The story of the crime drama and the cellphone

An interesting Op-Ed piece in the Boston Globe by Carlo Rotella, reflecting on TV characters and their cell phones.

Apparently, what viewers want to see are children in danger and people using cellphones.

“Law and Order’’ franchise, have you noticed how much screen time is taken up by actors talking on cellphones?

Real cops do use their cellphones, of course, just as they sleep and use the bathroom, and I can appreciate how the device of the timely call or text message serves writers looking for efficient ways to advance the plot. But is there anything more irritatingly dull than watching someone else, even a good-looking actor, use a cellphone? Yes, they whip it out with a stylish gesture and speak into it with dramatic terseness, but there’s only so much one can do to dress up the act itself.

So why do we want — or at least consent — to watch anything so inherently tedious? I see no evidence that the shows are protesting the small declines in quality of life that form the downside of the convenience of cellphones. I think it’s more likely that the annoyances associated with cellphones have grown so normal that they’re almost invisible...

Read full article.

emily | 1:53 PM | TV series and characters - why the appeal, The impact of TV series on society |
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