TV puts behind-the-scenes on camera
Why do people we’ve never met dominate our thoughts and conversations?
RON
DE BOER
Special to CW
Have you noticed how television is focusing the camera on itself? TV is moving away from compelling storylines about the human condition and valuable information about the world in favour of shows that tell us how television works. More and more TV is about the world behind the cameras, deconstructing the very medium where we go to be entertained or informed.
In the old days, television producers worked hard to hide the way programming was done. For instance, a camera- or crew-person would never be spoken to on the air; even the audience would not be shown for fear of revealing cables, floor directors and cameras. However, as the second and third generations of television-watchers come of age, the long-protected illusion of television has become the subject.
These days it’s common for David Letterman to make fun of the way something is written on a cue card; situation comedy characters refer to other television shows; or shows such as the Simpsons routinely make fun of issues like cartoon violence or celebrity disillusionment.
Self-obsessed
Lately television’s obsession with itself has become even more overt. Recent offerings include behind-the-scenes at Monday Night Football and the World Wrestling Federation, and we’re soon to be treated to a behind-the-scenes look at Who Wants to be a Millionaire.
On CNN last month guest-host Kathie Lee Gifford spent the hour interviewing fellow interviewers Diane Sawyer from 20/20 and Joan Rivers from the entertainment program E! The three shared stories of their best interviews, swapped ethical conundrums about what they should ask political figures, and served up strategies to score celebrity interviews when said celebrity isn’t selling a new movie or CD.
Entertainment programs such as Entertainment Tonight, Inside Edition and E! make it their business to keep viewers up-do-date on the contract negotiations, public appearances and weight gain of TV stars. But do we really need such GossipTV? Do we really need to know anything about these actors other than the parts they play in stories we watch to entertain or educate ourselves?
I watch ER for its drama and ethical conundrums; I’m entertained and learn how to solve problems. Do I need to know how much money Noah Wiley (Dr. Carter) earns as an actor per episode or who accompanied him to the Emmy Awards? Indeed, do I need to know his real name?
Then there are blooper shows. For some reason we love to break down the illusion of television and look into the cracks that appear in our favourite characters as they mess up their lines. We want to see the actor behind the character.
On a deeper level, exposé shows like Biography and some of the newsmagazine shows like 60 Minutes or 20/20 present stories about the goings-on during runs of hit shows like All in the Family or Hogan’s Heroes. Now we know Bob Crane, the POW star of Hogan’s Heroes, led a dark life outside the set of the hit show which eventually led to his murder.
And we now know Robert Reed–Mr. Brady from The Brady Bunch–was miserable to work with even though he is one of America’s best loved TV fathers (thanks to a recent TV movie, Growing Up Brady). So, now we have a movie whose actors portray the actors of a 70s situation comedy both in front of the camera and behind during the Brady Bunch years.
What’s next?
What’s next? A movie about the behind-the-scenes workings of a movie about a hit TV show? The potential is infinite. And as long as television keeps the camera on itself, the medium will never run out of material.
The problem with television covering television is that behind-the-scenes has become as constructed as what we think of as “real” TV. The programs showing us the goings-on behind the camera are slickly packaged and carefully edited. When everyone associated with a program is aware a behind-the-scenes exposé is being done, how much closer to the truth are we about anything?
The bigger question is why are we, the audience, so fascinated by every aspect of the “making” of television? Why do we take more interest in the lives of TV characters (and their real identities) than in the lives of members of our own extended families? Why do people we’ve never met and will never meet dominate our thoughts and conversations?
Perhaps all of us need to take stock of how we worship television and television personalities.
Ron De Boer is author of The Nothings and the Lightbringer series of novels for children. Contact him by email at: deboerr@hotmail.com