A slow year for media.
Written by Jake Ryan
(The content of this article is purely subjective. If you really enjoyed something that I didn’t, I’m sorry.)
I’d like to start by saying I can’t read, so if any all-time great books came out this past year, I wouldn't know about them. I also listen to the same three songs on a loop so I’m not super well-versed in music. Thank you.
I do, however, know movies and video games (and TV, somewhat) because I am a nerd. Therefore, I am confident in saying if someone takes even a quick glance over the Wikipedia page for “2023 films” and compares it to “2024 films,” you’ll notice a bit of a discrepancy in quality. The same applies all the more so to video games.
Let’s take a quick look at the previously mentioned games and compare this year’s releases to last year’s.
2023 saw the release of some of the greatest video games of all time like the “Resident Evil 4” remake, “Alan Wake 2,” “Baldur’s Gate 3,” “Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon” and, of course, “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.”
What did 2024 see in its video game release window? Well, we had “Helldivers II” (remember that?), “Destiny 2: The Final Shape,” “Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League” (things are starting to look rough) and, who could forget, “Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile.” So that’s… something.
What about movies? Everybody loves going to the movie theater, especially a sticky one.
The big film storyline of 2023 was obviously “Barbenheimer,” and despite the jokes, both of those movies are great. There was also “The Holdovers,” “John Wick: Chapter 4,” “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” “The Boy and the Heron,” “Godzilla Minus One” and “The Iron Claw,” just to name a few. Most of those will make you weep. Purely coincidence, I assure you.
In 2024 we had “Dune: Part Two” and “Challengers” and that was about it. Until “Trap,” “Joker: Folie a Deux,” “Abigail,” “The Watchers,” “Venom: The Last Dance” and “Megalopolis” came out. Really makes you feel something in your soul, doesn’t it?
What about the small screen? Television saw the release of something probably. I lied earlier when I said I knew about TV. I watched “The Sympathizer,” which was awesome, I think? I also watched season three of “The Bear” and don’t have much to say about that (if you know, you know).
Obviously, I’m being a big meanie. Of course 2023 had its fair share of stinkers. I mean come on, “Redfall” and “The Exorcist: Believer” came out. It’s hard to recover from a session of those two back-to-back. On the other side of the media coin, 2024 had “Astro Bot” and “The Substance.” And, again, “Dune: Part Two.” Can’t forget that one.
Ultimately, who cares? There’s no way everybody can watch every movie, play every video game, read every book or listen to every song. We can look back and say subjectively that one year had better media than another. But at the end of the day, it all comes down to preference and opinion.
But let’s all hope that 2025 is better.