Consider: the reason cozy mysteries (notably Agatha Christies) were so popular in the US/Europe following times of chaos, violence, and death (WWI, 1918 Pandemic, WWII) is because it took the randomness of violence and death and gave it *meaning.*
Death and violence was no longer senseless, it was driven by evil-but-understandable emotions. The reason the "anyone can die pointlessly!" genre of tv/movie writing is falling so flat these days is because we are again in a time of profound chaos, isolation, and random death.
Narratives that do not provide catharsis or meaning from random deaths are being rejected because right now, we are ACUTELY aware anyone could die (whether from disease or state violence) at any moment, deprived of their loved ones, without what we consider a "good reason."
"Hero bravely soldiers on alone" is not embraced b/c again, we are in a period of profound isolation. We don't want our escape to be "look at Hero, deprived of love and affection, continuing on b/c that is what a white guy who has never truly faced adversity deems brave."
We want connection, we want love, and above all, audiences want MEANING. And no, a tacked on, last minute "idk they went to heaven or whatever" does not cut it in an increasingly secular society. We don't want to wait when we're ALREADY waiting.
It is not the fault of [pick your white cis male writer here] that we're in a global pandemic, but the enduring chaos of the Trump admin should have given them a clue that right now, "life is meaningless and death is random" is not the message that would resonate.
In short, your audience matters, and their WORLD matters. Art cannot be made in a vacuum, nor can you declare your work separate from the environment in which it was released.
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