Furthermore, "shiny films" have invaded documentary and news media. "Docu-gloss" uses cinematic drone shots and reflective B-roll to tell stories about poverty or climate change, creating a bizarre aesthetic dissonance. We are forced to consume tragedy through a filter of beauty, which numbs our empathy. The lifestyle being forced is one of detached spectatorship, where we watch the world burn in 4K HDR, commenting on the cinematography rather than the catastrophe. Psychologists have long studied the "social comparison theory." In a pre-digital age, you compared your home to your neighbor's. In the age of shiny films , you compare your morning coffee to a cinematic rendering lit by a professional gaffer.
Take the genre of "luxury real estate reality TV." Shows like Selling Sunset or Million Dollar Listing are ostensibly about commissions and drama. But the true content is the relentless bombardment of glossy surfaces—floor-to-ceiling windows, glass railings, lacquered kitchens. Entertainment here is the sugar; the forced lifestyle is the medicine (or poison).
The gloss is a prison. The matte is the escape. By recognizing the psychological architecture behind shiny films, we can enjoy entertainment without being enslaved by the lifestyle it forces upon us.