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Unbreakable Kimmy Schmit, Jessica Jones, and Young and Hungry: Drama

What do all of these shows have a similar? Drama. Though they are not considered to be dramas, they have elements of drama throughout the first seasons. The definition of drama: In the context of television, drama has a purpose to create a dramatic tension through real life scenarios which an audience can connect and sympathize with or compare to a situation they or someone they know have been in. There are also situations that don't occur so much in real life, but creates a source of entertainment for the audience, which they may find funny or interesting. In all three shows, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Jessica Jones, and Young and Hungry, they exhibit elements of drama despite their differences in genre.

The drama elements in Kimmy Schmit that are filled in season one are:

·      Differences with her best friend from the bunker Cyndee; happy being a victim

After Kimmy realizes how many free things Cyndee has been getting due to the sympathy of others, she tricks Brandon into revealing that he is gay, but he says that he's only with Cyndee because he, too, feels sorry for her. Shortly after, Brandon proposes to Cyndee, prompting Kimmy to tell Cyndee the truth, though Cyndee says she already knows and does not care.

This is an example of realistic characters whom must deal with realistic emotional struggles: wanting to tell your best friend the truth, wanting him or her only the best, and not agreeing on a topic which leads into an argument. The reason Kimmy stayed in New York City was to get away from feeling like a victim by moving to a new place where people did not just see her as “The Mole Woman”.

·      Internal conflict about testifying

Kimmy returns to Indiana to testify against Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne. The Mole Women return to the shelter to look for evidence against Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne when the prosecutors begin to lose the case.

Again, this is an example of realistic characters that must deal with realistic emotional struggles: coming to terms with whether or not she wants justice or to move on with her life and just forget her past. The whole season up to this point, Kimmy was trying to move on with her life and forget the past while being positive about the future.

·      The battle in court

The Mole Women become trapped in the bunker when Kimmy's stepdad fails to properly guard the hatch door and begin to argue. Meanwhile, the Mole Women make up and work together to escape the bunker. The Mole Women head back to the trial and use a tape of Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne found in his bunker to win the case.

Realistic characters that must deal with realistic emotional struggles: the Reverend still uses his wit and charm despite the evidence proving he took advantage of these women and kept them captive. It is basically up to Kimmy, to testify against the Reverend and put him behind bars. Similar to people testifying in court with a similar situation, facing the perpetrator is a conflict that Kimmy must address.

The drama elements in Jessica Jones that are filled in season one are:

·      Luke slept with a married woman

Jessica goes to Luke’s bar and finds him being questioned. Jessica tries to apologize, but he’s (obviously) mad that she’s been spying on him. And why has she been spying? Well, that woman he was hooking up with? Yeah, she has a husband.

Realistic characters that deal with realistic emotional struggles are getting involved with a married man or woman.  

·      Kilgrave obsessed with Jessica

He loves her and he loves that she has defied him. When she left him for dead, she became the first person that he couldn’t control. He wants her to decide to come with him. He tells her, “we’re inevitable.” “When you are ready I will see you at home,” he says. So he’s not out for revenge. He's all about romantic obsession.

Realistic characters that must deal with realistic emotional struggles, such as having strong feelings for someone that does not feel the same way back.

·      Kilgrave used Jessica’s sister Trish to get back at Jessica Kilgrave craved her love, but she only loves one person: Trish. So he calls Trish over and starts dangling her in front of Jessica. He caresses Trish, talks about how she’ll become his “slave,” and starts to walk away with her. He tells Jessica that if she ever contacts them or they even see her, Trish will slit her own throat. He makes Trish kiss him, passionately. When Jessica still doesn’t move, Kilgrave thinks he’s got her. He approaches her, convinced that one day, she'll love him. He tells her to smile. She does, broadly. He instructs her to say she loves him. She utters the words, “I love you,” but looks straight at Trish. She then grabs his face with one hand. “Smile,” she says, and breaks his neck.

Realistic characters that deal with realistic emotional struggles are using someone to get back at someone else, manipulating a person into getting what you ultimately desire.

