"Drama is the Cure for Gossip" Summary

The main question Abigail De Kosnik's article explores is why US TV show characters that find their hidden "true self" through the use of theatrical performance. It beings by analyzing one of my favorite shows, Gossip Girl. The show depicts the high school and college years of a group of high-class "east siders," who's secrets are constantly being posted on a blog run by the anonymous Gossip Girl. The article argues that the most important currency to these characters is gossip, which is never the whole truth. While people may read things online about coworkers, profressors, or celebrities, those facts may not tell the whole story: you don't really know that person. The characters on GG find their "true selves" through seeing the portrayal of their drama on the blog. All the characters have experiences that show them they might not yet know who they "truly are," but they work on discovering that. The FOX show, Glee, shares this same theme of fiding your true self. This show shows that "no matter how awkward or cynical you may appear in everyday life, you can slough off your outer skin- your social persona- and show off how smart, fair, kinda, brave, and talented you are if only you dare to sing show tunes in front of witnesses."

So why does American TV find the need to show this discovery through theatrical performance? The author argues that it may be because TV wants to compete with rising popularity of the Internet. Since the internet is mainly full of anonymous posts, which pushes TV to be different than that. Therefore, characters on TV are the exact opposite as they display their true self in front of audiences, rather than hide behind a screen. This is a way to show that TV offers something different than the Internet can, and to fight against the constantly growing internet gossip culture. The author argues, however, that TV cannot promise anonymous nature that the internet can, which will always be a plus of using the internet.

The last piece of this article discusses how TV claims to be a form of therapy, just as the theatre used to be. Both media outlets use relatable characters as ways to connect the audience to the plot line. Is the Internet going to take over television just as television took over the theatre? Nowadays, the TV industry has to constantly "defend its relevance" and show that it is still important. Through the use of drama in its shows, it competes with the Internet gossip culture.