Wednesday, April 09, 2025

Pops Watched TV: ADOLESCENCE

I tuned out after two episodes of Netflix' limited series, ADOLESCENCE partially because I’m already depressed enough about what social media has done to society, but also one of the reasons I took a pass on procreating was to avoid this kind of agony. 

But the main reason I couldn’t keep watching was the show’s usage of the supremely tiresome SINGLE SHOT for each episode, which I find a distracting, pretentious trope that negates one of the medium’s primary storytelling tools (being editing). It worked in Alfred Hitchcock’s ROPE (wherein the single apartment setting made it a more subliminal trick that did actually amplify the tension), but every use since then (including BIRDMAN and OLDBOY and yes, even the opening of GOODFELLAS) has just taken me out of the moment as I find myself paying attention to the technical HOW way more than the narrative WHAT (which is not a good thing on which to focus). 

As always, your mileage may vary. Oh, and I keep meaning to ditch Netflix, so this is a good li’l kick in that direction.