The creatives of the American industry were upset (with good reason) last week because Marvel Studios (that is, Disney) had used artificial intelligence to make the cover of Secret Invasion. The decision was provocative in a context in which professionals wonder to what extent working opportunities and conditions will be affected by the arrival of these AIs capable of dialogue and offering results instantly, and especially with the scriptwriters on strike, that among their concerns is the idea that they will end up working for this technology that does not need to provide a plate on the table every day. Of course, more disconcerting than that header was putting on that same week El glamour, Netflix’s bet designed for Pride month. The credits indicated that it was written by Jordon Nardino, a screenwriter who had worked on Desperate Housewives or Smash, but the feeling was that of being before a fiction created by an AI.
It is often criticized that artificial intelligence has a property that goes against creativity itself: it does not create, it cannot have original ideas, but simply takes the work of other artists as a reference and gives them a new form. It recycles, transforms, rapes, usurps jobs, but technically it doesn’t create. And, when watching The Glamor, one visualizes the directors of Netflix standing in front of an AI and writing: “Write me the script of a series that will serve me to celebrate Pride, that is commercial and that pretends to be the moment.” This is how it ends with a makeup youtuber, Miss Benny, in the skin of Marco Mejía, an aspiring youtuber who goes to work for a former model turned cosmetics magnate after serving her in a store. She is, of course, an actress respected by adult audiences like Kim Cattrall, the eternal Samantha from Sex and the City.
The glamor has a hint of The Devil Wears Prada with Marco as Madolyn’s second personal assistant. The Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway film is even mentioned for good measure. Of course, just like The bold type did, it tries to rectify the moral defects of the main characters of that film. Her first assistant, Venetia (Jade Payton), fears that Marco could be her replacement, but instead of sabotaging her, she treats him with respect, assuming that being a mentor also says a lot about herself as a professional. And Madolyn, as much of an influential woman of arms as she is in the fashion industry, doesn’t forget that the people around her can make mistakes and have ideas that deserve to be heard.
The problem, however, is not only this comparison with The Devil Wears Prada. This would be passable if the script was not so chewed up to please all audiences and be socially aware. Marco, for example, challenges the normativity of certain homosexual circles with a femininity that he proudly explores, his constant flirtations with his identity, but fiction ensures that there are normative bodies so that, if someone has less deconstructed tastes, they can be happy to see with muscles addicted to protein shakes (and who knows what else). The moments “let’s go savor the attractiveness of the bodies” are intended for these subjects and not for Marco. This character, in fact, regrets that he is not “good” but rather “pretty” and unfortunately the camera thinks the same.
The plots, as I said, are chewed. Marco needs only one encounter with each character so that it can be understood what kind of relationship he will have with each one. Why let relationships unfold naturally when you can fast-forward entire plots with a single glance? The viewer is not even allowed to take sides with one of the romantic candidates: between the financial hunk (Graham Prakhurst) and the good-natured man who says he doesn’t go to the gym even though it’s a lie (Michael Hsu Rosen), the management warns that this last is the man of her life. The same thing happens with Madolyn: you can’t hire an actor like Ricardo Chavira (Desperate Housewives) to play only the boss’s driver.
And among the most embarrassing moments? See that in brainstorming meetings to think about how to revive the company, Marco surprises with a revolutionary idea: prepare a campaign for Pride. Later, Venetia proves her worth in the cosmetics industry with an explosive initiative: for Madolyn to make a collection of organic cosmetics. How can they revolutionize the industry so much? Madolyn even remembers her passion for cosmetics after an encounter with some drag-queens. A show can’t afford to be so hip and out of date at the same time, with nonsensical direction that flares every frame.
Death to artificial intelligence, yes, but also to scripts that seem to have been written by ChatGPT.
