Netflix has found a subtle strategy to ensure its films aren’t ignored. Far from traditional immersive storytelling techniques, the streaming giant now designs its content to accommodate an audience that primarily watches its films in the background, while completing other tasks.
Explicit dialogues to capture attention
According to a survey conducted by the magazine n+1several screenwriters who have worked with the platform have revealed that the characters must explicitly announce their actions and intentions. This allows viewers, who treat films as simple background noise, to understand easily what’s happening without having to look closely at the screen.
This requirement has been particularly evident in recent films like Irish Wishwhere the dialogues sometimes sound more like plot summaries as natural exchanges. For example, the character played by Lindsay Lohan says:
We spent a day together. I admit it was a beautiful day filled with dramatic scenery and romantic rain, but that doesn’t give you the right to question my life choices. Tomorrow I’m marrying Paul Kennedy.
And his partner replies:
All right. This will be the last time I see you, because after this job, I’m going to Bolivia to photograph an endangered tree lizard.
What is the logic behind this approach?
This new way of conceiving films is part of a growing trend called “visualisation casual”. This is a genre where the viewer can watching a movie while doing other activitieswithout affecting the understanding of the plot.
This trend applies not only to Netflix movies, but also to light-hearted sitcoms, reality shows, and nature documentaries. Netflix thus seems to respond to a need for modern audiences who consume content while multitasking.
Quick and accessible content to consume
This new approach is qualified by n+1 from “Tide Pod Cinema”. The term refers to high-shine products that dissolve quickly in air, like a detergent tablet. In the same spirit, films created for Netflix are designed to be lightweight, easily consumable and does not require sustained attention. This represents a radical departure from traditional films which require total audience immersion.
This trend is all the more striking as it extends beyond dialogue. She affects how films are produced and approved. Sources have also revealed that some senior executives at Netflix approve projects without even reading the scripts.
This evolution is illustrated in films like Atlasa science fiction project with Jennifer Lopez.
Critics have recently described the film as “another Netflix movie designed to be watched half-heartedly while cleaning”.
In any case, this type of production clearly shows Netflix’s desire to position itself as a content platform for rapid and accessible consumption.
