the algorithmic gaze
writing for audiences found by code
The day and age we live in is a simulation. Just kidding. It is actually only a whole quantum leap that makes us question everything, everyone and every place. Now that talks about Armageddon are done, let’s discuss cinema, our consumption patterns of it and its meaning for people whose choice of weapon in 2025 is a camera and some stories to tell.
In the golden age of cinemas, filmmakers relied on marquee names, critical acclaim, and word-of-mouth to shepherd audiences into theaters. Today, in the vast streaming ecosystem, audiences are not actively searching for stories; they are algorithmically being delivered to them. We call this transformative phenomenon the algorithmic gaze, a silent collaborator in the creative process that shapes which narratives surface – which voices resonate, and ultimately, which stories matter.
reconciling intution with informatics
Creative intuition once reigned supreme: writers and directors followed muse, impulse, and lived experience. Now, this intuition sits alongside layers of data: viewer retention heatmaps, skip-rate analytics, and micro-genre taxonomies in thousands. Platforms like Netflix, Amazon, and Hotstar do not merely recommend; they prioritize. They decide, depending on scale, what merits visibility.
Yet, this integration of informatics and intuition need not dilute artistry. It can enrich it. Lets say a writer is able to note that plot arcs beyond Episode 3 suffer a 40% drop in completion. Do they abandon complexity? Or do they craft Act II with a more compelling emotional pivot? Data becomes a prompt for creative problem-solving, not a prescription.
Indian narratives through an algorithmic prism
In India, the algorithm’s reach extends across linguistic and cultural fault lines. Suzhal: The Vortex (Prime Video) succeeded in rural Tamil Nadu and urban Delhi alike by balancing local specificity. Ritual drumming, family feuds, universal hooks of mystery and moral ambiguity – all the good stuff. It translated its metadata (crime, mythology, rural thriller) into curiosity-driven discovery, while its emotional cadence kept retention high.
Kohrra (Netflix) redefined the format of the procedural. Its delicate portrayal of grief and justice in a Punjabi setting resonated far beyond its region by tapping into shared anxieties: institutional trust, personal loss, and communal identity. Successive episodes were structured to honor both ritualistic pauses and narrative propulsion; pacing rhythm that matched algorithmic thresholds for completion and viewer satisfaction.
In contrast, Rocket Boys (SonyLIV) navigated the biopic genre’s algorithmic minefield by fusing national nostalgia with intimate character study. Metadata signaled “historical drama” and “inspirational true story,” but the series’ editorial choices of a non-linear structure, thematic flashbacks, and vernacular dialogue, elevated it into a discovery engine for viewers seeking both patriotism and narrative sophistication.
metadata as creative material
Titles, thumbnails, and loglines were once relegated to marketing. Now they form the narrative’s prologue. The choice between “Rural Mystery” and “Mythological Thriller” (each a valid descriptor) can meaningfully alter algorithmic positioning, affecting who sees the show and when. In this sense, metadata is not an afterthought but a creative constraint: a palette from which to paint signals that speak to both algorithms and audiences.
But vigilance is required. Over-optimization risks homogeneity. When every show is tagged as “dark thriller” or “women-centric drama,” the nuance can fade. The challenge, or perhaps the opportunity, is to embed markers of distinction: cultural rituals, architectural landscapes, musical motifs that algorithms learn to champion as unique identifiers rather than dismiss as noise.
ethical stewardship of visibility
Algorithms can amplify or erase. Stories that defy easy categorization – dialect-heavy, slow-burning, or formally experimental – may languish in obscurity unless advocates intentionally guide them into recommendation channels. This ethical imperative demands that producers think of distribution architectures as part of their creative stewardship. Curating metadata, pacing trailer drops, and designing engagement hooks become acts of narrative advocacy.
toward a hybrid authorship
The algorithmic gaze is neither adversary nor absolute arbiter. It is co-author. Writers, directors, and producers who engage with it intelligently treat it as a collaborator: a lens that clarifies audience patterns without prescribing artistic content. The resulting authorship is hybrid – part human, part machine – and invites us to reconceive creative risk as a negotiation between emotional truth and algorithmic logic.
In this new epoch, success belongs to those who ask not only, “What story do we want to tell?” but also, “How does this story want to be discovered?”
enjoyed this article? here's further reading
Alexis C. Madrigal, “How Netflix Reverse Engineered Hollywood.” The Atlantic, January 2, 2014.
Foundation Model for Personalized Recommendation, Mar 22, 2025
The Current State of the Movie Industry: Trends, Challenges, and the Future, Feb 04, 2025
Algorithms and taste-making: Exposing the Netflix Recommender System’s operational logics
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