The first television show to incorporate a laugh track was The Hank McCune Show in 1950. TV Producers decided to bring in a laugh track because TV audiences at home felt reluctant to laugh because nobody else was laughing with them (sure laughing alone is a sign of insanity), so out came the canned laughter where if you were at home alone watching a TV show, it was now okay to laugh because some mysterious audience was also doing it. This was a key tool for the TV world because the laugh track became more important than the joke or comedy on the screen. Like Pavlov's dog, audiences at home agreed with the TV that whatever they were seeing was funny because they weren't alone. Studio audiences came along a little later to make things a little more "believable" with their giant red flashing signs that almost beg the nearly incoherent audience to applaud or laugh. But as audiences got smarter and ignored the big red flashing signs, a new trick was brought about by the TV powers, this was a process known as "Sweetening" which, basically is a laugh track or applause track when the studio audience does not react favorably. Essentially it is a laugh track for the studio audience... If you have the misfortune of being in the studio audience of a TV show and the jokes they bring forth are not funny and nobody laughs the people in the control room will pump a laugh track through studio speakers, so at least when people at home watch it they will maybe agree its funny, or more importantly the people paying for this show will undoubtedly believe their money has been put to good use because, apparently people are laughing at a funny part.
Reality TV is the one step further in the evolution of audience manipulation. The laugh track simply informed the audience as to what was funny--reality TV, disturbingly influences audiences to into gossip. Some genius somewhere analyzed North American culture and realized that most people are not content with minding their own business and are far more satisfied with minding other people's business and watching some body's downfall for their own entertainment... ladies and gentleman we are back to the days of public hangings. People are far too bored with their own lives that they seek out reality television in order to watch other people live a dream, or more interestingly get their dreams smashed and destroyed. Audiences can now take refuge in their bad days at the office, because they got off easier than that poor kid who can't sing on American Idol--who wouldn't rather be with an uncaring boss over the scowls of Simon yelling at you and telling you that you are pathetic and your dream will never come true. Surely watching someones heartbreak is much easier than dealing with your own inabilities in life... after all I may be a loser, but I am certainly not as big a loser as that guy that nobody likes on the island in Survivor, boy, I'd be in serious trouble if I were him...
A lot of people will probably go on to say that I am bitter and that reality TV is nothing more than escapism. My answer, is yes and no. Yes, television is sense of escape for your daily routine and in meant to entertain you. But when does it become poor taste? Is American Idol really in good taste? Does manufacturing a celebrity really sound like good idea. How would you, as an individual feel if you were told on live TV, with millions watching, that the company you work for did not reach its goal and there is no annual bonus this year and you cannot put the down payment on the Lexus you've been dreaming about. It would suck wouldn't it? Well think of how these subjects feel on reality TV. Yes, they maybe foolish or just naive for participating on these shows... some just want to be famous and oh what a price they pay!
I target American Idol because it is by far the most popular of all television whore festivals. People gather around and vote for the newest manufactured celebrity, who's album and t-shirts they will run to buy 3 weeks after the show is done... how special the audience is.
How very special.
Reality TV is the one step further in the evolution of audience manipulation. The laugh track simply informed the audience as to what was funny--reality TV, disturbingly influences audiences to into gossip. Some genius somewhere analyzed North American culture and realized that most people are not content with minding their own business and are far more satisfied with minding other people's business and watching some body's downfall for their own entertainment... ladies and gentleman we are back to the days of public hangings. People are far too bored with their own lives that they seek out reality television in order to watch other people live a dream, or more interestingly get their dreams smashed and destroyed. Audiences can now take refuge in their bad days at the office, because they got off easier than that poor kid who can't sing on American Idol--who wouldn't rather be with an uncaring boss over the scowls of Simon yelling at you and telling you that you are pathetic and your dream will never come true. Surely watching someones heartbreak is much easier than dealing with your own inabilities in life... after all I may be a loser, but I am certainly not as big a loser as that guy that nobody likes on the island in Survivor, boy, I'd be in serious trouble if I were him...
A lot of people will probably go on to say that I am bitter and that reality TV is nothing more than escapism. My answer, is yes and no. Yes, television is sense of escape for your daily routine and in meant to entertain you. But when does it become poor taste? Is American Idol really in good taste? Does manufacturing a celebrity really sound like good idea. How would you, as an individual feel if you were told on live TV, with millions watching, that the company you work for did not reach its goal and there is no annual bonus this year and you cannot put the down payment on the Lexus you've been dreaming about. It would suck wouldn't it? Well think of how these subjects feel on reality TV. Yes, they maybe foolish or just naive for participating on these shows... some just want to be famous and oh what a price they pay!
I target American Idol because it is by far the most popular of all television whore festivals. People gather around and vote for the newest manufactured celebrity, who's album and t-shirts they will run to buy 3 weeks after the show is done... how special the audience is.
How very special.
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