| Edge TV: A Revolting Underclass Revolt (C) Copywritten 2002 |
| ����������� Television has always existed to perform two primary functions: to sell products or services, and to entertain the program's target audience, making it easier to perform the first task. Through its evolution, television has come to incorporate programming that reflects every classification of audience member, lifestyle, and virtually every other aspects of society. Even today, networks strive to create new programming that is creative as well as original. Such programming is desired due to its capability of reaching newer, untouched audiences. One of the newest specialty channels featured in several cable/satellite packages is Edge TV, which was created by the producers of 102.1 The Edge, a radio station that operates out of Toronto. Edge TV is a music video station that plays "the best of new rock, punk, and everything in between" (Weekend Edge). With gritty videos, censored lyrics, and rebellious themes, the programming of Edge TV has gained quite a lot of popularity among teenagers--specifically lower/middle class, white male teenagers. By analyzing Edge TVs program content, the producer's intent, and the response of the audience, Edge TV can be shown as a mirror of the underclass culture, which both receives and transmits ideas and values that are recognized by, and are of merit to members of the underclass youth. |
| ����������� The content of Edge TV can be summarized into two main categories: the music videos played, and the commercials aired between the videos. Roughly 80% of Edge TV's air time is spent playing video flows, and the rest is dedicated to commercials. There are no hosts, no introductions, and no voice-overs. These qualities are often boasted by the makers of Edge TV in the repeated self-advertising spots which are shown at the end of every set of commercials. These spots also carry messages such as "Edge TV is all the music you want, without the air-head VJs" (Weekend Edge). The "air-head VJs" that they refer to symbolize the characteristics of popular MTV or Much Music hosts. By boasting the elimination of these characters, therefore stating that the station is better without them, Edge TV is assuming that its audience does not want to be bothered with dealing with members of a more popularly known culture base, and thus are not part of a popular culture. By playing videos containing themes such as depression, anger, stress and hardship, the makers of Edge TV are also assuming that their audience is made up strongly of unhappy, stressed out, and potentially violent young people. Even the characteristics of the artists reflect and impact the audience members. The majority of the artists are white, male, and between the ages of 18 to 40. They often sport tattoos, piercings, and exaggerated hair styles. These symbols of individualism clearly mirror the identical practices and habits of the target audience. As the underclass of anti-social young people create new forms of expressing themselves through their appearance, the artists on Edge TV are altered to match these changes. Edge TV therefore becomes a comfort zone for irritated young people who can tune in to watch videos done by people whom they can relate to. |
| If analyzed closely, certain hidden intents can be identified in the programming of Edge TV. While there are very few commercial breaks in between segments of videos, the commercials themselves are significant when analyzing the channel's target audience. Commercials on Edge TV fall into two categories. The first group is made up of those ads which try to sell cosmetic products, such as shampoo, facial cleansers, and workout services. The fact that these products are so frequently commercialized on Edge TV suggests that, once again, the audience is made up of socially unacceptable people, who are so possibly due to their physical appearance. The second half of the commercials that are shown are mainly focused on other types of media. Examples of these include ads for internet service providers, video games, and other specialty channels. According to these commercials, Edge TV viewers have nothing better to do but stay indoors on their computers and televisions. This is yet another set of anti-social, underclass behaviors. Finally, since the commercials are sparsely aired, the threat of them affecting the consumer attitudes of the viewers seems relatively low. However, since the specific commercials are not altered from break to break, over time the effect of repeatedly viewing the identical set of commercials does have a lasting impact on the viewers. So how do the advertisers expect the audience members to remained tuned in long enough to see these commercials over and over? The answer is the videos. It is the intent of the advertisers to use the artists that resemble their target audience's ideological values as a tool to sell them products. This is a somewhat hegemonic concept, masked by the comfort offered by artists that the viewers can relate to, as well as put their trust in. |
| The audiences that watch Edge TV are subconsciously aware of the messages and ideas presented to them, and their responses deserve equally as much attention as any other factor. Most of the people who write to Edge TV's comment page on the internet express what they feel about the channel in condensed, simplified "I like this; I don't like that" terms. Because the channel does play explicit, rebellious material, Douglas Kellner's claim that "kids are...naturally disrespectful of authority and love to see defiance of social forces" (Kellner, 321), which he makes in his essay Beavis and Butt-Head: No Future for Postmodern Youth, is one of the strongest reasons why teenagers enjoy the program. However, in the spirit of underclass revolution, most viewers of Edge TV are fickle and very selective in what they enjoy and do not enjoy watching. Because of this, many viewers who believe that "nothing good is played on [Edge TV]" (Edge TV Feedback) often lash out at the programmers. They claim that "all the videos I see on this channel I can see on MUCH so what's the point?" (Edge TV Feedback), which shows how the audience members feel betrayed by the one channel that is suppose to conform to their specific and selective individual values. Once this has become set in their minds, Edge TV is no longer any different, to the viewers, than any other music video channel which possibly sports "crappy hosts and stupid pop music" (Edge TV Feedback). The narcissistic values of the underclass youths that watch Edge TV become apparent when these critical comments are made by them, just as they are made clear by the bands played on Edge TV through their constant efforts to display individualism. |
| Contrary to popular belief, Edge TV does not instruct its watchers in the ways of rebellion, nor does it actively promote violence and anti-social behavior. Edge TV is like any other television program: it exists to absorb and imitate a certain sub-culture of North American society, which in this case happens to be that of underclass, anti-social young people. In addition, it transmits the values and ideological ideas it receives back to those people who spawned them in the first place. While doing so, advertisers begin to take advantage of the fact that Edge TV targets an untouched group of spenders by using the channel as in indirect, hegemonic influence. For the moment, the plans of the advertisers seem to be working. However, the under-class is a very subjective group, and eventually it always finds something to revolt against, whether it is a televised reproduction of itself, or just simply itself |
| Dan's Notes: This was a little essay I did in my English Media class during my first semester of collage. I got an A+ on it, so here it is. |
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| This is my writing. If you want to rip it off, there really isn't much I can do to stop you, but you will be shunned in your next life. If you have something to say about it or want to comment, critisize, or question something, then head to the guest book and speak your mind there, or e-mail me personally. |
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| My e-mail: [email protected] |
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| Works Citied |
| Edge TV Feedback. Edge Stuff. Edge TV.com. Mar 1, 2002. |
| Television: The Critical View. 6th Ed. Horace Newcomb. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Pg 319-27. |
| Kellner, Douglas. "Beavis and Butt-Head: No Future for Postmodern Youth". |
| Weekend Edge. Edge TV. 102.1 The Edge, Toronto, ON. Oct 27, 2002. |
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