Ok, not so much recovering as "grew bored with it and stopped watching", but there was a time that everyone who knew me knew not to call between 8 & 9 on Thursday night. I would discuss it at length at the water-cooler, so to speak, with my coworkers. We would debate endlessly about who should be voted off, who was voted off and the behavior of the players- Thursday and Friday were pretty unproductive.
I understand the difference of opinion in ChillOne's status as hero or villian. The fun is in the speculation- spoiling is never really about "winning the game". It is more about using your powers of deductive reasoning and getting it right. Of course some people correctly guessed who was going to be voted off the island and they strutted around the office triumphantly, but they did it without inside information.
I remember in the mid-nineties when Mr. Burns was shot on the Simpsons. Who did it? It was a very big deal amongst my friends- everyone had their theories and ideas. It was the big night (I lived in AZ at the time) and we were at rehearsal waiting to go home to watch. The assistant director's cell phone rings and with that fateful call- the game was over. He hung up and loudly announced the killer. On the phone was his friend from the east coast who had just watched the episode. No one was happy or excited- in fact- I think he had to bid a hasty retreat to his car. He ruined everyone's fun! It was never about knowing before the show aired- it was about figuring it out. (By the way, none of us had guessed Maggie.)
This text is a very interesting read. Not only do I find its information useful and fascinating, it keeps bringing up all these memories from my past. I have anecdotal evidence to support much of the information. Isn't that the mark of effective media- not only telling a story, but evoking an emotional response to that story?
Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence Culture: Where old and new media collide. New York: New York University Press
I'm personally not a fan of reality tv, mostly because i get so easily sucked in and also because it's all about the editing and only vaguely related to any "reality." And the early "games" promoted socially destructive ethics.
ReplyDeleteI'd forgotten about about the Simpsons "Who shot Mr. Burns" (which was a rip-off of the 70s "Who shot JR" Dallas episode). Convoluted Culture.