TBH, I've been a fan of BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL since the 90s, partly because the characters have no friends and just keep marrying each other!! But at least the show has some cultural diversity, though no religous, gender, disability and rarely socio-economic, unless someone is being saved.
Just dropping into these very thoughtful comments to say Ridge and Brooke 4 Eva 😉 Seriously though Sara, I agree, the way you framed humour as a part of these narratives in a way that desensitises us to abhorrent behaviour gave me pause.
Thanks Anita! Love hearing your thoughts. I did reflect on this piece and thought maybe I was being a bit too serious in this one but partly it’s because I love these stories and yet the super wealthy are making me so SO angry with their outrageous behaviour and I don’t want these enjoyable shows to dull that! I grew up on Dynasty (I LOVED Krystle Carrington) and will no doubt continue watching these shows - and yet I wanted to put the question out there because I sometimes wonder whether they encourage me to think of the wealthy as kind of silly and ultimately endearing rather than culpable.
Oh I totally understand and your line 'Watching shows and reading novels along these themes can serve to dull the bitter taste of inequality, because they all tend to be laced with humour...' hits the nail on the head.
I actually don't want reality shows because they annoy me on so many levels. But that's another thread.
I think you raise very important issues here. Thank you.
What gets me with some of these reality shows is how loud and rude some of these' members of polite society' are in public. I know things are edited to make good television, but it still had to happen to be edited. If they have businesses how can they ever be taken seriously.
TBH, I've been a fan of BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL since the 90s, partly because the characters have no friends and just keep marrying each other!! But at least the show has some cultural diversity, though no religous, gender, disability and rarely socio-economic, unless someone is being saved.
Just dropping into these very thoughtful comments to say Ridge and Brooke 4 Eva 😉 Seriously though Sara, I agree, the way you framed humour as a part of these narratives in a way that desensitises us to abhorrent behaviour gave me pause.
#brookeandridgeforever
I think I may be #TeamTaylor hahaha!
I mean…I still can dig Taylor and Ridge. Soaps are a masterclass in serial writing. I don’t know how they do it!
Thanks Anita! Love hearing your thoughts. I did reflect on this piece and thought maybe I was being a bit too serious in this one but partly it’s because I love these stories and yet the super wealthy are making me so SO angry with their outrageous behaviour and I don’t want these enjoyable shows to dull that! I grew up on Dynasty (I LOVED Krystle Carrington) and will no doubt continue watching these shows - and yet I wanted to put the question out there because I sometimes wonder whether they encourage me to think of the wealthy as kind of silly and ultimately endearing rather than culpable.
Oh I totally understand and your line 'Watching shows and reading novels along these themes can serve to dull the bitter taste of inequality, because they all tend to be laced with humour...' hits the nail on the head.
I actually don't want reality shows because they annoy me on so many levels. But that's another thread.
I think you raise very important issues here. Thank you.
What gets me with some of these reality shows is how loud and rude some of these' members of polite society' are in public. I know things are edited to make good television, but it still had to happen to be edited. If they have businesses how can they ever be taken seriously.