The drama elements in Young and Hungry that are filled in season one are:

·      Sleeping with her new boss Josh

Gabi Diamond, a young food blogger, applies for a job as a personal chef for Josh Kaminski, a successful tech entrepreneur. Josh plans on proposing to his girlfriend, Caroline, until she breaks things off before his proposal is due. Gabi comforts her boss only to end up in bed with him, ruining her chances of being secured the job. Yolanda and Elliot confront her the next morning, and she is hired for the position.

Realistic characters that must deal with realistic emotional struggles, such as making a mistake and regretting something you did such as getting involved with your boss.  

·      Gabi getting into a relationship with another employee

Josh hires Cooper, a computer hacker, to work for him. But when Cooper puts his romantic moves on Gabi, Josh's jealous feelings start to show and he tells Gabi that she can't date Cooper, claiming that he does not “condone” workplace relationship; however, they decide to date in secret anyway.

Realistic characters that must deal with realistic emotional struggles, such as an unethical work relationship knowing that is it not the right thing to do even if it feels right.

·      Internal Conflict with telling Josh the truth

Josh and Caroline's wedding is pushed further ahead than planned. Despite this, Gabi is excited to present him with his birthday gift. Caroline clearly forgets about her fiancé's birthday, and Gabi sacrifices her gift for Caroline. When Josh reacts tremendously gracious about the gift, Gabi contemplates whether she should tell Josh the truth or not.

Realistic characters that must deal with realistic emotional struggles, such as telling the truth to someone you care about even though you know the truth can hurt too.

What makes a television drama appealing and almost addictive to an audience is that they don’t let too much go at once. Typically the dramas will start with an intense beginning to grip their audience, and keep letting little bits going to keep the viewers engaged in the episode or season. An audience’s expectations of a television drama are to be entertained! We love television dramas because they play on our demons. We can all relate with having had moments of feeling vulnerable, confused and being caught in the wrong situation. Or we wonder, “Could that really happen?” Television dramas channel our emotions; we live for the roller coaster of events that make every episode exciting. “There's a need to explore the dark side of our nature, to figure out what could make us so angry that we'd break from the restraints of civilized society." Television dramas express love, and several drama television shows have an intersection of a love interest. Drama is most often about intense emotions and nothing makes emotions more intense than passion. Television dramas are an escape from reality; by simply tuning in and sinking into the couch, dramas will continue to be the audiences’ favorite because of the emotions it brings out: happy, sad, angry, passion, and jealously, while still being able to relate back to the viewer. Television drama is the new literature.

Work Cited:

Fielding, S. (2014). New Labour, 'Sleaze' and Television Drama. British Journal Of Politics & International Relations, 16(2), 326-348.

Shim, J. W., & Paul, B. (2007). Effects of Personality Types on the Use of Television Genre. Journal Of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 51(2), 287-304.

Bailey, S. (2001). 'Professional Television': Three (Super) Texts and a (Super) Genre. Velvet Light Trap: A Critical Journal Of Film & Television, (47), 45.

Zuckerman, E. (2015).  R29 Binge Club: Jessica Jones Season 1 Recaps. Retrieved May 15, 2016, from http://www.refinery29.com/2015/11/97963/jessica-jones-season-1-binge-watching-guide

Scarborough. (2013) Comedy is a Favorite of the Top TV Genres. Retrieved May 16, 2016, from http://dialog.scarborough.com/index.php/comedy-is-a-favorite-of-the-top-tv-genres/

Leotta, A. (2012) Why We Love TV Crime Dramas- And Hate Them. Retrieved May 17, 2016, from http://allisonleotta.com/2012/06/love-tv-crime-dramas-hate/

Bingham, J. (2011) TV drama is the new literature, says Salman Rushdie. Retrieved May 17, 2016, from  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/8571010/TV-drama-is-the-new-literature-says-Salman-Rushdie.html

Toeman, J. (2012) Defining The Television Experience In A Single Word. Retrieved May 17, 2016, from http://techcrunch.com/2012/04/01/defining-tv-escape/

[urcah-blog]

Battle of the Subscription Streaming Models

Can you hear that? It’s the sound of traditional TV slowly dying. When Netflix and Hulu began offering streaming services, it seemed like a noble experiment doomed to fail. But now, they’re critical elements of our media lives.

