When TV Becomes Trivial - Analysis of The 100 S5

"I'm going to write because I cannot help it," -Charlotte Bronte

As you all well know, my favorite hobby is analyzing stories. And, of course, I like to analyze the content I'm consuming. 

Is anyone surprised?

Anyway, Season 5 of my third favorite tv show - The 100 - has been airing for the past month, and I've been noticing a trend that's concerning. It has also plagued The CW's Riverdale. It could be that these two shows come from the same network, but alas. It's still a problem. 

Season Five picks back up at the very end where Season Four left off, with Clarke radioing Bellamy, and a mysterious ship appearing in the air. And from there, there's only about a one episode interlude of establishing both where Clarke is on earth and where Bellamy and the others are in space. One other episode is spent on Octavia in the bunker, but otherwise, the episodes plunge right back into the thick of the plot. 

And already, we have a problem. This season's conflict arises when a group of prisoners come down from their mother ship to fight for the last habitable spot on earth - well, North America at least. 

And my question is this: why focus on this when there are six years worth of quality material that is just skipped over? The stories within the six years are far more interesting that just watching our heroes defeat yet another villain. Imagine all of the things that happened to them over six years that changed them and shape them into who they are. Skipping all of this time and just breezing right past all of that good character material is just a disservice. 

This is, unfortunately, a pitfall that many tv shows fall into. Once Upon A Time and The Walking Dead, to name a few. And it all culminates to the fact that the writers start writing for the thrills and stop writing for the characters, which is a one-stop-shop to failure. The characters of The 100 feel disconnected from who they were, which is a tragedy. But it would be less of a tragedy if the writers spent more time developing who they had changed into. 

However, I think this is a systemic problem with television though. The writers can't see a permanent end in sight because they never know if the show is going to be renewed, and if they do, it's probably too little too late to fix all of their problems. When you can't see a permanent end in sight, meaning something that overarcs through the whole series, it all feels . . . trivial. Like nothing matters, and all of the characters seem to reset at the beginning of another season. 

The problem when tv shows drag on and on, like The 100 is gearing towards, is that it starts writing for the thrills and not writing for the characters. The writers think they need to keep the watchers hooked with big reveals and plot twists, but all they really need is solid characters with growing arcs. I'm afraid that this is what The 100 is becoming, because jumping right back into the action without giving these characters time to develop - or even breathe - makes all of the other time we spent with them in past seasons feel wasted. It all loses meaning when the writers forget to focus on the most important part of the story. 

The 100 is a good show. It has strong characters, heartbreaking arcs, and interesting and complex themes and morals. Don't let stats, viewership, or the uncertainty of renewal draw your focus away from what really keeps viewers: the characters. I'm looking at you, Jason Rothenberg. You can do better. You have done better. 

~The WordShaker

The Big, Big Month of April

"All you have to do is put one word after another, and remember how great it feels to be a writer," - Stephanie Lennox

As if I'm not busy enough, I have take on two huge writing projects.  Since the Creative Writing Club will be off my shoulders because it's poetry month, I have just a smidgen of extra time. 

And I'm going to be spending that time posting on my Instagram, @olivia.j.the.wordshaker 

#authorlifemonth is a trend that's been around for a few months now, but, for fun, I'm going to dedicate my page to this challenge for the month of April. 

Yet another project I'll be taking on is something that should be familliar to most writers - NaNoWriMo, except for in April. This is what is known as Camp NaNoWriMo, and is something that the corporation puts on two months aside from November dedicated to speed-writing a novel. 

And, since my beta-readers are hard at work at critiquing my novel, I don't have much to do at this point. So, I've had this idea of a 'sundown trilogy' floating around in my head for a while, so I thought, WHY NOT, OLIVIA. IT'S NOT LIKE YOU HAVE A LIFE. 

Heh. 

Well, I'll keep updating you all on how this, along with #authorlifemonth is going. 

~The WordShaker

Beta Readers and Life Lessons

"Writing is utter solitude, the descent into the cold abyss of oneself," -Frank Kafka

 Because I have no regrets, I have made another YouTube video - an update on the beta-reading process, which is entirely new territory for me, and as always some encouragement for ya'll.

Beta Readers and Life Lessons

Much love, 

~The WordShaker

Why I Write: Blogging with CWC

"You might not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page," -Jodi Picoult

Prerequisite: If you weren't already aware, I am the president of WCHS's Creative Writing Club, and we have been working on blogs for the month of January, and we have banded together to create a website. And last week's writing prompt was 'Why I Write', and now, these are going to be posted on the website. Check out all of their responses!

This is mine:

I write because I have to. I write because words paint my lips and run through my veins. They chip off with my fingernails and grow out of my scalp with my hair.

Words have always come ever so naturally to me, but only recently have I realized that I want to write because I have a story to tell.  Words have been poured into this vessel from the hands of the Creator, and they overflow and spill onto the counter. A message from a seed placed by God blossoms within me, and writing is the place where I find myself.

I don't write because I want to, or because I enjoy it.  I write because if I didn't write, I would go mad.  My thoughts would build up like plaque, and my experiences would clutter my mind.  Like a dam after a flood, I would spill over and lose any grasp on reality I still cling to.

I write because it's the only things that I'm truly good at. I can weave an image out of the golden threads of my tongue. There's a story inside of me that has to come out, or it will eat me alive like a parasite I invited in.

I write to tell, not to sell.

~The WordShaker