Coya

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ikim

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Com

mon

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C-BY

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3.0

Television IIMEDIA, POWER AND

CULTURE

April

Killi

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Kroll BoP

Your shows• Stranger Things (22)• American Horror Story (16)• Grey’s Anatomy (16)• Orange is the New Black (15)• The Office (15)• The Walking Dead (12)

April

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Kroll BoP

Your shows• Game of Thrones (8)• Friends (7)• Parks & Recreation (7)• Breaking Bad (6)• Empire (6)• How I Met Your Mother (6)• Scandal (6)

April

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Kroll BoP

Your shows• The Big Bang Theory (5)• Family Guy (4)• Luke Cage (4)• Criminal Minds (3)• Daredevil (3)• Gossip Girl (3)• How to Get Away with Murder (3)• One Tree Hill (3)• Power (3)• Pretty Little Liars (3)• The Voice (3)

April

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Kroll BoP

Your shows• Arrow (2)• Dexter (2)• Doctor Who (2)• Flash (2)• Gotham (2)• House of Cars (2)• Mad Men (2)• Once Upon a Time (2)• Rick & Morty (2)• Steven Universe (2)• Law & Order SVU (2)• Vampire Diaries (2)

April

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Kroll BoP

Your shows• Arrested Development• BoJack Horseman• The Boondocks• Broad City• Catfish• Cops• Dancing with the Stars• Downton Abbey• Drugs Inc.• Eric Andre• Friday Night Lights• Full House• Gilmore Girls• Hawaii Five-O• It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia• Jane the Virgin• Keeping up with the Kardashians• Martin• Cleveland Indians• Modern Family• Mr. Robot

• Narcos• Naruto• NCIS• New Girl• Peaky Blinders• Person of Interest• Portlandia• Project Runway• Quantico• Shameless• Sherlock• Sons of Anarchy• That ‘70s Show• The Get Down• The Wire• This Is Us• Two Broke Girls• Westworld

April

Killi

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Boo!• Why do we watch scary shows such

as American Horror Story?• Why do we watch violent shows such

as Game of Thrones?• Why do we watch dark shows such

as Breaking Bad?• Is moral ambiguity a new trend?

April

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Kroll BoP

Boo!• “Adrenaline rush”• Relief (stone in the shoe)• Roller coasters• Escape from the ordinary

April

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Kroll BoP

Moral ambiguity• Increases uncertainty• Increase tension and conflict• A “happy ending” isn’t necessarily

happy for everyone• Adventurous advertisers or none at

all• End of codes

April

Killi

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Kroll BoP

Miscellany• Does the FCC regulate shows on

Netflix?• No: The FCC controls only broadcast,

not cable or internet programming.

April

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Kroll BoP

Why that show?• Do popular shows get that way

because of a bandwagon effect?• Do the type of shows that are

popular reflect societal or cultural changes?

April

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Kroll BoP

Why that show?• Old days: Least common

denominator• Today: Cult to mass (access, social

media)• Dramas: Quality, novelty, escape• Comedies: Relatability, actors, mood• Access has changed more than taste

April

Killi

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Kroll BoP

Miscellany• How do production studios get

money from Netflix?• Licensing deals for video are

generally not per-play, but a set fee for a specific contract length.

• Studios want more – access to Netflix’s deep database of user preferences.

April

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Kroll BoP

Black-ish• Why is Empire a “black” show, but

Grey’s Anatomy isn’t a “white” show?• How do white viewers react to

“black” shows such as Empire talking about police brutality, etc.?

• What about racial stereotypes in Orange is the New Black, Jane the Virgin, Empire, Scandal?

April

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Kroll BoP

Black-ish• Mean, median and mode• Reversal of societal expectations

about demographics• Rejection of stereotypical roles• African-Americans as the last in the

line• Deliberate targeting

April

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Kroll BoP

Black-ish• Self-selection of audience• Not that kind of hate-watching• The risk of false understanding• Empire: 66% African-American (U.S.

population: 13%)• Orange: Backstories backfire• Scandal: 37% African-American

April

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Kroll BoP

Black-ish• Jane the Virgin: Unexpected

complexity• Can a minority writer create a

stereotyped character?• Is it still a stereotype if it exists in

real life and is portrayed realistically?• Aren’t all TV characters stereotypes?

April

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Kroll BoP

Miscellany• How often do people repeat binge-

watch the same shows over and over?

• Great question. Be the first to find an answer and I’ll give you 25 points of extra credit.

April

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Kroll BoP

Decline and fall• Why does a show hook you on a

realistic concept, then jump the shark?

• Why did you stop watching Grey’s Anatomy?

April

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Kroll BoP

Decline and fall• Running out of ideas• Paper cut-out characters• “Situation” comedies• Reversion to the norm• Repetition• Lack of exit strategy

April

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Kroll BoP

Decline and fall• Soap opera• Unlikeable characters• Unrelatable characters• Ratcheted repetition• Characters don’t drive the plot

April

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Kroll BoP

Miscellany• Why is Friends still popular?• Likeable characters• Character-driven comedy• Familiar but developing characters• Relatable age group• More central characters than fringe ones• No kids, no Olivers, no major tension

breaks

April

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Kroll BoP

Up in the sky!• What sparked the rise of superhero

shows?• Why do concepts that seem to

involve action include character relationships?

April

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Kroll BoP

Up in the sky!• “Superman,” nostalgia and special

effects• Waves of interest (vampires,

zombies, mummies)• Copycats• Smart executives

April

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Kroll BoP

Up in the sky!• Budgetary restraints• The lessened pull of the cliffhanger• Story complexity• The comic-book stigma• Copycats

April

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Kroll BoP

Miscellany• Why can shows get away with rough

language and sex jokes when society is “politically correct”?

• The end of family viewing• A society in silos• Commercial and artistic pressure• The “F-word” comedy factor

April

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Kroll BoP

Stranger Things• It does well without much

advertising. Is this a lasting trend?

April

Killi

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Kroll BoP

Stranger Things• Free publicity• Word of mouth• In the club• Domination … for how long?