I know a lot of people right now are complaining about how streaming platforms are just turning into the new age equivalent of cable. I disagree. And maybe I'll get to that at another time.
There are several silver linings that come with the current streaming model. And I think Hayden Christensen in Ahsoka (and the Obi Wan series) really highlight this.
I never felt his portrayal of Anakin in the prequels was "bad". There were some bad lines, but I challenge you to think of someone who could have delivered that "sand" line convincingly. No, the biggest issue with Anakin was not the actor, but rather the focus of the prequels. There wasn't enough time to cover everything. Not even in 3 movies. So, they covered the negative parts of his character which lead to him choosing the dark side.
Basically, to make it work, Anakin had to be a whiny brat with a moral dilemma. He couldn't be too troubled because he still needed to be seen as someone whom Obi Wan could be forgiven taking a risk on training and to explain how this force sensitive master could miss his apprentice slipping away. That is a pretty shit thing to need to balance in 2 movies (in the first he was just a child and played by a different actor).
And, in a world of cable TV reigning supreme, all live action would have died there. The role wasn't popular enough, there would be no value in trying to revive on the scale of something like another movie.
What streaming platforms do here is, they funnel money directly into Disney's pockets. In the cable world, this wouldn't happen. They would be taking a smaller cut of a smaller cut from everything they allow to be aired. They wouldn't have the money to pursue projects like these.
OK. They would have the money, technically, but they still wouldn't spend it on projects like these.
In the cable world, the cable providers would often lock the biggest names inside of bigger bundles and they would also have rules in place around pricing if there were any individual channels. And of course, they would take a cut. So, Disney channels on cable were a much less lucrative business for Disney. So, most funding went to movies, but those deals were harder to secure, and the scraps went to their television ventures which could take on a bit more risk, but never got the funding they needed to shine.
In the streaming world, while things can certainly suck in their own way, this 3rd venue gets the best of both worlds. It funnels money directly into the business. Perhaps garnering an even larger margin of the profit than movies would, but generating an expectation that the money put in will also benefit the platform. After all, no one would keep a subscription long term if the money they paid in just went to movies that never aired on the subscription service and the content stagnated.
In regards to Hayden Christensen, this means a chance to reprise his role as Anakin in other situations. And the reception has been incredible. There now exist article after article claiming how his roles in Obi Wan and Ahsoka "fix" his character or fill in the gaps or flesh it out more. And we get to see that the actor behind the role really wasn't as bad as was often claimed.
What is interesting to me about this is that it can open up additional avenues which completely change the context of the original offerings. Now you CAN watch the prequel movies and legitimately get a sense that we are just seeing Anakin at his worst and not that the character is that one dimensional or that maybe the acting is to blame.
This, of course, is not true JUST of actors and characters. But also of entire shows and their universes. Andor brings far more dimension, appreciation and complexity to the entire Star Wars universe. It makes both Rogue One and the original trilogy better movies simply by existing. It helps you to understand how a character like Cassian Andor can become such a dedicated member of the rebellion and adds so much more to the defeat of the empire.
Yet, I can say with decent confidence; that show never would have been made as a movie or as a typical TV offering. This sort of story telling can only happen in this medium.
And no, I'm not trying to justify anything or even to claim that everything is perfectly fine in the land of streaming media. I'm just trying to argue that streaming platforms have not simply become the new cable packages. Not yet at least.
Comments
Post a Comment