But this comes at a cost. Popular media is stuck in a perpetual adolescence. Because the IP that sells best is the IP that adults remember from their childhood (ages 8–12), we are inundated with grimdark reboots of The Care Bears and gory Winnie the Pooh horror films. The culture is cannibalizing its own past because the risk of creating a new future is too expensive.
This fusion has accelerated the "news-ification" of entertainment and the "entertainment-ification" of news. Discussing a Marvel movie’s post-credits scene now carries the same weight online as discussing a geopolitical event. Memes—the native language of the internet—have become the primary vehicle for political discourse. Mad.Asses-All.Anal.Edition.XXX
Furthermore, popular media is more global than ever. The success of South Korea’s Squid Game or Spain’s Money Heist proves that language barriers are dissolving in the face of high-quality, relatable entertainment content. 5. The Future: Immersion and Interactivity But this comes at a cost
Tools that help creators produce high-quality visuals and music at a fraction of the traditional cost. The culture is cannibalizing its own past because
The most disruptive technology in entertainment is not 8K resolution or VR headsets; it is the smartphone in your hand.