Recently I read a quote about Postman Pat.
That’s right. Postman Pat.
Get to 40 and that’s how life pans out.
The quote referred to the updated version of the show, specifically how the more frenetic visuals and the inclusion of a helicopter were more suitable for “today’s generation of children”.
Then I read this from a review of Sonic The Hedgehog 4 “keep this from being a simple reconstruction of early 90s gaming”.
And something connected. Something about the assumption that each new generation needs bigger, faster or “better” forms of entertainment to keep them amused.
It seems to me there is some kind of disconnect going on here.
On the one hand we hear this sort of thing and see products moving at a completely different pace than they did when, say, I were a boy.
Then on the other hand we hear parents and grandparents saying how their kids were happiest playing with cardboard boxes.
You’ve probably heard that before.
I’ve also spent a bit of time discussing J K Rowling’s Harry Potter books. The conversation was spun around a similar theme – namely how the writer had to balance the needs of new readers with those of the initial fans. How, in other words, do you write a series over ten years and maintain your readership AND pitch it to a young audience who won’t be sticking around and growing up with you over ten years but able to access the final book as quickly as they want.
That’s an interesting target market.
I respect Rowling’s ability to do that.
We see similar process going on within video games where reviews are harsh for games on the grounds that they are “middle of the road”. Whilst there is no denying that some games (and books, and films, and music) are substandard, it does beg the question of where we draw the line.
Is it possible, for example, to create a product that is solid and enjoyable without it offering a challenge to more experienced consumers? Or do our children really have expectations above the level we once did as children?
In another review (of Megamind) the reviewer observed it would have been a much better film if the writers had included more humour for adults so that they are kept entertained as well as their kids. As though it wasn’t enough just to make a fun film for kids anymore without having the “adult” nods in there.
It’s a crazy, confusing state of affairs in which the “market” seems to have created rules separate to the needs of the actual audience. The perception seems to be that because older, more opinionated people feel that Postman Pat should be faster paced and include multiple murders* then that is the truth.
The same goes for every other form of media and none of it, as far as I can see, is backed up by any real research. At best it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy like getting someone addicted to crack and then saying they need crack to make their lives complete.
Sometimes you have to accept that it’s not your audience that is changing, it’s you. So, before deciding that your audience demands something bigger or faster, take time to ask the people who matter – them.
*This does not happen in any version of Postman Pat that I’ve seen.
