Theres Always Money in the On-Demand

*Mouth Click, Mouth Click*

by Addison Butler, Ekaterina Fedorova, Nick Hadfield, Brian MaWhinney, and Grey Wilde
(Listed alphabetically by last name, I SWEAR)

A Selfish Indulgence in a Pop-Culture Phenomenon

As exemplified by Arrested Development, Netflix reflects the ways in which we create, consume, and interact with media is changing. In turn, transforming the social dimension of communication and furthering the hyperreal phenomenon.

THESIS!

By Grey Wilde

Background

First 3 seasons aired in 2003 2004 2005 Fans of the show were left to wait 7 years for its return 4TH season added to Netflix in May 2013 15 Episodes were released in its entirety First 3 seasons also available on Netflix

Why did Fox cancel it in the first place if it had so many fans?
Season 2 had 6 million viewers Season 3 had 4 million viewers
Same as what Foxs The Mindy Project drew last season

These numbers just didnt hold up back in 2005, but are easily justifiable today

Whos to blame?

Won 6 Emmy Awards, 1 Golden Globe Award, and 19 other awards The cast of the show has blamed the marketing department Fox moved the shows time slot during the season http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =OT0asD4DiqI (video of David Cross [Tobias Fnke] explaining why A.D. was canceled.)

Rebirth

The show didnt have as many fans as it does now, when it was actually on the air A lot have discovered the show thanks to Netflix

Suspicion of the New

Ahead of its time, but now times caught up Mitchell Stephens speaks about the suspicion that greeted the arrival of rock and roll Similar in this situation
New type of sitcom Intricate, but ingenious, jokes Jokes built into jokes built into jokes Takes an attentive audience to appreciate it Not for everyone, much like The Office

By Brian MaWhinney

The Roofie Circle

The Message Is The Medium Is The Message: How Arrested Development Changed Television

and Television Changed Arrested Development

Arrested Development Changes The Medium

Arrested Development finds success on DVD, despite low ratings No TV show with a laugh-track has won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy since Arrested Development 30 Rock uses dense, intricate, societycritiquing dialogue Many show use Arrested Developments heavy, rapid editing and fast-paced dialogue Louie and Girls play with structure and social commentary Comedy viewers tastes shift to long, season long story arcs

The Medium Changes

The Office premiers to small ratings, but is a hit on iTunes Binge watching moves from DVDs to Netflix Other streaming sites start (Hulu, HBG GO) Conventional ratings start mattering less Netflix begins original programming

 All fifteen episodes of the fourth season are released all at once The show experiments with a completely different structure with each episode focusing on a different character Episodes vary in length and dont need to cater for commercial breaks The season is made to be watched again The jokes and callback format become even more prevalent The season and each episode is designed for repeat viewings

The Medium Changes Arrested Development

Over time, details accrete, through flashbacks and flashforwards, until were faced with a dazzling puzzle box of a narrative, as much like a video game as a story.-The New Yorker

Is Arrested Development Still Television or Something New?

The new season of Arrested Development isn't a season in any conventional understanding of the word, and the episodes aren't really episodes. [It] doesn't really have a name, or a meaningful precedent: not a series, or a movie, or even a mini-series, but rather a single, eight-hour work of dada televisual art.-The Atlantic

Appropriately, this is not a fourth network season that happens to be playing on Netflix, but a season designed with Netflix in mind . . . when we see the whole picture, or the whole subplot, explained and illuminated at long last, the effect is a bit like starting on a Google map, zoomed in tight, then pulling out to get a view of a whole city or country, or clicking on a link in one article that takes you to another article.-New York Magazine

SOCIAL MEDIA and MARKETING

I think you should consider calling it 'The' Fakeblock. It's cleaner. Like 'The' Netflick. -Maeby Fnke

By Addison Joel Butler

Linkage and Social Media

The Internet and Social Media have linked different niches of people together from across the world. This linkage allowed for many Arrested Development fans to band together and create a concrete fanbase. Slowly but surely, Social Medias rise to power created a rejuvinated hype and effort for a fourth season

Viral Marketing

Along with Social Media came viral marketing

Relies on consumers to propagate brand image. Less intrusive than traditional marketing The people are the advertisements Viral marketing works because people trust friends/family more than businesses.

Viral Marketing in Arrested Development

Much of the fourth season of Arrested Developments marketing was done virally.
FakeBlock smartphone app Phony T.V. shows and films from A.D. world on Netflix.

This was easily Netflixs most hyped original series (of three, but still) The possibility of success lies in the hands of the people

By Ekaterina Fedorova

The Sociology and Psychology behind Streaming Video

 Before Streaming Video TV controlled our time and content choice Part of our schedule and pace of day

After Streaming Video Master of our own time Content matters more than the ritualized activity Personalization

Rituals

Social Interaction

Before Streaming Video

Family centered Television center of home

After Streaming Video

Individual centered Used as a form of socialization Mobility and Interaction

Hyperreality
Deeply immersed in the hyperreal Simulacrum Constructive representation Technological determinism

In the Case of Arrested Development

Hyperreality and the simulacrum Postmodernism = PostInterpellation The new stereotypes Commodity-Image System

I've Made a

Huge
Mistake

Netflix Negatives
By Nick Hadfield

 Netflixs policy of dropping shows all at once has come under some scrutiny
Turns TV into a binge-watching contest Doesnt facilitate episode-byepisode discussion & analysis

Format Criticism

Hurwitz: You cant take it all in at once. Tends to result in this contest to finish the episodes to be able to discuss as a whole

Unfamiliarity with new show format, especially in context of the medium

 Difference in reviews & discussion depending on how far they got into the season Impossible to keep discussion on episode-by-episode basis Resulted in many publications rushing to post their review of the new Arrested Development after only 1-3 episodes No standard method of reviewing Netflixs distribution method Less time to think & digest each episode

Discussion Difficulties

Aversion to the Unfamiliar

Arrested Developments new format is unfamiliar, similar to how seasons 1-3 appeared to be in 2003-2005
more forced than funny, feels slowed down and dragged out

Like reviewers, many were put off by change in format, expecting the same AD as when it was cancelled in 2005

 Academic Concerns
just one more, Netflix starting next episode on an opt-out basis May lead to unhealthy habit forming

Other Impacts on Individuals

Health Concerns
Increased cardiovascular disease mortality associated with increased hours of motionless sitting

In Conclusion
Thesis: As exemplified by Arrested Development, Netflix reflects the ways in which we create, consume, and interact with media is changing. In turn, transforming the social dimension of communication and furthering the hyperreal phenomenon. The first 3 original seasons were met with suspicion of the new because of it's innovative style. Netflixs ability to introduce the series to a larger audience brought in more fans and led to the creation of the inventive 4th season. Arrested Development changed television and how we consume it, and streaming video changed Arrested Development. Changes in immediate social structure and the advantage of the Internet created a new world where once unimaginable connections were made. Streaming video has changed the way in which our lives are structured, the way we interact with others, and has exaggerated our submersion into hyperreality, constructing new representation out of copies of reality that have no origin. Arrested Development's avant-garde return polarized its audience and raised questions regarding discussion of Netflix's release method.