#NewsBytesExplainer: What's hate-watching? Are you guilty of it too?
We're well aware of the concept of binge-watching and have been following it religiously even before we knew the term's existence. While it's a common phenomenon and exposes our love for a series or film, there's another term in the same realm—hate-watching! Ever heard of the term: "So bad it's good?" It's said in this context when you watch something you don't even like!
People acquire 'amusement from the mockery of a film'
Hate-watching is defined as the "activity of watching a television show or film with the intention of acquiring amusement from the mockery of its content or subject." People who regularly "hate-watch" are usually known as anti-fans and "derive pleasure and entertainment from a show's absurdities or failures." On Twitter and Reddit, one can often see such long threads dedicated to a film's "mockery."
'It's like tasting bad food'
Ryan Bailey, the host of the podcast So Bad It's Good With Ryan Bailey defines it as, "It's like tasting bad food and making others taste it because you can't believe what you experienced. We are being trained to like the taste of bad food."
Hate-watchers actually closely analyze and dissect each scene
Experts say that we hate-watch "because it's fun to be smug and holier than thou in our tastes." "We can feel smart and superior by being snarky, hate-watching is smug!" "Hate-watchers don't take things at face value: They question it, they interrogate it, and actively look for flaws in things like the plot or the production value. To hate-watch is to be media savvy."
'Studio on the Sunset Strip' is an example
In 2012, The New Yorker described Studio On The Sunset Trip as a show netizens often hate-watched. The publication described it as, "It was bad in a spectacular way—you could learn something from it, about self-righteous TV speechifying and failed satire and the dangers of letting a brilliant showrunner like Aaron Sorkin run loose to settle all his grudges in fictional form."
Do you love to hate 'Bigg Boss' too?
Reality television is a classic example of hate-watching; people obsessively say that they don't "like" a particular show or segment and yet watch it nonetheless. Later on, they upload clips and images from the said shows to point out the "hypocrisy of the characters," or the "goof-ups," or the "wafer-thin plot." For example, Koffee With Karan, Bigg Boss, among others, are thoroughly dissected.
What do people usually say during hate-watching?
Several people choose to live-tweet while hate-watching a cinematic venture. Hence, they keep sharing their unfiltered reactions as and when they progress on the show/film. Examples of such tweets usually include, "What did I just watch?", "Is this for real?", "How did they even shoot this part?" For example, several people recently watched Brahmastra on Disney+ Hotstar to make fun of its "juvenile dialogues."
Not just new, old ventures can be hate-watched, too
You may have also stumbled upon some YouTube channels that "revisit" old Bollywood/Hollywood content and put a hilarious spin on it. This evokes laughter since the films haven't aged well and are made fun of due to the "actors' overacting," "stupid plot lines," and "glaring errors." Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon, Baghban, Naksha, Taarzan: The Wonder Car are some prominent Indian examples.
How many of these have you watched?
The rise of OTT, particularly Netflix, has further opened up access to several shows from around the world, which people now hate-watch for hours. They share a love-hate relationship with them since they "represent an unrealistic world," "are full of cringe" and "have no connection with the real-world." Examples are The Vampire Diaries, Emily in Paris, Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, and Grey's Anatomy.
