A51
Collective Memory
Excerpt from radio transcription.

The Rise of Liv Entertainment: An analysis of the societal shift from pre-recorded content to Līv feeds.

[…] Because psychology and film were born at the same time, the two have been inextricably married ever since. Filmmakers write stories that allow readers to psychoanalyze their characters — to ‘play doctor,’ if you will. The goal of filmmaking from the start was to place believable characters in exaggerated situations. At first, successful filmmakers relied on the characters’ situations to sell their work, while paying little attention to the believability of their characters. […] Over time, though, audiences grew tired of the exaggerations, so the market shifted toward believable characters in relatable situations. During this shift, filmmakers were lauded for making "complex" characters, which meant a more fully rounded psychology for readers to examine. As this trend continued, the greatest of them made their characters more psychologically complete, and therefore more of a challenge to "doctor."

At this same time, marketability for “reality television” was on a downward spiral. Public Opinions frequently complained that the shows felt too “scripted,” citing moments from the show that proved its artifice. Both of these attitudes — the psychoanalytics of film audiences and a desire for non-scripted dramas — were born from the strong urge to experience another person’s actual experience. […]

Public Figures who constantly streamed their lives soon became the most-watched content on the Record. These were predominantly “normal” citizens, generally better-than-average-looking in relative attractiveness, who recorded and narrated their daily activities for viewers to watch. […]

Once they became popular, Frē created a platform called Līv Frē, where any interesting-enough Public Figure could find fame and earn a living by just recording their day-to-days. […] Līv Frē content was treated as any other content on the platform, meaning that viewers could watch with frē (§) money they’d earned from watching Frē advertisements. […] As the viewer-base grew, so did the creators, and market inflation lowered content creators’ potential returns. […]

Maleesha Neabown