genuinely, i think watching live theatre can improve your media literacy so much
like people who look at doctor who and are like 'lol the effects are so rubbish'
maybe watch a stage play where there's no backdrops and half the characters are played by the same three guys in different hats and maybe you will calm down
I do think the problem is that so much modern media has trained us to believe that the only way to properly judge effects is whether or not it looks real. Which is honestly a very limiting criteria. Focusing purely on whether or not it looks real ignores the fact that lots of things that happen in scifi fantasy are never going to look real because they're impossible and trying to make it look real inevitably means choosing the safest, most boring design so that people aren't put off by it.
Instead, I ask, does it look interesting? Does it convey the feeling that it wants to convey? Does it contribute to the overall aesthetic goals of the show? Does it look cute or uncanny or evocative or iconic? Can I draw it on my notebook? Does it inspire wonder?
All of these are much more interesting questions than does it look real?
