TV Shows: The Interpretive Approach

Defining genres for television shows has always been a difficult task, and the sheer amount of shows airing today makes this process even tougher. Not only are there hundreds of shows that are prevalent in network television, but due to the rise in popularity of streaming sites such as Netflix, there are also many shows that get their start on these sites without ever premiering on TV. This saturation in the market of TV shows has obviously produced many different genres of TV shows, and the number of networks and mediums for consumption has allowed for experimentation. This experimentation is not entirely original, however, as many “breaking-edge” shows often borrow aspects from other successful shows, causing a mish mash of genres. All of …show more content…
In fact, the interpretive approach is very similar to this concept, as the approach is meant to interpret the text with relation to society. With modern day, multi-genre TV shows, this is very useful, and the cultural approach often borrows from this approach in many ways. Yet, utilizing strictly the interpretive approach would cause some issues when applied to these multi-dimensional shows. Firstly, the interpretive approach often tries to apply these themes in a broad matter, not allowing for contradictory interpretations. Mittell expands on this by saying “interpretive critics posit a meaning of a genre that does not necessarily cohere with the ways in which the genre is actually culturally experienced” (5). In other words, the interpretations that are made are too general and do not account for differences in cultures that would produce different interpretations. Shows that have multiple genres and influences often appeal to a wide variety of audiences and cultures. Going back to the BoJack Horseman example, the sitcom segments, where BoJack watches his own sitcom TV show, are interpreted much differently by a viewer than is familiar with 90s sitcoms than a viewer that isn’t at all. These cultural differences are crucial, making the cultural approach a much better technique than simply just the application of the interpretive approach. The interpretive approach also often ignores important historical aspects, as the focus is mostly the present-day society’s interpretation. Mittell notes that genres often shift over time, and most of these shifts are due to cultural contexts throughout time (5). In the case of genre blending shows, historical context is often very important as the differences in genres usually have to deal with how these genres were in the past. A clear example of this can be seen in an episode in Mr. Robot where the first 15 minutes