– I can’t wait to watch it because then we can talk shit about it, laughs Dara. She has placed herself on the soft sofa in front of the TV in the collective. Sitting with her are her friends Astrid and Sara, who are visiting. They will watch this week’s episode of “Ex on the beach”, one of many reality series that follow young, single adults through sex scandals and personal intrigues. The series provokes them. – They do so many strange things! There is so much shocking that happens in there, and most of the time you just think “is it really possible?!”, says Astrid. SOCIAL GLUE: The girls agree that the best part of watching bad series is discussing and laughing at how bad they are. Photo: Ine Julia Rojahn Schwebs / news Dara says that she occasionally gets sick of watching how the participants treat each other. – In between, they engage in pure bullying and exclusion, she says. Yet they continue to watch. Episode after episode. Arousing contempt and disgust seems to work if the goal is to reach many viewers. Hate-watching The activity is called hate-watching – you continue to watch even if what you watch arouses disgust and contempt, without any desire to stop watching. And unlike with guilty pleasures, there is no shame attached to hate-watching. Just real outrage. SICK OF BAD BEHAVIOR: Dara (front left) says she sometimes gets sick of watching how the participants in “Ex on the beach” treat each other. Photo: Ine Julia Rojahn Schwebs / news But why do we do it? – It’s fun to process the shock together. Because “everyone” looks at it, replies Astrid. – Yes, you can see how irritated you get, adds Sara. Contempt and disgust Tone Normann-Eide is a psychologist and has written a book about the characteristics and functions of emotions. She explains that contempt and disgust can lead to a sense of belonging. – It is “us against them”, where our own in-group is good, while “the others”, the out-group, is bad. By applying together in groups where we can be equal through our attitudes and opinions, can give a sense of community and identity, says Normann-Eide. VINTAGE: The American reality series The Bachelor has almost become a classic, and has kept it going since 2002. Psychologist Tone Normann-Eide admits that the series is the closest she has come to hate-watching something. Photo: MATT KLITSCHER / AP We spend a lot of time comparing ourselves to others, placing ourselves below or above them. Gossip as social glue Rising above and judging others as stupid or unintelligent is a way we can regulate our sense of self, she continues. – So it feels good for us, but of course not good for those who are exposed to denigration or hate mentality. But if the contempt spills over into hatred and bullying culture, it is obviously not good, emphasizes Normann-Eide. – But we have always been a gossipy species, we use it as social glue. Want to see how silly it gets It’s not just reality series that are subjected to hate-watching by the three 22-year-olds either. The Netflix catalog is also full of series you can love to hate, several of them with sky-high viewing figures. 58 million users streamed “Emily in Paris” in the series’ first month on Netflix. PROVOCATING PERFECT? Lily Collins plays the role of Emily Cooper, a privileged and well-dressed American in her 20s who tries to succeed in marketing in a large advertising agency in Paris. Photo: CAROLE BETHUEL / NETFLIX That, despite the fact that the series has received almost unanimous reviewer slaughter, audience contempt and been criticized for reproducing stereotypes. Even key people associated with the series have themselves criticized it. Another series Sara, Dara and Astrid highlight is “Riverdale”. It has often been in the “top 10 most watched” category on Netflix, but has primarily been noted for unrealistic action, poor acting and extravagant subplots. – It will be so silly, so ridiculous, and you just want to see how silly it can be, says Sara. Speculating in the bad The difference from the reality troll is that the hatred is not directed at the main characters. – It is aimed at the series creators and not the actors. You can see that they hardly manage to stay serious when they play, says Astrid. RIDICULOUS AND SICK: “Riverdale” is among the series Dara, Astrid and Sara point out that cross the border into stupidity. Photo: Robert Falconer / Robert Falconer / The CW / Netflix But there is a limit, she points out. – At some point it just becomes too strange. And then you don’t bother to look anymore. Precisely where this limit lies may seem like Netflix and other streaming giants are speculating. Quality doesn’t matter – Netflix’s business model is all about keeping you with them as long as possible, so if you’re there because of quality or not doesn’t matter to them, says film and series researcher Gry Rustad. – Netflix is only concerned with the number of subscribers, and they have an extremely good understanding of what makes people binge, she adds. Rustad also believes that there is a slight difference between hate-watching fiction and reality TV. DRAG-TO-TRYNE? Andreas Østerøy makes a comeback in the new season of “Ex on the beach”. Photo: TOKE MATHIAS RISKJÆR / Discovery+ – When you watch reality shows, you shouldn’t miss out on the thrill and the feeling of being superior, she says. – But when you hate-watch fiction like “Emily in Paris”, there are probably other reasons. It’s really bad, yet addictive in some strange way. Fun to hate – It’s fun to hate, laughs film critic Marte Hedenstad in P3. Her job is to watch series. And often she finds herself in a situation where she continues to watch series she has already reviewed to a relentless second. QUALIFIED HATE-WATCHER: Marte Hedenstad in P3 has hate-watched hours upon hours of “Emily in Paris”. Photo: Erlend Laanke Solbu / news – I have hate-watched the whole of “Emily in Paris”. I love looking at it, but it’s absolutely terrible, says Hedenstad. She, too, believes that Netflix is speculating on content that qualifies for the “what we love to hate” category. – They really go for it and take advantage of an opportunity in the market to create talk. Harmløst Hedenstad also questions the streaming giants’ intentions behind creating this type of content. Too many of the series that qualify as hate-watching often have female leads, or are aimed at a female audience. – And many have a low budget. So then you can ask yourself if Netflix doesn’t take women seriously, she says. At the same time, she points out that hate-watching is a fairly innocent activity. EVIL AND CRAZY: Many were outraged by the pandemic success Tiger King. The series is based on the true story of Joe Exotic – who in the series is portrayed as both crazy, criminal and evil. The series also created a debate about the ethics of keeping wild animals in private captivity. Photo: Netflix – It’s harmless. There is collective agreement that this is a right to hate and you can laugh about it together. Psychologist Tone Normann-Eide agrees. She points out that reacting to a film or series can be a method of regulating emotions. If you are a little irritated one day, it is after all better to get angry on the sofa that Emily still doesn’t know French after many months in Paris, than to let the grudge spill over into your own relationships. – But if you are only driven by negative emotions and it takes up far too much space in people’s lives, it is probably time to go to therapy, says Normann-Eide.
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That’s why you can’t look away when series provoke – news Culture and entertainment
