This is Spitfire, a new style of head-to-head debates between The Accolade’s two Opinion editors. Kayden is blue. Aashna is purple. Here are the rules:
- No profanity.
- An editor attacked by the other will be given three sentences to respond.
- The readers will decide who wins through a poll at the end of the article.
- Once a rule is broken, the debate ends.
We all have our own idea of what a so-called “perfect” day looks like. Some may indulge in alone time with a box of takeout from their favorite restaurant, while others would choose to wander the local downtown area with some friends. However, my idea of a perfect day would be lying in bed with my fuzzy Mickey Mouse blanket and a warm cup of chai, binge watching my favorite show, “Gossip Girl.”
Are you writing an essay introduction? Let’s get to arguing — you can do the exact same thing watching movies. Although TV shows give you longer screen time, movies give viewers quality content that can’t be recreated with the cheap alternative of digital cameras.
Being able to look forward to a six-season TV show after a long, hard day of schoolwork, homework and excruciating swim practice, knowing that my comfort show will be around to accompany my post-practice soreness for more than just a couple of hours is the most comforting thought. Unlike movies, multi-season shows stay with you far longer than films that last three hours maximum. Especially in a show like “Gossip Girl,” the tribulations of the characters throughout the whole series really apply to our high school life, even though we may not be living on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
But, I’m saying “quality over quantity.” Movies are shorter; despite the release of once-in-a-decade banger shows like “Breaking Bad” or “Atlanta,” TV shows consistently fall behind in quality — your “multi-season” series eventually become money machines for production studios to keep churning out seasons until the formulaic episodes get boring, like NBC’s A.P. Bio or most shows on the Disney Channel.
Kayden, I get where you are coming from, but saying that shows will “fall behind in quality” is simply subjective. How can it regress when plot twists and character developments are being thrown at you multiple times every season? Honestly, after seeing how many characters in our favorite TV shows endure similar challenges, it becomes easier to use their approaches over the course of all seasons to see how they develop as people and apply that to our own lives.
But it’s the same with cinema — grounded flicks like “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” or “Ladybird” provide commentary on common struggles. Shows and movies can have realistic and fictional settings with the difference being movies like “Interstellar“ and “Oppenheimer” are available in IMAX theaters with bigger screens, higher video quality and positional audio immersion. TV shows, on the contrary, just end episodes on a cliffhanger to force viewers to spend more time and money. Films give audiences a short glimpse into another world — without the interruption of playing the next episode. What do TV shows have over movies other than more screen time? Nothing.
Because of the violation of rule No. 1, Spitfire ends by default. Who do you agree with?
Sorry, there was an error loading this poll.
