Awkwardness sells, but who's buying? How students navigate awkward TV comedy series

Bibliographic Data

ID5681985
AuthorsIván Kirschbaum (0000-0002-0977-4585, Erasmus University Rotterdam, corresponding author), Pauwke Berkers (0000-0002-8132-6007, Erasmus University Rotterdam)
Year2024
Volume19
Issue4
Pages450-467
Publication date2024-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCritical Studies in Television The International Journal of Television Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1749-6020 • E-ISSN: 1749-6039
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/17496020231211485
OpenAlexW4387999802
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited26

Drawing on in-depth interviews, this study examines how students engage with awkwardness in television comedies. The article contributes to studies of awkwardness, its configuration in popular culture, and audiences' response to awkward-comic texts. Our findings show typical sequences and resources for producing awkward scenes. Participants tend to evaluate awkward scenes in terms of 'realism', i.e., whether they could relate the scene to their personal lives and/or imagine themselves in that situation. Furthermore, awkward sequences and feelings of awkwardness from the characters increases the evaluation of scenes as realistic. Finally, in line with Kotsko's (2010) characterisation of awkwardness as a social feeling, awkwardness spreads from the television screen when participants perceive if the character is feeling awkward or imagine themselves feeling awkward in that situation

Aesthetics · Art · Comedy · Comics · Feeling · Literature · Media studies · Realism · Reality tv · Sociology · Television series · Visual arts · Humor Studies and Applications · Mathematics · Media Influence and Health · Media, Gender, and Advertising · Psychology · Social Psychology

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Open DOIOpen Access