Blog Post #3

Kyle Miller

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Television has reached a whole new level of interactivity with the Internet age but television has been trying to engage the audience and keep them involved in the program for decades. On today’s television is a series called Pawn Stars and they have an interactive way of engaging their viewers. When a new episode airs, viewers can simultaneously follow along from their computer and answer the questions that pop up on screen. They’re survey questions and you can compare your answers to other viewers answers. They aren’t the only show doing these kinds of things. The popular AMC show The Walking Dead has an interactive forum of sorts for people to talk about the current episode as it airs. These things engage viewers in new, modern ways but it’s all based on old forms of engaging viewers. 

Caldwell proposes examples of this in his article Televisual Audience, which include contests, 800 numbers to call in to the show, contests and purchases. Clearly, the ways of engaging viewers have advanced much further than that. People have evolved with TV and over time, they have come to expect more and have become more critical of the programming. “By interacting, reading against the grain and reconfiguring program texts on the viewer’s or fan’s terms, audiences could counter the hegemonic power of mainstream television and privileged meanings. (Caldwell 258)” 

Another way television programs have been trying to engage viewers is by creating a cult-like following for their show. Star Trek is a perfect example. Dedicated Star Trek fans are referred to as “Trekkies.” It’s another way of engaging the viewer beyond what is shown on the television. Star Trek further engages their fans by making comic con appearances to this very day. If viewers truly love a show, they will delve deeper for its deeper meanings and basically look at the show as just an alternate world.