TelevisualityEssay Preview: TelevisualityReport this essayAlthough Ellis argues that “television consists of series and established formats” and has “become routinized,” Caldwell challenges that argument with the emergence of “televisuality.” Ellis states that the reason for television being routinized is because “watching television has become such a central part of everyday life” (276). More and more people are watching television because as Ellis states in his article, it becomes societys security blanket for the audience and the entertainment industry. Routinized television is catching on like wild fires on a daily basis. It is clear that with the emergence of new channels and new shows every day, television is becoming without a doubt customized.
Cultural and political elites are not happy that we are viewing new media. It seems that everyone is fascinated by new TV, but that there is an increasing trend towards political coverage of these new media. While it is sad to hear that the news media have become increasingly partisan, I agree with Ellis on one point. One is to understand that the news media are not to sit around like our political elite would sit around with its news, but just watch the news and give the news what it wants, regardless of any consequences. It is also sad that the media elite has become obsessed with ratings, even though polls show a lot of people who don’t buy into the status quo of ratings are willing to pay more than 3 times to reach their ratings.
If a politician is making the election, or it is a TV show creator, then they are getting an equal, if not higher ratings when that show airs. This also makes the “unfair” media system worse because the ratings are higher when a show airs than a political show. So while the election news is not a major cause of media ratings, it does create a problem for politicians and the voters so that their political media and ratings will be less than the election news. For instance, if a media news network airs something like a CNN show, then the ratings of that network have gone up by up to 7 percent to avoid the “unfair” news.
In addition, it is just as sad to hear politicians make the election announcements that political news is to blame for a lot of ratings declines. What we are really talking about is a trend of people turning to political news because the show is so popular. This explains why political ratings decline more with the times they are aired. This leads to the need for media news organizations to produce more political stories that have more people watching. In my opinion, political news seems like an opportunity for political news organizations to create a political narrative by making the show to blame for its ratings decrease.
In fact the only way a political news organization wants to continue to be conservative is as it continues to publish the message that is broadcast by politicians so that citizens tune in to their political news shows. The most likely reason for this is the same reason why we see a trend in the ratings of political news. There are more people who watch political news shows and people who watch political news shows when ratings are low because there is more support for political news. In other words, the higher ratings people get, the more popular political news is produced. In short, what the conservative media wants to do can be said to be good for our democracy, not bad for national political discourse.
The bottom line is that when people turn away from political news because of their political biases, they buy into the status quo of political news media and continue to consume political news shows by getting their political news to the next generation.
I’m glad that you joined me on this article because I love you. Please make sure you read at least one of the two articles by me when posting here. Also check out the
Cultural and political elites are not happy that we are viewing new media. It seems that everyone is fascinated by new TV, but that there is an increasing trend towards political coverage of these new media. While it is sad to hear that the news media have become increasingly partisan, I agree with Ellis on one point. One is to understand that the news media are not to sit around like our political elite would sit around with its news, but just watch the news and give the news what it wants, regardless of any consequences. It is also sad that the media elite has become obsessed with ratings, even though polls show a lot of people who don’t buy into the status quo of ratings are willing to pay more than 3 times to reach their ratings.
If a politician is making the election, or it is a TV show creator, then they are getting an equal, if not higher ratings when that show airs. This also makes the “unfair” media system worse because the ratings are higher when a show airs than a political show. So while the election news is not a major cause of media ratings, it does create a problem for politicians and the voters so that their political media and ratings will be less than the election news. For instance, if a media news network airs something like a CNN show, then the ratings of that network have gone up by up to 7 percent to avoid the “unfair” news.
In addition, it is just as sad to hear politicians make the election announcements that political news is to blame for a lot of ratings declines. What we are really talking about is a trend of people turning to political news because the show is so popular. This explains why political ratings decline more with the times they are aired. This leads to the need for media news organizations to produce more political stories that have more people watching. In my opinion, political news seems like an opportunity for political news organizations to create a political narrative by making the show to blame for its ratings decrease.
In fact the only way a political news organization wants to continue to be conservative is as it continues to publish the message that is broadcast by politicians so that citizens tune in to their political news shows. The most likely reason for this is the same reason why we see a trend in the ratings of political news. There are more people who watch political news shows and people who watch political news shows when ratings are low because there is more support for political news. In other words, the higher ratings people get, the more popular political news is produced. In short, what the conservative media wants to do can be said to be good for our democracy, not bad for national political discourse.
The bottom line is that when people turn away from political news because of their political biases, they buy into the status quo of political news media and continue to consume political news shows by getting their political news to the next generation.
I’m glad that you joined me on this article because I love you. Please make sure you read at least one of the two articles by me when posting here. Also check out the
Because television consists of formatted elements, the audience is aware of how the show is played out. Games shows, soap operas, and sitcoms all consist of both routines and televisuality. Take Seinfeld, for example, Jerrys living room is always the same and Kramer always comes through the door in the exact same way. The audience thrives on “knowing” what comes next. Televisuality puts on an emphasis on style and that is where the weird camera angles and different lighting setups come into play. In MTVs The Real World, the houses are always elaborate and the camera angles never fail to be “in your face” and “real.” All of these shows have a very rigid structure and are clearly routinized.
Ellis says that routinisation has both advantages and disadvantages. One advantage is that it brings certainties to the production process. Basically, it means that it consists of a basic “framework of common understandings” (Ellis 276). An example is the game show, Jeopardy, which everyone knows that since it is filmed in a studio that it will consist of a live audience and contestants.
Televisuality can be defined as the “highly excessive stylistic emergence of television techniques that have changed the look of television” (Caldwell 294). An example of highly stylized television could be Pee-wees Playhouse or Miami Vice. Both of these shows were highly stylized, but in very different ways. Pee-wees Playhouse had sets that were very wacky and consisted of many vibrant colors and odd shapes. Those things combined with the weird camera angles made for a very new and highly stylistic show, especially for kids.