Advertisements play a tremendous role in most forms of media to date; with an additional revenue stream tied specifically to profiting off of advertisements, Hulu’s profit margin still may not measure up to Netflix’s non-advertisement subscription successes.

As we evolve to the delivery of content over the Internet, the line between traditional TV and online TV programming continues to blur. For viewers it’s a win-win situation as they increasingly watch the content they like in their own time and on their own terms. Superior access and almost unlimited supply of programming means viewers are no longer slaves to their TV sets or checking the TV Guide every few hours; not only are they watching what they want, they’re watching where they want—from the 70-inch plasma TV in their living room, to their smartphones’ 5-inch screen while waiting for the bus to get to work. The reason I used this broad definition is due to the fact that television is constantly evolving; thus the definition is constantly moving forward with the future of technology.

Subscription streaming has revolutionized the way we consume media. Netflix is the undeniable leader for now. Netflix has one primary competitor, Hulu, connected through three other companies we all know, Disney, Twenty-First Century Fox Inc., and Comcast Corp.

One of Hulu’s biggest downsides is their dependency on advertising. Even if you pay for the “less” advertisement service, shows are interrupted multiple times for un-skippable video advertisements, many of which can repeat over and over during a viewing session. These breaks can be as long as two minutes and include up to three ads. There is a slightly more expensive subscription plan that includes no advertisements. According to Hulu, the "commercial-free" experience still has a number of shows in it that need to have commercials attached. "For a small number of shows," says Hulu, "we have not obtained the rights to stream commercial free and they are not included in our No Commercials plan."

Netflix does not interrupt any content with ads; however, they have recently started playing trailers for Netflix original programming after you finish watching a movie or season of a TV show. This is relatively unobtrusive and you can skip them or exit out at will. After so many episodes watched, Netflix will pause the show you are watching and ask, “Are you still watching?” which is every binger’s biggest pet peeve.

Netflix currently has roughly 43 million U.S. subscribers compared to Hulu’s 9 million. In 2013, one nScreenMefie analyst estimates that 59% of Hulu’s approximate $1 billion in revenue are from advertisements. Earning advertisement revenue from more than 1,700 brands, some of the main advertisers include McDonald’s, Visa, Pepsi, Microsoft, Toyota, Honda, State Farm and Protector & Gamble as seen below.

Netflix revenue in 2013 was totaled at $5.5 billion all from subscribing customers, using that money to license TV shows, and producing their own shows because their research shows, people are more likely to subscribe and keep subscribing if Netflix offers exclusive content they can’t see elsewhere. By creating new content such as House of Cards and Orange is The New Black; current users talk about the program, causing non-subscribers to sign up just to watch the shows. But Netflix is not something to purchase for one thing; it is purchased for the various options and possibilities it offers.

Binge watching television shows are here to stay and Netflix, Hulu and other companies know it. That’s why they release entire seasons of original shows at once, counting on people to power through episode after episode. Could Netflix or online streaming become an addiction?

Netflix binge watching is completely addictive the night before the television show’s new season is released, staying up till midnight then watching the entire season until dawn, feels like accomplishment. It’s hard as a grown up with no one to tell us to stop, just watching one episode feels like eating only one Reesee’s cup in two-pack; telling yourself that you would stop with one, but it was so good that you just want a bit more.

At the end of the day, the championship service might really depend on the kind of content that you want to stream. Customers “love the service more than TV” according to a consumer survey conducted by ClearVoice Research.

Television is perhaps the most influential invention of the 20th century, not including the Internet. The evolution of the television is revolutionary to technology and the access of television programming only seemed like a dream at one point in time. It has been 75 years since television was invented and the hearts of consumers all over the world have been captivated since. People now are attached to their televisions including programming on computers and cell phones; and manufacturers, broadcasters and producers are constantly finding new ways to bring big entertainment to the small screen.

Work Cited

Chamberlain, D. (2010). Television Interfaces. Journal of Popular Film and Television, 84-88.

