Trend: Complexity in Entertainment

Ad Age has a very interesting POV written by Joseph Frydl, a planner at Ogilvy. His thesis, the popular entertainment of today is far more complex than that of years gone by. he compares Starsky and Hutch plots to those of 24 and says there is a thread of popular culture that demands more thought.

I have to say, I had not thought about it before like this but I completely agree. Gaming has undergone the same transition from button mashing games which could be learned instantly to deep, complex games which take ages to master. I'd argue the same thing is evident in music where popular music is much more complex and simple melodies are rarer.

Check it out, it's a good read.