Producing "better" content also requires addressing the negatives of the current media ecosystem.

The dominance of Hollywood is fading as international productions gain traction.

Ironically, the platform that promised a golden age of television—streaming—has become a primary obstacle to better entertainment content. With hundreds of thousands of titles available, the paradox of choice has led to "analysis paralysis." More critically, the data-driven model has backfired.

Streamers know that you like thrillers starring a male lead with a gravelly voice. So, they give you ten identical thrillers. They mistake correlation for causation. Just because you watched The Gray Man doesn't mean you want thirty variants of it; you watched it because you were bored on a Tuesday night.

Better popular media requires curation and restraint. Instead of releasing eight mediocre movies a year, studios should focus on four great ones. The success of Top Gun: Maverick (a simple, masterfully executed action film) and Oppenheimer (a three-hour, dialogue-heavy biopic) proves that audiences do not have short attention spans—they have low tolerance for boring content.

If you’re on the other side of the camera or keyboard, here’s how to rise above the noise.

Consider weekly drops instead of full-season dumps. This builds community, theory-crafting, and cultural watercooler moments—which are exactly what makes media feel important rather than disposable.

Popular media obsesses over “what happens next.” Better media asks “why does this matter?” Before writing a scene, ask: What is this scene really about? (e.g., not “they argue over a key,” but “they argue over trust after betrayal”).

Most popular media isn’t designed to be good—it’s designed to be sticky. Platforms optimize for watch time, not fulfillment. Cliffhangers, autoplay, and rage-bait are features, not bugs. Better content often requires effort to find because it isn’t always what keeps you clicking for eight hours.