What media classes really want to discuss

Summary

This chapter focuses on the human desire to have consistency within the media. As consumers of different types of media, we create our own pattern of likes and dislikes to make future decisions. In the chapter the author uses the example of a person enjoying romantic comedies to rely on the same genre to create the same emotions. According to the chapter, we do not just do this with genres, but we also do it with “brands.” In this case, brands are not ‘Disney Pixar’ or ‘Warner Bros’ or other big companies, rather it is the directors, actors and the people who partake in the media produced. The chapter indicates that this branding is a way to code for certain genres. For example, having certain characters or actors creates a sense of familiarity that may help further the storyline of the media being produced. However, the chapter also mentions that branding and genre can always change depending on the social standing of society at the time. Today, there are still a numerous production of media with already established genres. Yet, the number of productions with combined or new genres has increased. The chapter describes how combining genres or creating new ones is a way to play with different emotions with the purpose of grasping the viewer again with something new.

Outside Example

While reading this chapter, I thought of a very-recent moment in which I realized that actors do not determine a genre or a set-storyline. To begin with, one of my favorite shows is Gossip Girl, which I’ve re-watched from beginning to end many many times on Netflix. Gossip Girl is a teen drama series about the lives of privileged teenagers on the upper east side in New York City. As a result, Netflix has created a “Because you watched Gossip Girl” section with similar TV shows which I watch because of the similar genre. In short, I have been watching teen dramas for a long time already because of my love for the genre. Despite watching other related shows, I have never stopped re-watching Gossip Girl. To my surprise, one day, I saw an ad for a show called “Single Parents” which showed Leighton Meester, one of the main characters of Gossip Girl, along with some other actors. In that moment, I became intrigued to watch this new show because I thought that Leighton Meester was going to have the same “privileged and devious” character that she had in Gossip Girl. Unfortunately for me, it was the total opposite. In “Single Parents,” Meester portrays a mom who was left by her husband before her child was born and now works as a paralegal struggling to make enough time and money for her kid. When I saw Meester playing this role, I was shocked because I could never imagine her as something other than a privileged girl who did not need to work and faced zero struggles. Although I continue to watch “Single Parents” because it’s a genuinely funny show, I expected a totally different plot especially for the character played by Leighton Meester.

Reading Connection

From watching Gossip Girl, I unconsciously developed this unrealistic “formula” that if Leighton Meester was to appear anywhere, it had to be a teen drama. This idea was created because of my constant viewing of teen dramas but more importantly, the repetition of Gossip Girl. The chapter explains it perfectly that because the image of Meester as queen bee, Bair Waldorf, my brain uses the actress as some sort of code for any future roles she may have even if they are unrelated to the original show. Looking back to my decision to watch “Single Parents,” it was obvious by the title that I was not going to experience the same emotions that I did by watching “Gossip Girl.” I always knew that the title did not match my expectations but because I saw Meester in the ad, I remained hopeful that I would see a similar performance which I did not get. After reading this chapter, I realized that actors are not necessarily what defines a show because they are just playing a part which may or may not be who they really are in real life. In the case of Meester, she is not the person she portrayed in Gossip Girl and is not the reason why Gossip Girl was labeled a teen drama. The genre of ‘teen drama’ was made because of the storyline. Yet, it was still very surprising to see Meester playing a different role than what I was used to. Surprisingly, this whole situation was also very refreshing and it got me to start watching more comedies instead of teen dramas.