Lately, due to our heated class discussions on televisions, I look at the television industry in new eyes. No longer is it an industry to serve and entertain the people; but rather a money making machine meant to lure people into the world of advertisements. Every show is made with one intention: to boost ratings and thus boost advertising revenue. Many of the television shows we watch aren't original; they are merely copies of other shows successful in similar countries, the networks praying that the same success will arise in their own country. A popular, NBC network sitcom, The Office, is an example of this lack of originality.
The Office, based of the British sitcom by Ricky Gervais, has adapted versions in fourteen other countries. Countries such as China, Germany, and France all boost their own versions. The networks see the success in other countries, identify similarities between their audiences, and view potential for cashing in the big bucks. And the similarities between these countries? They are all, for the most part, economically advanced. So why is it that the people that suffer endlessly trapped in their nine-to-five office jobs go home to watch more people suffering endlessly in their nine-to-five office jobs? Is it that they can relate? Laugh at themselves? Play out office fantasies of having a more exciting office atmosphere? Or maybe the humor and wittiness of The Office is just what they need to escape from their own office.
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