The Studio, a new series by Apple TV+, is a satirical and critical assessment of the culture in the Hollywood film industry. The show uses absurdity, sarcasm, and humor to depict the culture of greed and the void of creativity that Hollywood has become. The series, a bold move by Apple, has been created by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.
The series brings out a lot of facts about the current culture of Hollywood and the old-school film studios' decline with the rise of streaming culture. For anyone who has ever wondered why the most cringe-worthy piece of cinema made it instead of other more creative ideas, The Studio might give some hints as to what goes on behind the scenes.
Here are 3 great learnings about Hollywood culture and satire from The Studio
Hollywood culture and its satire in The Studio
The Studio offers a commentary on a lot of issues prevalent in the Hollywood film industry through its satirical takes on them. They do this through the character Matt Remick.
Matt Remick, the character of Rogen, is promoted to the position of studio head now that his former boss has been ousted. A key to Rogen's character was his and Goldberg's conversation with a studio executive who said something that made it into the episode word for word.
"I got into this business because I love movies, and now my job is to ruin them"
Remick is under a lot of stress because he's trying to make moves in a world where streaming rights are a war in themselves. What induces the anxiety is that Matt is a lover of cinema and wants acceptance from the artists that he's paying. All these artists expect him to behave as one of the suits only, but Matt yearns to be included in the creative process. This is hilariously depicted in a memorable scene where an adaptation of The Kool-Aid Man is being presented as a feature film, and Matt is too anxious about his job to outright reject the proposal. He then tries to come up with reasons why this adaptation might actually have a level of creativity that can be worked on. Here are three great learnings from the show.
The Streaming Wars
The Studio paints a picture of the ongoing streaming wars between major streaming platforms or production companies such as Netflix, Amazon, and Apple TV+ itself. Matt enters this 'war zone,' completely unaware of the cutthroat market where quantity is given precedence over quality. The show follows this point aggressively throughout the show, shining the light on the decline of old-school film studios with the rise of streaming platforms and their wars.
The Recycled Brand IP
The next point that The Studio focuses on is the Hollywood film industry's newest obsession - Brand IP. Hollywood's reliance on brand IP, talked about by referring to Barbie's success, is mentioned in satire.
"It had Greta Gerwig, a writer-director behind it, It had a filmmaker’s vision. That’s what we’re going to do with Kool-Aid. We’re going to make the auteur-driven, Oscar-winning Kool-Aid film."
Absurd Creative Meetings
Next up, The Studio comments on the absurdity that is the 'creative' pitch meetings. It depicts how actual creativity is ignored and considered unprofitable, whereas illogical pitches make it to the top. An example would be a director pitching a musical adaptation of The Schindler's List. This proposal receives feedback, not based on its creativity or the lack of it; rather, it receives notes to make it more 'marketable.' The scene is a deep insight into the Hollywood culture of the death of creativity.
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The Studio attempts to serve as a mirror of Hollywood and the culture surrounding the industry. Follow Soap Central for more such deep dives.
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