FOMO? Rage? Pleasure? How and why we hate-watch

Sometimes, we just love to hate. From reality TV shows like The Bachelor and The Real Housewives franchise to movies like The Room and Twilight, sometimes it’s so bad it’s good. The phenomenon of hate-watching has reached new audiences on social media platforms such as Twitter and YouTube. Haters are more vocal than ever.

In this episode we ask why we want to watch and suffer through movies and TV shows we extremely dislike. Do we get enjoyment from objectively bad content? Or from hating on things? Join us on this episode as we discuss the psychology and impacts of hate-watching.

GUESTS:

• Jonathan Gray: Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and author of Dislike-Minded: Media, Audiences, and the Dynamics of Taste

• Brian Moylan: Writer, reality tv show recapper, and author of The New York Times bestseller The Housewives: The Real Story Behind the Real Housewives

• Alex Meyers: A YouTuber who makes cartoons and video essays about movies and TV shows

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

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Lizzie Van Arnam, Colin McEnroe, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on April 11, 2023.

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