Are 4G Recaps Better than Actual Experiences?

Many websites devoting themselves to the dissection and analysis of pop culture, as well as many mainstream news sites, have columns which consist solely of recapping the previous night's television shows or the episodes of a particular series. As is often their wont, some of the relevant columnists have taken it upon themselves to write sometimes flamboyant, sometimes macabre, but always hilarious recaps of television shows that are almost better than watching the television shows themselves. What does this say about our modern wireless Internet age?



The "Real Housewives" series of shows on the Bravo network is one example of a show that lends itself to the kind of "high dramatic" writing found in some of the most hilarious recaps. Fundamentally, "Real Housewives" is about petty squabbles that are writ large only because of the high financial position of the show's "stars." The "Real Housewives" recaps on the Gawker website, whether they realize it or not, parody this aspect of the show almost exclusively. In the Gawker recaps, every conflict on the show is transformed into a life and death, almost Wagnerian struggle. The Gawker recaps often feature obscure literary and historical references, all with a high camp tone that successfully skewers the exaggerated feelings of self-importance these women give to their lives in a way that can be far more entertaining than watching the actual shows.



Another approach to recaps is shown in the summaries of episodes of the "America's Next Great Restaurant" reality show by comedian and cartoonist David Rees. His recaps generally point out the ways in which the contestants' dreams of starting restaurants were twisted into a flood of marketing jargon about "concepts" and "cohesiveness" by the show's panel of food entrepreneurs and consultants (or at least the show's editors). One of Rees's most successful tropes during the season was his attempt to apply the faux-scientific business reasoning of the judges to the opening of his own (fictional) restaurant, Kale City, whose entire business model would focus on kale and kale-related foods. For many observers reading Rees's columns on the wireless Internet and elsewhere, this was another example of a case where the recaps of the show may have provided more value than the actual show itself.



In a sense, this proliferation of recaps in the 4G Internet age is another example of how postmodernist ideas are having an impact on our daily lives. With the Internet giving people opportunities to express ideas which can be seen by more and more people, we may be rapidly approaching a point at which commenting on an event or creative endeavor is more emotionally and intellectually satisfying than experiencing the actual event or endeavor. What kind of effect this will have on our society remains to be seen, but maybe in the short term it will at least push television programmers to produce shows that are more interesting than reading a short comedic recap on the Internet.



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