Zone1 Sin in Media: Vicarious or Validation?

[Robert Urbanek]

Teaser copy on the Season 5 DVD of Mad Men: “Lust is back. Adultery is back. Deception is back.”

The screenwriters know what the audience wants: To watch sin, enjoy the drama it creates, and see bad people punished. But the quality dramas of this century usually find good qualities in the people who do bad things and create a sense of realism that may persuade the viewer that the behavior they are watching is the norm. Nothing better is expected of you.

The sophisticates may claim they see the clear distinctions between TV dramas and the real world but is that true of all the audience?

 

[Moonglow]

How can something be back that never left?

 

[BreezeWood]

Teaser copy on the Season 5 DVD of Mad Men: “Lust is back. Adultery is back. Deception is back.”

The screenwriters know what the audience wants: To watch sin, enjoy the drama it creates, and see bad people punished. But the quality dramas of this century usually find good qualities in the people who do bad things and create a sense of realism that may persuade the viewer that the behavior they are watching is the norm. Nothing better is expected of you.

The sophisticates may claim they see the clear distinctions between TV dramas and the real world but is that true of all the audience?

"nothing better is expected of you" - would seem the opposite of what they are trying to accomplish -

... true grit was in fact the more accomplished personality.