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What makes a good show/book/movie?

Echolight

❤️ love yourself ❤️
ZD Champion
What are some things that always make shows/books/movies great? What attracts you to new shows? Whether certain character types, or plots, or maybe certain writing or filming, what makes your favorite media good to you?
 

Sheikah_Witch

I just really like botw
Joined
Apr 8, 2019
Location
Sweden
Uniqueness.

Uniqueness and attention to detail, I think.

It has to me be something like Undertale, who has skeletons in blue hoodies and a lesbian fish lady who kills trespassers with an infinite array of spears.

Zelda is not perhaps the most unique thing on the planet (being more or less 'anime LotR') but it has it's own deep lore, and surreal elements and special scenarios that still makes it distinct.

Star Wars is another example, it's an incredibly well thought-out and detailed world that feels tangible, and has original concepts, like the Jedi.
 
Rounded and well written characters.

I'm a believer of if something is done well then it doesn't have to be new.

Taken and John Wick weren't new ideas and the plot is a checklist of events that even have chase sequences in the final act, but because they were well directed and had well written characters, the movies felt fresh and exciting. Some goes for TV shows, just do the damn things well.

For books I like attention to detail and a good degree of heartfelt depth, I need a writer to care about what they're writing. I can usually tell when writers don't care and it really puts me off their work.
 

MapelSerup

not actually Canadian
Joined
Feb 19, 2020
Is the world and are the characters well written and believable? Is it easy for me to suspend my disbelief? Does it balance tropes and new ideas well? Usually these are keys to a great story for me.
 

Shroom

The Artist Formally Known as Deku Shroom™
Joined
Jan 21, 2011
Gender
Fun Guy
I agree with the other posts about having good characters and interesting worlds.

I don't even have to like the character as person, sometimes I find having unreliable or morally imperfect characters to follow even more interesting. Can I understand where these character's are coming from and why they have their motivations? Did the world that these characters are in shape their viewpoints? Those questions interest me and get me engrossed.

I also really like ambiguity and the ability for stories to leave gray areas that leaves things up to interpretation. I get tired when a story always tells me exactly how every little thing works out, why it does, etc., I'd rather be able to think about it my own way. Letting the viewer/reader ponder events and some undefined areas makes them feel more involved. I'm not talking about fan-fiction or anything, that's something separate that I'm not personally as invested in, but I don't need filler, and I don't need everything laid out neatly for me. It's sort of like when songs are interpreted in multiple ways; I'm sure writers have a general idea for what they're going for, but I enjoy when they sort of sit back and let other people view it in different ways, as long as it isn't harmful.
 

Ragnarokio

AVATAR NOT BY JIMMU
Joined
Jan 19, 2018
Gender
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the thing i look most for in a story is that i feel like i've grown in some way for having read it. I'd say the most common way a story does this for me is by introducing me to new perspectives. I like to see characters that think or act in ways i haven't seen before, or put into unique situations. Philosophical stories are also good.
 

TheGreatCthulhu

Composer of the Night.
Joined
Jan 22, 2016
Location
United States of America
Gender
Very much a dude.
I expect a story to have 5 things done well:

  1. Well written characters.
  2. Well established setting.
  3. Good plotting/cohesive narrative with few plot holes.
  4. Good conflict and character motivations.
  5. All of the above four things are executed using the unique nature of the medium that the story's being told through. If it's writing, the prose just makes it easier to read, if it's film, shot composition, editing, lighting, and so forth, if it's a video game, the narrative fuels the gameplay, and the gameplay makes the game fun, and if it's an anime, good animation.
At least, that's how I judge a story, and they're not all in particular order, but they're all necessary.
 

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