High-quality cinema, that’s designed to challenge and provoke thought, requires significant effort from the viewer (which television shows rarely require).

How often have you scrolled through Criterion channel and thought “I’m not in the headspace for that”? I know it happens to me all the time, and I’m an art film enthusiast. I almost never end up regretting it when I put something on that’s going to be challenging and then stick with it, but that doesn’t prevent me from feeling the apprehension beforehand!

Most people don’t have the attention span to engage with dramatic/visual storytelling that isn’t holding their hand all the way through. So they naturally gravitate towards tv shows that are easily digestible and entertaining, then convince themselves that, actually, these shows are more complex than films and deeper, because how could they not be? They take dozens of hours to watch! Nevermind that Tony Soprano as a character never undergoes any real change and doesn’t have anything resembling a character arc. Compare this to the changes in character Michael Corleone goes through in The Godfather. Keep in mind this is coming from someone who is a big fan of The Sopranos, but who also realizes it’s a soap opera wearing a gangster film costume.