This optional blog
post 6 is a redo of the first blog—an evaluation of our favourite television
show.
“House” is one of my
favourite shows to watch on television. . It's a medical show that
focuses on less than five doctors with specific medical specialties working in
a diagnostic center at a hospital in Princeton, New Jersey.
One of the four
basic dimensions of media literacy is cognitive dimension, which is the ability
to intellectually process the information communicated by the media. In this case the medium is television and the
information is produced through the medical drama. While the average viewer may not understand
the medical terms of the show, they do understand the actions of the characters. The characters aren't portrayed very
realistically at all. All of the doctors are extremely attractive and
look well-rested even though they claim to have many sleepless nights running a
battery of tests on their patients, who rarely seem to die. The media literate viewer would be able to understand
that this isn’t a realistic portrayal of what a hospital is actually like.
Another major
dimension of media literacy is the emotional dimension which is the feelings
created by a medium’s messages. “House”
does show some aspects that are emotionally “real” and would draw emotion from
the viewers. For example, when Dr.
House, a psychotic drug addict, begins to break down physically and mentally
and starts to show signs of a rapidly developing mental health disorder—schizophrenia. House begins to break down and asks for help
from his best friend and coworker, Dr. Wilson.
This drew emotion from me because I know from personal experience how
difficult it is to ask for help when you’re in that kind of place. This surely drew emotion from other viewers
because they felt bad for this fictional character.
While much…well,
most, of the series is dominated by over the top medical events and extremely
rare illnesses and situations, this is a tactic used to keep viewers
watching. The boring parts of medicine
are often skipped, such as when the doctors are doing routine blood tests on
patients because it isn’t interesting.
The only time these insignificant or boring events are shows is when
something goes terribly wrong which adds to the drama and therefore the only
reason for showing that originally “boring” event. People wouldn’t watch a show that shows the
boring reality of clinic hours, but “House” manages to poke fun at that
concept. While House is doing his
required clinic hours, something he finds completely boring and is often forced
to do them, the average “boring” cases are showed to add comic relief. House mocks the patients who come in with
merely a cold and are convinced they have some type of tumor. This is how the show keeps viewers watching,
even though something may seem boring, his character turns it into something
completely theatrical and unreal.
