In Defence of Trash TV
I watch a lot of television. In fact, I watch so much television that I have now been told by three separate people that they do not know how I find the time, or how I always seem to have watched something before they have had the chance. In my defence, I always tell them I watch a lot of television critically – as an intellectual pursuit, you might say. But sometimes that is a downright lie. Sometimes I watch television because it is the easiest way to switch off my brain and just not think for a solid hour.
And that’s the thing, isn’t it? No matter how much television one watches, we all seem to agree that there are two types of it: the type you watch to feel big emotions – to laugh, to cry, to throw your remote at the screen in sheer frustration – and the type you watch to pass the time. The latter of which is more commonly known as ‘trash’.
Nowadays, the offering of ‘trash’ telly stretches far and wide. There are a plethora of soaps available on all the main UK channels in the early evening, or if you’re more into streaming, you might find yourself watching one of Netflix’s many trashy titles such as recent hits like Anatomy of a Scandal or Bridgerton. Along with this, the growing popularity of reality formats has brought a whole new assortment of television often deemed to be ‘trashy’ to our screens: think Love Island, Selling Sunset, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Love is Blind or Married At First Sight. If there is one thing that these television shows share, it’s that they are often berated by critics, written off as nothing more than mass-produced garbage, like the McDonalds of the television world.
Yet, almost every day, I will find my two housemates watching episodes from the many series of Real Housewives. Whilst that particular show isn’t to my taste, I love to indulge in the hospitality drama in Below Deck, the saucy Spanish spectacle of Elite and the mystery of Catfish.
My question is, if these television shows are nothing more than garbage, why do so many of us tune in with eager eyes the minute they are released?
Every time I hear someone disregard a juicy teen drama or competition show because it is ‘too trashy’, I’m reminded of the high culture / low culture argument. If you have ever studied any of the humanities, you have probably come across these disputing theories before – but back in the early 1900s, many sociologists began to argue that you could easily divide culture up into high and low. The first would consist of nights out at the opera, fancy restaurants and reading the literary greats, whilst the second, ‘low culture’, was basically anything enjoyed en-masse.
It doesn’t take a genius to recognise the classist undertones (or overtones) in this theory, and it has been challenged many, many times. Pierre Bordieu stated in 1984, for example, that declaring certain products and services a part of ‘high culture’ was simply a way of giving status to elite groups, whilst most Marxists would argue that the ruling classes have simply imposed their ideas of what high culture is on the rest of us, convincing us that anything readily available, which comes at a low price and is easy to consume cannot possibly be considered ‘high culture’. Essentially, separating culture into these arbitrary boxes is just a way of providing people with a sense of superiority.
If every show I have mentioned throughout this article was truly ‘trash’, they wouldn’t continue to pull in viewers year after year, season after season. Whether critics want to accept it or not, many of these shows prioritise viewer enjoyment and their ratings often prove it. This isn’t to say that I want all future BAFTA award-winning shows to be replaced with variations of Selling Sunset, but simply that ‘trash’ and ‘good’ telly can coexist.
And for as long as they do, I will continue enjoying both.
Written by Erin Lister
I'm currently living and studying in London, but hail from the lovely Manchester. On a regular day, you can usually find me stressing out about essays and news stories as I try to complete my masters in Journalism. When I'm not regretting my life choice to reenter higher education, however, I enjoy anything and everything artsy.
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