Hardenbergh, M. (2010). The Death of Television. A Review of General Semantics.170-176.

Maheshwari, S. (2015, September 2). Ad-Free Hulu is Finally Here. Retrieved May 13, 2016, from https://www.buzzfeed.com/sapna/hulu-is-finally-offering-an-ad-free-version?utm_term=.brZVE0pGZ#.jneoZ8L1X

Winkler, M. (2016, January 15). Can Hulu Complete with Netflix? By the Numbers. Retrieved May 13, 2016, from http://247wallst.com/media/2016/01/15/can-hulu-compete-with-netflix-by-the-numbers/

Hopkins, M. (2014, May 13). Welcome Jenny Wall, SVP Marketing. Retrieved May 13, 2016, from http://www.hulu.com/advertising/welcome-jenny-wall-svp-marketing/

Kennedy, S. (2015, February 24). Hulu’s Dual Revenue Model. Retrieved May 13, 2016, from https://openforum.hbs.org/challenge/understand-digital-transformation-of-business/business-model/hulu-s-dual-revenue-model

Picchi, A. (2015, April 16). Is Netflix more popular than TV? Retrieved May 13, 2016, from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/is-netflix-more-popular-than-tv/

[urcah-blog]

Network & Hoarders Analysis: The Exploitation of Television

Network, the move, tells the story of Howard Beale; the main news anchor at UBS, which competes with ABC, CBS and NBC. At the beginning, Beale, who is being fired because of low ratings announces, on-air, that in the next week he will commit suicide during his evening newscast. After his farewell, he is picked up by a new station, that does not care about his mental state and only cares about the high ratings Beale has brought-in during recent weeks when having a mental breakdown on the air.

Network displays the cold-heartedness of the television network and the exploitation of innocent, mentally ill people for personal gain in the form of higher ratings.

The show hoarders promotes the idea that arriving at a house with a cleaning crew and pressuring people to discard possessions is the way to solve the problem, but in reality ridding the house of clutter does not ruin the hoarding impulse. Past research indicates that as many as two to five percent of the population may be affected to some degree, according to the American Psychological Association.

The first four episodes of season 8, the current season on A&E, are promoting that they are “more extreme than ever.” The television show “Hoarders” is exploiting the mentally ill guests for personal network gain. American reality television has an obsession with metal illness and it has crossed the line with these people who are desperate for help that they open their “shame” to the world in the hope that they will be cured. Instead, with an ending state whether the person “failed” or was successful at overcoming their problem.

In the movie, Network, and in the reality television show Hoarders, there is a huge impactful intersection to the exploitation of people with mental illness.

Similar to Howard Beale, he is excited to start a new job without realizing the stress is a trigger for his mental breakdowns, guests on Hoarders are probably excited to get help provided to them, such as the cleaning crews, the trucks and physiologist/therapist, and a few thousand dollars of compensation. But when the show is over, extending past the television screen, the guests are not set up for success and the media has made them out to be “ the hoarder” (assumed identity) being ridiculed due to a mental illness.

Howard and the guests on the show do not realize that being on national television provides that lightening strike of stress, ten fold. American television lives on peoples’ misfortune; those breakdowns are filmed, then aired to boost ratings. For example, in Network, Howard would go off talking on a sort of tangent and just pass out after on air similar to a breakdown; this was to create almost the illusion of a spiritual reference but when time went on, Howard’s mental situation began to get worse. Without Howard Beale seeing that the reason he wanted to quit his job in the first place was because he could not take the industry anymore, sadly he reentered the vicious cycle of the network industry and exited in a body bag. 

In Hoarders, there are several clips of guests fighting with family, or with the cleaning crew, the therapist or psychologist. The guests on this show are put under enormous amounts of pressure to throw countless things away while dealing with the anxiety of their mental illness of compulsive hoarding. “On a typical episode, two people whose hoards have created some kind of crisis, such as the threat of eviction, get help from an organizer and a team of workers who help clear the mess while a psychologist works with the hoarders to deal with the emotions that inevitably arise.” Many family members state that without this help, the guests would have probably perished in the home, but the network does not provide these people with mental help for more than a few days, thus reliving the horror.

