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I think it was the very violent fight montage set to Everybody (Backstreets Back) that broke me.
Maybe Im wrong, maybe it was the very violent fight montage set to DJ Shadows Rocket Fuel.
Or maybe it was none of those.
Perhaps it was the very violent fight montage set to Kisss I Was Made for Lovin You.
Your brain registers intense sweetness and intense sourness at once, and the collision of opposites feels so good.
Its televisual Icy Hot.
Like so many delightfully intense things, though, the effectiveness of the combination wanes dramatically with overexposure.
And boy has it been overexposed.
Dont even get me started on movies.)
But after seeing this done again and again, the effect is dulled.
The deep pleasure of watching an unusual combination falls off pretty quickly when the combination is no longer unusual.
A thing that was once surprising now feels natural.
The delightful cheekiness starts to feel rote.
Worse than rote it can start to feel lazy.
Not to pick onThe Umbrella Academyagain, but its a show that relies heavily on montages of all sorts.
Its the primary wayThe Umbrella Academysignals its tone.
Theres a lot of death, but lets not dwell on ittoomuch.
Beyond the problem of overuse, Ive also grown exhausted with the peppy music/violent fight scene structure.
Theyre par for the course; I get it.
These things can be artfully done, and theyve become crucial elements of how these worlds work.
Ive lost my appetite for it.
Its time to give those funky needle drops a rest.
