Tharina- Cult TV

What role does Hills (2004) suggest the fans play in the construction of cult TV? How is new media central to this?

*apologies… this is a long one!

The demand in any production is the key to its success. Hills (2004) suggests that fans are the ultimate crux that make or break any programme. He classifies them “broadly to different levels in a three-part model of text/ inter-text/audiences.” Basically, to save you from all the academia talk, what this all means is the following:

Text: Hills (2004) suggests that what makes a show a cult-hit depends on the text itself… kinda self explanatory really.  He also suggests that “Cult TV is best thought of as group of texts often hailing from genres of science fiction, fantasy, and horror”. Apparently producers might make a “self-conscious” decision to influence a show in a particular way so as to make it more appealing to the audience because what is the aim at the end of the day? That’s right kids! $$$$

So what can we take from this? Basically it’s hit and miss and we need to factor in the next couple of points to come to some sort of conclusive outcome.

Inter-text: “…Cult TV is not predominantly a matter of programmes themselves or audiences; rather it is constructed through inter-textuality, that is, through secondary texts that activate  the meanings and associations of ‘cult’ for audiences by attaching this label to certain programmes.” (Hills, 2004) Ok, in case no- one understood that:

 In this case ‘inter-text’ refers to any kind of criticism and publicity relating to the work i.e. reviews and  magazines, I would even go as far as to say fan-fictions, blogs and forums, and let’s not forget Facebook and Twitter and any other new-age media. What I understand from this is that people will decide whether or not to watch a show based on what the thoughts and experiences of other people are- makes sense! Hence the reason for  pilots (test run to a show, generally your first episode is the pilot)  and usually, not always but usually, why your first season is shorter than your second and consecutive following seasons; it’s a test drive to see if the audience will be interested. Now days (because times have evolved beyond the stone-age) you have people creating pages on FB dedicated solely to the updates and going-on’s of a particular show of their choosing. The impact these forums have on the rest of society will dictate whether or not people have an interest in the show. How many times have we decided to go to or not go to a movie in cinemas based on the review of our peers? *DISCLAIMER* Tangent approaching. Skip to the next section if you don’t feel like reading my person experience. (So does that then mean that we watch programmes solely on the recommendations of other people and as individuals our ability to choose for ourselves are influenced by outside factors…? Case in point, the reality show Ex on the Beach- for anyone wondering yes, it is every bit as trashy as it sounds- and yes I watch it purely because my flatmates enjoy it and I find some kind of satisfaction out of being included in the jovial environment. My personal feelings and beliefs aside, I find myself being sucked into the hype because of other people’s reactions.)

Audience: it obviously depends on how the audience responds to the texts that determines whether or not it’s going to be a success. If the show has a terrible plot, crappy acting and minimal production value… that’s not necessarily going to be a flop. Case in point, Doctor Who (Sorry, not sorry to any Doctor Who fans).  But enjoying a show is not enough for it to be elevated to ‘Cult’ status. You need to be “considering what loyal, dedicated fans of cult TV do to express and indicate their fandom suggesting that cult status arises, ultimately, through an audience’s passion for a TV show.” (Hills, 2004). This suggests that the phenomenon “is created by fans rather than by media producers.” (Hills, 2004)

So, (finally!!!) in conclusion- now days we have more impact on how good (or bad) a show does because we, as the audience, have a broader platform for sharing our thoughts and feelings. Basically, the producers of a show can only do a limited amount of things before being at the mercy of the audiences through our access to media.