The real truth of reality television is “Television is not the truth! Television is a God-damned amusement park! Television is a circus, a carnival, a traveling troupe of acrobats, storytellers, dancers, singers, jugglers, side-show freaks, lion tamers, and football players. We're in the boredom-killing business! So if you want the truth... Go to God! Go to your gurus! Go to yourselves! Because that's the only place you're ever going to find any real truth.” stated by Howard Beale.

Television Networks need to be held responsible for the guests that make the shows what they are; NPR’s article proposes an ethical code for reality television .

“Aftercare and counseling. Shows agree to provide up to three months of post-appearance counseling for any participant who requests it.

Medical care. Shows agree to provide participants with access to qualified physicians for any medical care they require during filming and to assume the costs of any care for an injury or illness that results from participation in the show. A participant who lacks confidence in the medical care he or she is receiving has the right to seek another opinion at his or her own expense without being penalized for any absence from filming.”

This article determined a code of ethics, a soul to television, allowing viewers to choose to no longer see people being emotionally, physically, and mentally damaged as well as being exploited for the network gains.

I do not think this will happen right away, but at least there is hope for the heartless, corrupted network television that American people are obsessed with, to possibly make a change that will eventually, with codes that protect the rights of people that are on network television, make them the popular, beloved shows they are today.

[urcah-blog]

What is Television? Part II:  Battle of the Subscription Streaming Models

Can you hear that? It’s the sound of traditional TV slowly dying. When Netflix and Hulu began offering streaming services, it seemed like a noble experiment doomed to fail. But now, they’re critical elements of our media lives.

As we evolve to the delivery of content over the Internet, the line between traditional TV and online TV programming continues to blur. For viewers it’s a win-win situation as they increasingly watch the content they like in their own time and in their own terms. Superior access and almost unlimited supply of programming means viewers are no longer slaves to their TV sets or checking the TV Guide every few hours; not only are they watching what they want, they’re watching where they want—from the 70-inch plasma TV in their living room, to their smartphones’ 5-inch screen while waiting for the bus to get to work. The reason I used this broad definition is due to the fact that television is constantly evolving; thus the definition is constantly moving forward with the future of technology.

Netflix has more. Hulu gets content faster. Netflix and Hulu seem similar on the surface, but the kinds of content they specialize in, is quite different. While there is some overlap, Netflix offers significantly more TV and movies than Hulu, but Hulu has currently airing television shows, the day after they air. The service offers current programming from networks including ABC, Fox, NBC, and the CW, as well as an array of cable networks.

One quirk to Hulu’s streaming programming has, is the currently airing shows are restricted to the past five or so episodes rather than the whole season — and sometimes it’s not even in the following order.

Netflix provides a massive library of television shows and movies that have already ended, as well as previous seasons of many currently running shows from a broad variety of networks. One note about Netflix’s streaming offerings is that they can change month to month as licensing agreements expire, so a show you’re watching one day might not be available the next.

Netflix is the clear winner in the original content space, both in terms of volume and quality. When the streaming services jumped into the content space a few years back, people were pretty skeptical. It was the decision to pay for a fourth season of Arrested Development that made people realize that Netflix was taking the game seriously. They followed it up with the massively successful Orange Is the New Black, and then secured the hearts of nerds everywhere by signing a massive deal with Marvel.

Hulu’s original content is a bit less impressive. Almost everything they make is obviously done is cheap. Netflix's decision to invest in original content such as "House of Cards" is helping to secure consumer loyalty. Netflix is kicking ass on original content and has a massive library for you to binge on. Their technique is solid and ubiquitous across platforms, which are causing the rise in demand and price in monthly subscription .

Both services are available across a wide number of platforms. Obviously, the most robust is the desktop web browser, but both Hulu and Netflix have presence on mobile devices, game consoles and Smart TV/ Apple TV.

