Prior to
Monday’s lecture I had no idea what “gap-filling” was or why it would be
important when analyzing how we interact and prescribe meaning to what we
see. The lecture and the reading for
this week titled “Audience Oriented Criticism and Television” describes the way
we interact with television as a conversation between the viewer and
program. This conversation differs very
differently amongst viewers because we all bring different opinions, skills,
and past experiences when watching a television program. Being from California, when I watch an
episode of the Real House Wives of Beverly Hill/Orange County I could not help
but think of all my mothers friends who act just as obnoxious as the women in
that show. When I see this show I know
the weather is not always sunny and beautiful.
It actually rains a lot in Southern California, but you would not know
that by watching any of these shows. My
girlfriend on the other hand loves the show and is blind to the fact that the
“reality” they are attempting to portray is a completely false representation. After watching The Real Housewives of Beverly
Hills/Orange County I immediately judge any sort of reality television show,
specifically every reality television show in The Bravo Channel.
The
situation I have described above is a perfect example of gap-filling. Throughout my life I have certain experiences
that cause me to fill in the gaps of shows and make prejudgments regarding
certain content. Although, this is not
necessarily a bad thing because these judgments allow me to construct meaning
from the content I interact with.
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