Golden Age of Television or My Dream Job

As I have mentioned, and will probably mention many more times, my aspirations are to be a professional writer. I would love to write novels, I would love a job as a copywriter, or an essayist that writes thought provoking pieces, however my highest aspirations, my dream job, would be to a screenwriter for a television show. I know what you are thinking, and yes I do indeed reach for the stars. 

I'm not really that great at small talk, in fact it's a small wonder that I am not legally required to make that disclaimer upon introducing myself to new people. As far as societal rules for talking to someone new, the first question after asking someone their name is to ask them what they do. For a long time I have not really had a good answer to give. "Oh I work at GNC" or "I'm a bank teller" even now, I have a pretty interesting job as a Youth Care Specialist at a residential foster home, however I still always feel the need to include the fact that my real aspirations lie as a writer. Those in which I converse with are usually more well-versed in the art of small talk and ask the next logical question, "what do you want to write?" to which I generally respond, "Anything. Books, blogs, copywriting, and so on, but really I would love to be a writer for a TV sitcom." For whatever reason that generally gets a laugh, and now as I reflect on these conversations I should probably respond to their laughter by telling them that I should use that line sometime in a script. 

Why do people respond with laughter when I tell them I'd love to write for a television show? I know I am not the first to say this, but we truly in a golden age of television. There are so many brilliant television shows on the air today. HBO and Showtime have blazed the trail with shows like The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, Dexter, Boardwalk Empire, The Newsroom, Bored to Death, and now networks like AMC, FX, and more recently Netflix have followed suit with Mad Men, Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Damages, Sons of Anarchy, and House of Cards. Even half hour comedies are breaking new ground with Parks and Recreation, Modern Family, Community, 30 Rock, The Office, Arrested Development, and so on. 

The truth is, television is becoming a force to be reckoned with in the entertainment industry. For a long time there has been a stigma for "top tier" actors to do television. Alec Baldwin made jokes about it on 30 Rock (in 30 Rock made this joke several times, even with a cameo from Tom Hanks), David Cross had a joke about it on Arrested development. It has been seen as a step down for an actor to do television. I read an article yesterday that said that Steven Spielberg is predicting the "implosion" of the film industry. In the article they cited George Lucas saying that with the rising costs of producing and marketing films with the pressure to make them accessible for the masses is producing highly publicized  flops and unoriginal concepts/remakes/sequels while television is creating more ambitious shows for certain niches of audiences. Spielberg said that the more original and adventurous idea for movies are taking their pitches to television studios. People are now opting to stay home and binge watch original serial television shows than go to the movies to see something something safe and predictable. 

I love the long form story telling that comes with television. Consider a television show as a novel whereas a movie is just a short story. Television is becoming so much more than just fodder for the water cooler the following day. Right now on Facebook, Buzzfeed and other sites there are far more conversations about people's favorite television characters than there are movie characters. Why is that? Because there is more time and space to develop your characters, make them relatable and lovable, or vile and complex. When you write a television show, you have the ability and opportunity to create characters that people care about, can relate to and connect with. When you write a television show you have the ability to look more closely into everyday life and show the beauty in the little things without feeling the pressure to make everything on a grand scale. For the majority of people, life is lived in between the stories we tell, and that in itself is a story worth telling.

Plus, who wouldn't want to get paid to sit in a room and come up with jokes all day?