Deadliest Catch
One of my all-time favorite television shows is Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel. It's a popular show, and I'm trying to figure out why it inspires such loyalty.
1. It is full of thrills that are absolutely genuine. No artifice about what these men are doing: serious, dangerous work in extreme conditions. It is, per capita, the deadliest job in the world.
2. The activity of crab fishing on the Bering Sea is real work. This is no Survivor, where contestants compete for a prize. This is the fishermen's livelihood. This is what they do to put food on the table (and, in a good season, extra money in the bank--stored up for next season, which could very well be a dud).
3. Its documentary style: the audience watches the men go through good and bad times. There is no need for the "second take" (if they do them, one would never know), because there are so many interesting things happening.
4. I don't know if other audience members feel this way, but I feel like I get to know the men and their crews, and I have a stake in how well they do. I have favorite captains and favorite crew members. I laugh at their pranks and cry in their moments of disaster and deep feeling (one boat rescued a man from the sea and the captain--who had been unable to rescue another man a few years earlier--came down and hugged the rescuee. Both men--tough, rough-looking guys--were crying and barely articulate: "You saved my life, man. You saved my life." "We got you. We got you." I just bawled).
5. There's something addictive about the show. I could watch it for hours on end, even episodes I've seen before. It's great.
All of the above reasons are likely common to the whole audience. For me personally, I think the risks involved, and the overt masculinity of the program offer a nice contrast to my own life, which involves the care and direction of 200 college women and is fraught with emotional drama, but not much physical risk. I'm certainly okay with that, but I think the contrast draws me to the show.
The show's website:
http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/deadliestcatch/
deadliestcatch.html
The Wikipedia website, which links to individual boats (with merchandise! How frickin' awesome is that? Gotta love capitalistic synergy):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadliest_Catch
1. It is full of thrills that are absolutely genuine. No artifice about what these men are doing: serious, dangerous work in extreme conditions. It is, per capita, the deadliest job in the world.
2. The activity of crab fishing on the Bering Sea is real work. This is no Survivor, where contestants compete for a prize. This is the fishermen's livelihood. This is what they do to put food on the table (and, in a good season, extra money in the bank--stored up for next season, which could very well be a dud).
3. Its documentary style: the audience watches the men go through good and bad times. There is no need for the "second take" (if they do them, one would never know), because there are so many interesting things happening.
4. I don't know if other audience members feel this way, but I feel like I get to know the men and their crews, and I have a stake in how well they do. I have favorite captains and favorite crew members. I laugh at their pranks and cry in their moments of disaster and deep feeling (one boat rescued a man from the sea and the captain--who had been unable to rescue another man a few years earlier--came down and hugged the rescuee. Both men--tough, rough-looking guys--were crying and barely articulate: "You saved my life, man. You saved my life." "We got you. We got you." I just bawled).
5. There's something addictive about the show. I could watch it for hours on end, even episodes I've seen before. It's great.
All of the above reasons are likely common to the whole audience. For me personally, I think the risks involved, and the overt masculinity of the program offer a nice contrast to my own life, which involves the care and direction of 200 college women and is fraught with emotional drama, but not much physical risk. I'm certainly okay with that, but I think the contrast draws me to the show.
The show's website:
http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/deadliestcatch/
deadliestcatch.html
The Wikipedia website, which links to individual boats (with merchandise! How frickin' awesome is that? Gotta love capitalistic synergy):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadliest_Catch
posted by Violet at 4:08 PM
2 Comments:
Save this post. It will describe the scene when you make your own "catch." He's out there, and it won't be a "dud" season when you Catch him!!
--ma
LOL! You are hilarious! Just one of the many reasons I love you.
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