Behind the Scenes: Why are Television Shows Becoming So Cinematically Desirable?

By Hillary Miller 

The recognition of film from the turn of the century brought ideas and narratives to life. Now, watching moving pictures or “talkies” (as they were once formerly introduced as) continues to fulfill this sensation of escapism we crave. While the film industry generated the bulk of entertainment through the mid 1900s, the introduction of television in the early 50’s proved film had stark competition. From this, a new culture was shaping Americans’ homes. Audiences were enticed with this new invention. Surrounding their television screens and benefiting from the wide access and convenience TV offered its consumers. Yet, where does TV lie in relation with film? By mapping out a trajectory of popular TV shows within the last few years and ending with one of the most recent examples, Bates Motel (2012), I propose a critical discussion of films’ influence on TV. Ultimately, hoping to expose the bigger picture and answer the question: What is the constant motivation for TV shows adding more cinematic flare?

The similarities between TV and film are not just based on stylistic elements alone, but the fact that TV is starting to imitate films’ ideas in general. The popular tropes and plot developments consistent of Hollywood films are now surfacing within TV sitcoms. This type of media reproduction started way before 2006, (with such shows as Lost and ‘24’). However, this date was inspired by the New York Times article titled, “TV is Getting to Look More Like the Movies,” where the author Stuart Elliot discovered the trend; explaining that Friday Night Lights (2006-) and Day Break (2006-) were two new shows (during the Fall of 2006) scheduled to premier in which both were “seeking to emulate theatrical films, with higher production costs, more complex plot lines and larger casts filled with more complicated characters.” ^[1] Also noting that Friday Night Lights was first inspired by the film (with the same name) and that Day Break was directly influenced from Ground Hog’s Day storyline (starring Bill Murray from 1993). But the proposed reason for sitcoms turning to more cinematic tendencies then was based off of gaining newer (younger) demographics’ attention. The author attested further that TV shows were more interested “to woo fickle viewers, especially those of 18-34, by serving up episodes of TV shows that do not look or seem like TV shows.” ^[1] Since TV producers saw the success of Lost and ‘24’ and rationalized making sitcoms more cinematically appealing would equate to more success for the TV production companies. And now more recent TV networks have spotted the trend and are heading into that direction.

And that trend has continued with one of the most recent TV shows, Bates Motel (2012), a “contemporary prequel” to Alfred Hitchcock’s film, Pyscho (1960). The show is an American drama series that follows the life of Norman Bates and his mother Norma, set before the events in Hitchcock’s story. (If you haven’t seen Psycho, you need to! But not mandatory to understand the show.) In the first few episodes, the audience learns about the death of Norma’s husband, which is what motivates Norma and Norman to move to Oregon, purchase a motel, and start a new life together. With only one season in, its overall success has already been accepted for season two. Additionally, critics have accepted this sitcom as positive overall on the Rotten Tomatoes website stating, “Bates Motel utilizes mind manipulation and suspenseful fear tactics, on top of consistently sharp character work and wonderfully uncomfortable familial relationships.” ^[3] Thus, this type of sitcom sets up cinematic qualities that promotes complex characters and epic ventures through Norma and Norman’s hectic life of cat and mouse chase. Therefore, it isn’t hard to realize that a contemporary twist on a cult classic would attract new and old audiences to generate the shows’ first season’s positive review.

Yet, a different and somewhat abstract reason could be applied for overall TV’s motivation, but more specifically for Bates Motel, to try to reach the height of cinema. In the article entitled Critical and Textual Hypermasculinity, Lynn Joyrich describes some famous theorist ideas’ (including Mclauhn, Fiske, Heartly, etc.) that television is a medium coded as inherently “feminine,” while in comparison, film and print media are coded as “masculine.” As Joyrich explains, “In other words for Baudrillard, postmodernism and--television in particular—seems to disallow the security and mastery of the masculine position, and as this stable site disappears we are left in a diffuse, irrational space –a space traditionally coded as feminine.” ^[2] Essentially, this critique could be conceptualizing the fact that cinema is experienced through a voyeuristic view of bodies (masculine approach), while television relies more on experiencing reactions and the fulfillment of those feelings (feminine approach). Thus, this critique of TV as the “feminine” may be the motivating shift for TV to become more masculine in an attempt to oppose its existing vulnerable and fragile image. As Joyrich further clarifies the cycle, “A common strategy of television is thus to construct a violent hypermasculinity – an excess of maleness that acts as a shield.” ^[2]

From this viewpoint, Bates Motel lends itself to this construction. With the first few episodes, the audience learns of Norma’s tragedy with her landlord. The landlord had forced Norma down and tried raping her; where she then took matters into her own hands, stabbing him over twenty times (Visually: Norma penetrating her attacker). This violent act resonates a certain masculine adrenaline throughout the show. Additionally, since it is a prequel, new characters are welcomed into the story without disrupting what Hitchcock had in place with the original. And the addition of Norman having a half brother, alongside Norma gaining a new boyfriend introduced a heightened masculine ensemble. Further confusing the Oedipus complex between Norma and Norman. However, besides the few girls at school Norman meets occasionally, Norma is the only significant female on the show. She is not as sexualized as other famous female leads (any female character from Desperate Housewives). And, she is almost always as aggressive as her male counterparts. Along with the fact that every episode is impacted by some violent act, (i.e. the stabbing of the landlord, the flashback of Norma’s husband murder, Norma’s boyfriend being involved in sex slave activities with teenage girls, Norma’s boyfriend beating her for finding out, the boyfriend’s murder sequence, etc.) it isn’t too far cry to say that Bates Motel is becoming more cinematic, which could mean more heavily “masculine,” be it intentional or unintentional from the producers. However, it may be to oppose the TV’s place as a whole. Or, to oppose Norma’s character against the redundant female depictions that have been in place before her. (Sensing post-feminist measures? But is it really?)

Overall, it is fundamentally important to understand TV and cinema’s role within society and their relationship to each other. As one author has explained in his own terms of TV trumping the art of cinema, he states, “…TV series come without the snobby aura that general audiences associate with art cinema. They [TV industry] in fact collapse boundaries between…knowledge and ignorance that have historically parted “high” from “low” cinema.” ^[4] Also, the success of TV shows attributing more cinematic flare (it will catch on) is the essence of television remaining a convenient and moderately cheap access to entertainment that also “provides different products for different niches [audiences].” ^[4] Realistically, younger demographics are dictating viewership ratings and currently the most entertaining trends in successful TV shows are ones with cinematic influences. With these conclusions and ending with the thoughts of some theorists, the future of the “feminine” television is headed to a more “masculine” dystopia.

References: 

[1] Elliot, Stuart. (2006). “TV is Getting More Like the Movies.” The New York Times. May 17, 2006. 

[2] Joyrich, Lynn. “Chapter 8: Critical and Textual Hypermasculinity.” Mellencamp, Patricia. (1990). Logics of Television: Essays of Cultural Criticism. Bloomington: Indiana UP.

[3] "Bates Motel: Season 1 (2013-2013)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 22, 2013.

[4] Celluloid Liberation Front. (2013). “Telephilia: Has Television Become a More Relevant American Medium Than Art Film?” Indiewire.com. May 17, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2013.