Mass Comm

What do “trash TV” programs tell us about popular taste and network and cable industry standards?

Television has been flooded in recent years with “trash TV” shows about lurid crimes, emphasis on sexual deviations, and confrontations on racial, sexual and family problems. Public reaction seems to be generally positive, as evidenced by the continued growth of this television genre. A Dutch study appearing in the journal Communication Research about sensational TV stories concluded that: While quality and popularity appear to be mutually exclusive as regards quality programming, 27% from the study by Wober when asked to describe ‘quality television’ replied that it should be ‘entertaining’ and ‘enjoyable’. References to ‘informative’ and ‘educational’ only came in second with 12%. Messenger Davies (2001) arrived at a similar conclusion regarding children. In an earlier study to the conclusion that quality often functioned as a genre feature of serious programs, rather than as a standard of enjoyment, a ‘wow-experience’ that invited viewers to watch a particular program (Friday the 13TH, 2005; X-files, 2007). Respondents tended to phrase their opinions about quality in terms of genre and values, while the quality experience was often expressed as a matter of feelings, emotions and taste, or more precise, tasting (the verb instead of the noun).

Because of the tight competition in gathering audiences and revenue, network and cable industry put some spicy in their TV programs. They featured themes high in violence, and that the vast majority of the violence was glamorized and used to excite the audience. The growth of cable television, giving almost all households access to almost-anything-goes programming, together with heavy VCR use, accelerated depictions of violence and sex.

Source: (http://ripeat.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Costera_Meijer1.pdf)