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Thursday, October 15, 2026
Skydance Merger Complete, Will Become Sentient And Kill Us All, Probably
www.wonkette.com: It’s all over: Paramount and Warner Bros. have been permitted to join forces in the worst fucking merger I have ever seen in my life, and I lived through the Clear Channel radio buyouts that destroyed traditional broadcast media!
This was an overall very optimistic article about the future of Hollywood, probably. The fact that large tech companies are starting to create monopolies of all the entertainment platforms is, to put it lightlily, probably not great. Without all the political and propaganda implications of this, as just an ordinary joe shmo the truly sad thing about this is that tech companies don't know how to create good compelling art. I like Spiderman as much as the next guy, but if the only movies that are going to get funded are Spiderman 6, No brand new homecoming, that's just boring. A giant merger like this is going to make it even more difficult for small movies with questionable prospects to get funded, it's going to make it harder for people to get discovered and go on to have illustrious careers, and it's also maybe gonna end the world too, but that's a whole other can of worms.
I have so much respect for this article as it doesn't try to hide its bias behind an immense vocabulary, it is just stark and to the point while still laying out several facts and what that means for us as a society. The truth behind many of the corporations that all exist under different names but in the end all go back to one person or family is a real threat in our current society. Personally I would describe it as a form of modern monopoly because one person has the power of the majority of the competitors in a field even though on the surface it is different companies. It was also crazy to see the blatant blackmail that was being used as a business tactic that although did not lead to anything, acted as enough of a threat to tip the scales in this merger. Overall I think it is interesting and beneficial to read heavily biased articles from both sides of the argument because it clues you into what these decisions truly make people feel and how they affect different communities.
Yeah to be honest this monopolization of entertainment especially in the film industry is becoming scarier and scarier by the day. If companies are allowed to merge like this with existing IP becoming owned by less and less companies, it will become increasingly harder for new IP new ideas to get a shot at production. not even to be produced but to even have a chance to even get a foot in the door. As someone who wants to work in entertainment this is scary. Nobody wants to produce sequels and remakes and slop for their entire career but with the way the film industry is turning it looks like that could be our future which sucks. I really respect this article for their tone for being willing to come out and say that this sucks, that this is terrible and that we should keep trying anyway.
Overall, I loved this article. Sometimes when I read the news I really think that everyone is being way too calm about things. I really appreciate that Brooke Binkowski is keeping it very real. She is also showing that it is ok to be upset and very afraid of things. Because these current events that are happening right now sure are scary. Now, speaking to the content of the article, I agree with Binkowski when she says that this merger truly is the beginning of the end, basically of the world. The fact that Donald Trump supports billionaires will now have control over much of the film and tv industry, and most importantly several news channels that have notoriously focused on the object of free speech such as CNN and CBS. CNN who just recently went through a dispute with the white house about the removal of press credentials. This danger to free speech and creativity truly makes me nervous.
I must confess that the headline brought a smile to my face before even reading it, as the voice in Wonkette is somewhat light hearted, yet takes several expressions of fear regarding the completion of yet another major media merger. But besides the jokes related to robot dominators, its clearly expressed fear (with which I fully agree), meaning that such consolidation cannot be possible without a decrease in the number of independent voices taking these creative decisions. I can say that satire is a good approach to analyzing the issue, as it forces someone to grasp the ridiculous nature of just how concentrated this power is now through these deals. The mergers are often discussed in terms of efficiency. In any case, I do admire such use of humor to discuss this issue and I am interested in finding out if this case would change something in the line of stories being greenlit in the near future.
5 comments:
This was an overall very optimistic article about the future of Hollywood, probably. The fact that large tech companies are starting to create monopolies of all the entertainment platforms is, to put it lightlily, probably not great. Without all the political and propaganda implications of this, as just an ordinary joe shmo the truly sad thing about this is that tech companies don't know how to create good compelling art. I like Spiderman as much as the next guy, but if the only movies that are going to get funded are Spiderman 6, No brand new homecoming, that's just boring. A giant merger like this is going to make it even more difficult for small movies with questionable prospects to get funded, it's going to make it harder for people to get discovered and go on to have illustrious careers, and it's also maybe gonna end the world too, but that's a whole other can of worms.
I have so much respect for this article as it doesn't try to hide its bias behind an immense vocabulary, it is just stark and to the point while still laying out several facts and what that means for us as a society. The truth behind many of the corporations that all exist under different names but in the end all go back to one person or family is a real threat in our current society. Personally I would describe it as a form of modern monopoly because one person has the power of the majority of the competitors in a field even though on the surface it is different companies. It was also crazy to see the blatant blackmail that was being used as a business tactic that although did not lead to anything, acted as enough of a threat to tip the scales in this merger. Overall I think it is interesting and beneficial to read heavily biased articles from both sides of the argument because it clues you into what these decisions truly make people feel and how they affect different communities.
Yeah to be honest this monopolization of entertainment especially in the film industry is becoming scarier and scarier by the day. If companies are allowed to merge like this with existing IP becoming owned by less and less companies, it will become increasingly harder for new IP new ideas to get a shot at production. not even to be produced but to even have a chance to even get a foot in the door. As someone who wants to work in entertainment this is scary. Nobody wants to produce sequels and remakes and slop for their entire career but with the way the film industry is turning it looks like that could be our future which sucks. I really respect this article for their tone for being willing to come out and say that this sucks, that this is terrible and that we should keep trying anyway.
Overall, I loved this article. Sometimes when I read the news I really think that everyone is being way too calm about things. I really appreciate that Brooke Binkowski is keeping it very real. She is also showing that it is ok to be upset and very afraid of things. Because these current events that are happening right now sure are scary. Now, speaking to the content of the article, I agree with Binkowski when she says that this merger truly is the beginning of the end, basically of the world. The fact that Donald Trump supports billionaires will now have control over much of the film and tv industry, and most importantly several news channels that have notoriously focused on the object of free speech such as CNN and CBS. CNN who just recently went through a dispute with the white house about the removal of press credentials. This danger to free speech and creativity truly makes me nervous.
I must confess that the headline brought a smile to my face before even reading it, as the voice in Wonkette is somewhat light hearted, yet takes several expressions of fear regarding the completion of yet another major media merger. But besides the jokes related to robot dominators, its clearly expressed fear (with which I fully agree), meaning that such consolidation cannot be possible without a decrease in the number of independent voices taking these creative decisions. I can say that satire is a good approach to analyzing the issue, as it forces someone to grasp the ridiculous nature of just how concentrated this power is now through these deals. The mergers are often discussed in terms of efficiency. In any case, I do admire such use of humor to discuss this issue and I am interested in finding out if this case would change something in the line of stories being greenlit in the near future.
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