{"id":356,"date":"2012-02-22T19:28:32","date_gmt":"2012-02-23T00:28:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.nd.edu\/yankswatchingtelly\/?p=356"},"modified":"2012-02-22T19:28:32","modified_gmt":"2012-02-23T00:28:32","slug":"downton-abbey-and-u-s-appeal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/yankswatchingtelly\/?p=356","title":{"rendered":"Downton Abbey and U.S. appeal"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was extremely impressed and intrigued by the first episode of\u00a0Downton Abbey. <\/em>Not only did it come across as polished and professional, but the show maintained a sense of opulence throughout, encouraging the idea of escapism among viewers. The high quality of the program made me think about the show’s recent success in the U.S.<\/p>\n

So, why are Americans hooked on Downton Abbey?<\/em> When I mentioned the show to my roommates, one of them mentioned that their dad shipped them the first series last week, while another has been watching it on Netflix. It appears Downton Abbey<\/em> is quickly developing a following in the United States. Upon doing further research on the fandom associated with the show, it appears American fans organize Sunday night viewing parties, heavily discuss plot twists on Twitter and even purchase show merchandise. \u00a0News outlets air programs instructing people “how to dress up” like the characters and online fan clubs engage viewers. This level of cult-like fandom reminds me of Twilight<\/em> and the Harry Potter<\/em> series, where fans fully embrace media convergence and become enveloped by the characters and plot lines. I believe that the American tendency to develop cult-like followings towards media is one reason why Downton Abbey<\/em> has proved successful. We like fandom.<\/p>\n

As I initially mentioned, I think escapism also plays a vital role in sparking the interest of American viewers. In a time of economic instability and cultural turmoil, Downton Abbey<\/em> portrays a simpler era that relishes in luxury and sophistication. Americans who are looking to escape their current predicament, even for an hour, can seek refuge in the show.<\/p>\n

I think Americans also like watching a show the illustrates the wealth gap, seeing as we are living in the middle of one. The distinction between societal classes makes for good entertainment and satisfies the guilty pleasure of the American people. Let’s face it, we love shows about rich people. Shows like Keeping Up With The Kardashians, The Real Housewives, Gossip Girl<\/em>, etc. all succeed because we like to see what rich people do and how they do it. The wealthy family in Downton Abbey<\/em> is no exception.<\/p>\n

Finally, airing the show on PBS is a smart move in my opinion. Current “quality American television shows” air on Showtime, AMC, HBO, etc. Placing a quality show on a free channel as opposed to a costly cable channel gives it greater exposure in the U.S., which might be another reason why Americans are getting hooked.<\/p>\n

The creators of Downton Abbey<\/em> certainly know what they are doing by casting American actress Shirley MacLaine for the third season – even more incentive for the fifty states to keep on watching.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was extremely impressed and intrigued by the first episode of\u00a0Downton Abbey. Not only did it come across as polished and professional, but the show maintained a sense of opulence throughout, encouraging the idea of escapism among viewers. The high … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":588,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/yankswatchingtelly\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/yankswatchingtelly\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/yankswatchingtelly\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/yankswatchingtelly\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/588"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/yankswatchingtelly\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=356"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/yankswatchingtelly\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":357,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/yankswatchingtelly\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/356\/revisions\/357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/yankswatchingtelly\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/yankswatchingtelly\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/yankswatchingtelly\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}