The Ethics of Pandemic TV

[genderjumper]

My media consumption has absolutely shifted throughout the pandemic. I was pleased early on when shows were put off for the safety of cast and crew, disappointed when most resumed, and utterly devastated when most of them opted to not address the pandemic in a meaningful way. It was almost as disappointing as finding out that there was no surge in people having sex in public during the initial lockdown (What were they going to do? arrest you??? actually... probably, yeah...). Here's what I'm finding:

1. Animated shows are great. Whatever universe they're set in, you know that the technology exists for this project to be created and maintained with minimal gatherings, but since fantasy settings are common they literally don't have to address the pandemic if they don't want to. (The only show I've seen do an episode was Bob's Burger, and it was through metaphor, and it was one episode out of a season otherwise consistent with prior seasons.)
2. Fantasy shows get something of a pass (computers help a lot), but I also find it difficult to engage some traditional plots: Apocalypses, Big Baddies who are confronted by one or several rag-tag heroes, pandemics (including zombie movies, maybe especially zombie movies) all feel pretty dated at this point. Turns out the horror lay within us the whole time.
3. Timeless shows: some shows are deliberate about not being set in a specific time period, or have enough flexibility that it doesn't feel so far-fetched. I still worry about the casts, but I happen to know that many professional sets are requiring frequent testing from their performers and that brings some comfort. (OMG, I just realized: is traditional porn still being filmed??? Anyway, Leverage mostly gets a pass because it's such a comfort and because it gets @flamingsword to visit.)
4. Anything contemporary must recognize the pandemic. (I turned on last season of Grown-ish and quickly decided I just couldn't do it.) Worse yet, will I EVER be able to go back and watch those shows?
5. The more they address the pandemic, the better. I know shows were creating DURING the pandemic, but I haven't seen any yet. They'll either really miss the mark or hit too close to home. Honorable mention to those episodes of SNL that were all filmed from home, that was a golden era. (I've honestly only seen one show that addressed the pandemic in the plot: The Good Fight, which had a really hard time tying up the previous season's lingering loose ends, going some politically relevant new places, and including plots about the *cough*short-lived*cough* pandemic and its *cough*aftermath*cough*, but at least it fucking tried. They showed lawyers in 5-figure suits wearing masks for fuck's sake.)
6. History, though, can be tricky. Early on I read up a bit more on the Wiemar Republic and Ancient Rome, but I didn't want to see them depicted dramatically (or even documentary-style; instead, I watched both movies about the Fyre Festival, some pre-pandemic stand-up, and that FX series about the history of Pride... at least until I got stuck in the 80s because I can apparently only hold space for one pandemic at a time...)

No show has been perfect so far, and I'm not sure that they ever will be. What matters to me is where art changes after this -- really changes. I'm starting to see the difference in music finally. Here, have a playlist.

Comments

[flamingsword]

Thank you for the playlist!

I realized that I still had this tab open and unread on my phone today, and have been trying to read through and close all of the stuff I should already be done responding to … /o\ Oh well. Y’all don’t grade me on my performance of executive function, and I am learning not to. It’s fine.

After work tomorrow, I am looking forward to seeing you!