Hate-watching

Hate-watching is the activity of watching a television show or film with the intention of acquiring amusement from the mockery of its content or subject.[1] Closely related to anti-fan behaviours, viewers who partake in hate-watching derive pleasure and entertainment from a show's absurdities or failures.[2] The act of hate-watching is premised on the audience engaging with media through a satirical lens.[2]

Relationship with anti-fan culture

Contrary to typical fan behaviour where audience members consume a piece of media with the intent to acquire pleasure from its contents, the pleasure anti-fans derive from a piece of media is rooted in its perceived shortcomings.[2]

In a study conducted in 2005 on Television Without Pity, a since-defunct website that hosted discussions about television shows, Gray points out the patterns of anti-fan behaviours exhibited by its users. Unlike individuals who participate in fandom culture out of love for a particular piece of media, anti-fans engage with a piece of media out of dislike for it. The forums hosted on Television Without Pity expressed anti-fan sentiments where users would watch a television show, often critiquing and pointing out its perceived shortcomings.[3]

History

A 2012 article from The New Yorker described the short-lived Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip as a show people loved to hate-watch, as "it was bad in a truly spectacular way—you could learn something from it, about self-righteous TV speechifying and failed satire and the dangers of letting a brilliant showrunner like [Aaron] Sorkin run loose to settle all his grudges in fictional form".[4]

Entertainment Weekly and other publications noted the difference between hate-watching and watching as a guilty pleasure.[5] "You wouldn't tune in every week to hate-watch a really bad reality show — that's a guilty pleasure. Generally speaking, hate-watching requires a TV series with high ambitions and features a certain amount of aesthetic perfection".[6]

In a Los Angeles Times article describing the complexity of effects of U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump's appearance on Saturday Night Live as host, writer Mary McNamara references the hate-watching phenomenon as a reason that ratings alone are not an indication of support.[7] An article from The New York Times also pointed out the successful ratings for Trump's presidency.[8]

On a February 2020 article, Spanish television reviewer Borja Terán described the concept of hate-watching as "audience enjoying watching shows to be able to criticize them", citing it as part of the reason behind the success of Telecinco and its reality show-based lineup (specifically mentioning Supervivientes, the nineteenth season of which had premiered the night prior to the post): "the viewer feels superior to the guinea pigs taking part in the televised competition. They feel better with themselves and evade from personal problems by spending energy torpedoing a mere entertainment they follow through a screen."[9]

As the term gained popularity many anti-fans have begged others to not hate-watch, as they believe doing so will have the unintended effect of making the media they dislike seem more popular than if they had not hate-watched.[10] Velma is one such example of this phenomenon, where hate-watching is supposedly the lead cause of the show being renewed for a second season.[11]

Examples of hate-watching shows

Examples of hate-watching films

See also

References
  1. 'Hate Watching' Is Mostly Just Being Embarrassed by Your Own Tastes|Jezebel
  2. "APA PsycNet". psycnet.apa.org. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  3. Gray, Jonathan (March 2005). "Antifandom and the Moral Text". American Behavioral Scientist. 48 (7): 840–858. doi:10.1177/0002764204273171. ISSN 0002-7642. S2CID 144416338.
  4. Nussbaum, Emily. "Hate-Watching "Smash"". The New Yorker. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
  5. Are You Hurting Your Brain By "Hate-Watching" Bad Television? Gizmodo.
  6. Franich, Darren (August 16, 2012). "The Rise of Hate-Watching: Which TV shows do you love to despise?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  7. McNamara, Mary (November 27, 2015). "Why huge 'SNL' ratings won't help Donald Trump become president". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  8. The futility of hate-watching Trump's coronavirus briefings The Boston Globe.
  9. Terán, Borja (February 21, 2020). "'Hate-watching', el odio que ayuda a perpetuar éxitos televisivos". lainformacion.com (in Spanish). Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  10. Cramer, Jude (January 17, 2023). "Velma's Hate-Watchers Have Propelled The Show to Massive Success". INTO. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  11. "'Velma' May Get a Second Season Despite Online Backlash". Them. January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  12. Hogan, Michael (October 8, 2020). "Why hate-watching the awful Emily In Paris is killing the Netflix shows you love". The Daily Telegraph.
  13. Barrett, Gena-mour (August 23, 2018). "Big Bang Theory: America's most-loved and hated TV show". BBC News.
  14. 10 TV Shows You Love To Hate Watch, If You're Anything Like Us HuffPost.
  15. "Embarrassing": Netflix' 'Emily in Paris' Blasted by French Critics The Hollywood Reporter.
  16. Emily in Paris: Darren Star's Netflix series is the hate watch we can't stop watching Slate.
  17. Essay: There Is No Such Thing as Hate-Watching Cosmopolitan.
  18. Hate-watching is fun, but could Rebecca and Emily in Paris spark a race to the bottom?|The Independent
  19. 20 Netflix shows and movies that critics hated, from Emily in Paris to Secret Obsession|The Independent
  20. The Psychology Behind Why We Hate-Watch Huffpost.
  21. How did Euphoria become the most loved and hated show on TV? The Guardian.
  22. Viral Video of the Day: ‘The Simpsons’ Meet ‘Family Guy’ The Daily Beast.
  23. Tufekci, Zeynep. "The Real Reason Fans Hate the Last Season of Game of Thrones". Scientific American. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  24. It's Official: Everyone Loves to Hate-Watch TV Dramas - PRIMETIMER
  25. Borrelli, Christopher (February 24, 2013). "What does hate-watching mean?". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  26. Five Reasons We Hate Glee: Sing on That Drama Nerds! Miami New Times.
  27. Cowan, Jill (June 25, 2019). "California Today: Revisiting 'The Hills' in 2019". The New York Times. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  28. HGTV House Hunters Hate-Watching Studies Apartment Therapy.
  29. Despite everyone being warned against hate-watching ‘The Idol,’ it’s getting watched and hated anyway|We Got This Covered.
  30. 8938061.html Love Island: Why it's time to stop hate-watching the ITV2 show The Independent.
  31. ‘Soooo trashy,’ say the many hate-watching Netflix’s ‘Singapore Social’
  32. Goodman, Tim (February 5, 2013). "Tim Goodman on TV's Newest Trend: 'Hate Watching'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  33. Nussbaum, Emily (April 27, 2012). "Hate-Watching "Smash"". The New Yorker. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  34. What does hate-watching mean? Chicago Tribune.
  35. Spangler, Todd (June 29, 2016). "Data Science Proves We Love to Hate-Watch TV". Variety. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  36. Haglund, David (December 28, 2012). "Why the Word of the Year Is Hate-Watching". Slate. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  37. How to Hate Watch True Blood Esquire.
  38. King, Jade (January 16, 2023). "Please Stop Hate Watching Velma". TheGamer. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  39. Most Hated HBO Show Gets Season 2 Greenlight, “Hate-Watching” Named Culprit Inside the Magic.
  40. The joy of hate-watching BBC Culture.
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