Wednesday, August 24, 2011

How the mobile era changes TV

Access to information and communications has changed so radically that storylines dependent on them not being available have to explain why they're not rather than the other way around. If I were plopped down 20 years ago, I would feel incredibly frustrated by how difficult it would be to track down information and people.From James Poniewozik of Time Magazine:

As it turns out, back in 1976, people would practice tennis on courts that happened to have landline phones perched next to the net. Indeed, maybe the most striking thing about comparing this old segment to modern action shows is how much mobile technology has changed the contemporary drama. In the new Charlie's Angels—as on any thriller/espionage show now—characters are constantly getting cellphone calls, checking tablets computers, generally relying on a constant access to information that, from the standpoint of the 1970s, is something close to psychic ability.

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