Thank You For Your Streaming Service
INFINITE CONTENT
Quibi. That’s it. That’s the post. Have you heard of Quibi? When you read that word does it mean anything to you? Maybe it sounds like a small plate dish. Maybe it sounds like a place you want to backpack the mountains of someday. It is a portmanteau of quick + bites. A new service geared around being able to watch a high quantity of yet to be seen quality shows on your phone in ten minute chunks. It’s designed to get the younger generation to watch content on their phones. They’ve spent over a billion dollars on their shows and talent. On April 6th you can sign up for five bucks a month with ads, or eight if you want zero ads, and enjoy over 20+ new quick bites of content.
The point of me Quibisplaining to you is that there’s a lot of options. I personally have Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and Criterion Channel (humblebrag). Netflix feels like it’s always been there. I remember getting the DVD sets of TV shows I was too young to watch at the time but now am interested in or perusing their top one hundred movies list to make sure I saw everything important. Now they churn out new movies and shows like any other network. Most of it is fine-to-bad. Occasionally though, one show or movie shines through for a week only to be replaced by the next exploitative true crime documentary with STRANGER THAN FICTION characters. I feel like I scroll forever if I don’t pick something immediately. Just scrolling and scrolling and then finally picking something only to look at my phone. It’s like a sad and ugly version of a Sacred Mandala Tibetan Buddhist Sand Painting.
Amazon Prime Video has a bad interface to their service, but they have so much quality on it. Almost every movie you can imagine if you don’t mind paying a buck or two. They have about as much original programming as Netflix but never seem to gain the traction. I think they are still seen as the delivery website. No matter how many Fleabag’s you have as long as I can order a new Blue Diamond Non-Stick Frying Pan with two clicks that will always be they’re number one attribute.
I am becoming increasingly more fond of Hulu. It’s cheaper by itself, and if you have Spotify Premium you get Hulu with it. I recently switched all my podcast listening over to Spotify and I don’t regret it. Hulu has FX shows, my favorite network for new shows, and after searching through the catalogue I have found they have quality all over the app. The fondness might also be it’s the one I’ve had the shortest amount of time. Team Hulu for the time being.
Criterion is the one I abandon too often. It’s the vegetables and the good stuff your brain needs. I love having the option but I neglect it. I don’t deserve it. But it never leaves me. Thanks Criterion Channel.
My main issue is the lack of connection these services give us. There’s algorithms that fix everything for you and they only promote the things they want to succeed. It’s hard to truly define what you like. They are trying to recreate cable watching. They want monoculture while convincing us there’s unlimited choices. The abundance of choices makes me paralyzed. I’ll just take whatever they give unless I actively seek something out. What a privilege to have to work on not becoming a TV app zombie. We are all so lucky. I think I need to remember that. I live in a constant state of entertainment. I have to try to be bored. I think that’s my problem. When I am never bored I am also rarely satisfied. The options may be overwhelming but they aren’t forced. It’s all in my brain. My big dumb zombie brain. Feed me.