Both Netflix and Hulu work on a flat rate pricing model that lets you stream as much content as you like. Both offer their services for a base rate of $7.99 per month. Hulu offers more expensive tiers that allow you to stream in HD and on multiple devices and less or no advertisements, topping out at $11.99 a month. In regards towards Netflix’s price, there is talk about an increase that may be necessary to keep its stream of original content flowing. The company has $4.3 billion in programming costs over the next year.

One of Hulu’s biggest downsides is their dependency on advertising. Even if you pay for the less advertisement service, shows are interrupted multiple times for un-skippable video advertisements, many of which can repeat over and over during a watching session. These breaks can be as long as two minutes and include up to three ads. There is a slightly more expensive subscription plan that includes no advertisements. Netflix does not interrupt any content with ads; however, they have recently started playing trailers for Netflix original programming in the screen after you finish watching a movie or season of a TV show. This is relatively unobtrusive and you can skip them or exit out at will.

At the end of the day, the championship service might really depend on the kind of content that you want to stream. Customers "love the service more than TV" according to a consumer survey conducted by ClearVoice Research.

Television is perhaps the most influential invention of the 20th century, not including the Internet. The evolution of the television is revolutionary to technology and the access of television programming only seemed like a dream at one point in time. It has been 75 years since television was invented and the hearts of consumers all over the world have been captivated since. People now are attached to their televisions including programming on computers and cell phones; and manufacturers, broadcasters and producers are constantly finding new ways to bring big entertainment to the small screen.

Chamberlain, D. (2010). Television Interfaces. Television Interfaces, 84-88. doi:DOI: 10.1080/01956051.2010.483354

Hardenbergh, M. (2010). The Death of Television. The Death of Television, 170-176. Retrieved April 30, 2016.

[urcah-blog]

What is Television?

As we evolve to the delivery of content over the Internet, the line between traditional TV and online TV programming continues to blur. For viewers it's a win-win situation as they increasingly watch the content they like in their own time and on their own terms. Superior access and almost unlimited supply of programming means viewers are no longer slaves to their TV sets or checking the TV Guide every few hours, and not only are they watching what they want, they're watching where they want—from the 70-inch plasma TV in their living room, to their smartphones' 5-inch screen while waiting for the bus to get to work. The reason I used this broad definition is due to the fact that television is constantly evolving; thus the definition is constantly moving forward with the future of technology.

A few short years ago, no one would have dreamed TV being accessible on laptops or even cellphones, yet programmers and distributors have taken large strides to answer the demand for TV online and give viewers several different choices. Now, viewers can use a TV Everywhere service (for example XFINITY TV Go), a standalone streaming service (CBS All Access), a subscription model (Netflix or Hulu), or a digital media store (such as Google Play, for instance).

As TV over the internet continues to evolve, there's a huge opportunity for programmers, distributors, and advertisers to work together to deliver a lush TV experience for viewers—one that's better and unlike anything that's come before. Getting there, however, means overcoming the challenges associated with delivering so much content across so many screens and devices. Television does not have a common definition for everyone now; it depends on the viewers preference of how to watch it; for example, several people my age (millennials) do not have cable, so we mainly watch Netflix and other online streaming media, while older generations (such as baby boomers) watch a lot of Cable (News) with some viewing on demand.

My personal viewing habits are at home on the couch or in bed, watching Smart TV, Cable, or Netflix on 32-inch flat screen television. Depending on the week, between work, class and homework, I could watch close to 30 hours a week normally with my partner Hali and/or friends. I have recently watched, on Cable TV, Last Man on Earth, Cat Fish, Faking it, Pitch Slapped and in April I will be watching Game of Thrones. When viewing subscribed TV such as Netflix, recently I have watched Making a Murderer, Fuller House, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Orange Is The New Black, Master of None and Narcos.

Television is perhaps the most influential invention of the 20th century, not including the Internet. The evolution of the television is revolutionary to technology and the access of television programming only seemed like a dream at one point in time. It has been 75 years since television was invented and the hearts of consumers all over the world have been captivated since. People now are attached to their televisions including programming on computers and cell phones; and manufacturers, broadcasters and producers are constantly finding new ways to bring big entertainment to the small screen.