, and despite what your victim mentalities desire to be truth, that reason isn't to beat black women.
Of course not.
Police are *employed* to be the guard dogs of our corporate overlords.
Beating black women is part of the benefits package.
This is so incredibly racist that I'm just going to beat the rush and ban you. Goodbye.
For some would-be criminals, the crime they have in mind is "obliterate Tel Aviv". Difficulty and expense seem like the major obstacles to them acquiring a nuke; the demand is certainly there.
I'm pretty sure that terrorists are considered to be enemy combattants now, not criminals.
The one thing (almost?) all Theist have in common is the Deist belief.
No. In fact, no Theist is a Deist, and vice-versa. Theism is the belief in a personal God that involves itself actively in the organization of the world. Deism is the belief in a God that created the universe but does not involve itself in it actively anymore, but merely observes.
"Apply directly to forehead".
Note that no claim is ever made about what Head On is supposed to do. That's because then they could be sued for false advertisement.
Hey, if you were dumb enough to think our product cures headaches, that's your problem! We never said any such thing!
For all we know it's supposed to cure hemorroids and it's just applied to the forehead because that's where it takes effect.
I know that's the cause for the more complex narrative shows existing. I'm just amused at the fact that there seems to also be a correlation between these and the amount of garbage TV that's going on the air.
I'm wondering if it isn't that the moron demographic makes these shows viable because other shows are becoming increasingly complex, and the solutions (like downloading episodes off torrents, streaming them online, or having to wait for the DVD which is killer when a show leaves you on a cliffhanger every week) aren't exactly at reach for the average moron.
Like, I don't think moron TV resulted in the more complex shows. I think the opposite, though, might be true.
Star Trek still mostly follows the old TV convention of episodes being independant entities from each other, reducing the narrative complexity to whatever can fit into one episode. The difference with something like Dexter or Lost, for instance, is clear. Continuity mostly only occurs for special events that take place over two or three episodes, and the occasional recurring character.
I don't subscribe to the view that the majority of people are morons. I don't see a tension between intellectual and popular. What I'm saying is those new garbage TV shows directly target the moron demographic. Also, Buffy isn't that old, and can be seen as a precursor of the trend. Buffy was an exception on TV at the time, now that sort of narrative structure is very common.
But it's the perfect example of what I'm saying. It's a show that appeals to both demographics, instead of one of those new shows that decides to target one or the other. It doesn't have a complex narrative that spans multiple episodes. Continuity only started getting inserted very recently in the show and they poke fun at the sitcom convention of 'everything goes back to normal in 30 minutes' constantly.
It's also much older than the trend I'm mentionning. It predates it. It's normal that it doesn't follow trends that came after it.
Maybe 'intellectual' is not exactly the word. What I meant is *complexity*. There is very little middle ground in show complexity nowadays, it's either a complex narrative that if you were to start watching the series in the middle you'd be completly Lost (heh) or a festival of moronitude. You don't get many shows like the Simpsons anymore, that are both accessible to most and yet don't insult their audience's intelligence (you still get some but they're the exception now, just like a series with strong continuity over an entire season was rare before).
I doubt they are trumped up. But since rape (that isn't of the 'stranger jumps out of a bush' variety) is usually low priority and victims are often discouraged by our culture of rape denial from pursuing their assaillants, it's quite possible this was put on top of the To Do pile and the victims were encouraged into going forward with their complaint because of pressure from the top to make any skeleton in his closet a top priority.
Most people have some sort of skeleton in their closet. Most people, however, aren't targets for governmental agencies, so these stay in their closet. What black operatives usually do isn't so much as trumping up charges, as finding out what they can bring up to the surface.
This is in large part why being homosexual in a high level post used to be considered a potential national security breach. The problem is not so much that gays are untrustworthy, but that in a culture where homosexuals are shunned, that secret becomes a potential method of discrediting or blackmail.
I did. They're great games. Storyline still sucks compared to Western PC RPGs.
XIII has the best battle system of the series bar none. It's the only game in the series where you must think strategically (at least a bit) and not just about tactics.
Those are the things that make a game good. Now if you're asking about the story (which is extraneous to the definition of 'good game')... all the FFs suck according to that metric.
X-2 and XIII.
I think I might have one lying around, but it will cost you. You know, in order to compensate for my newly increased risk of getting eaten by cougars.
I take payments in Jace TMS playsets, as well as gold.
I'm not talking about people, I'm talking about cops.
Rapists are common as dirt. The only conspiracy involved is likely to be that a crime that usually the police has no interest in actively prosecuting was put on top of the To Do list because the guy was an embarrassment to high level people.
@ljossberir and @Ulfsaar: Scratch a 'libertarian', find a police state apologist!
The 'girls acted like idiots' in the sense that someone who refuses to give their money to a robber are acting like idiots. Yeah, sure, it lacks a minimal sense of self-preservation.
Of course not.
Police are *employed* to be the guard dogs of our corporate overlords.
Beating black women is part of the benefits package.
This is so incredibly racist that I'm just going to beat the rush and ban you. Goodbye.
I'm pretty sure that terrorists are considered to be enemy combattants now, not criminals.