I have always love Futurama. Never have I seen a show with so much awesome wit, both obvious and subliminal. Sometimes it even seems like they know who I am and my political views while watching the show. And based on what I learned from Thank You For Arguing chapter 20, I am sure now that they do know who is watching.
I realized this while watching an episode in which Fry, the protagonist, attempts to decide which party to vote for. The candidates being two clones who state the same things in regard to every issue, changing their wordings only slightly. I find this to be pretty funny as it, in my opinion, reflects how democrats and republicans are in many situations in today’s politics. I also fondly remember an episode in which a monkey, who has just been given basic human intelligence, declares he suddenly feels like joining Fox News. This makes me laugh as I realize that Fox is a pretty extreme right news station.
But wait, wouldn’t making these kind of jokes alienate extreme conservatives? Well to be honest, yes it would. But for Futurama, it is worth the trade off. This is because while it is alienating this group, it is making the vast majority of its viewers happy. The creators of Futurama realize that their type of sarcastic humor is more likely to appeal to a young, diverse crowd. And to a larger extent, a more moderate to liberal crowd.
The writers for the program here are using a great example of code grooming. They are able to realize that their show appeals to a certain crowd more than others. By constantly making a fool out of prominent political figures such as Richard Nixon, they are accepting that they have a chance of losing the whole 3 viewers of the show who think Nixon was the best ever president of the US while simultaneously encouraging those who think otherwise to watch more.
No comments:
Post a Comment