Manufactured emotions
Last week's show had a scene set at the Temora Aviation Museum. I didn't catch that part of it but museum personnel who were there for the filming explained the poor woman was hanging around waiting for each 'moment' to be manufactured.
The format is of course a spin-off of the successful genealogy series which is typical of commercial TV - they see a success and milk it for all it's worth.
The other aspect is there seems to be an element of the game show where the subject is suddenly given a gift or opportunity like "You're going to have a ride in a Spitfire" smacks of "You've just won a new car".
The thing to keep in mind with commercial TV is the content is there to attract an audience to watch the ads which after all are what pays for the service. Shows which have some real interest are a bit of a bonus.
Yet despite the treatment and manipulation of the storytelling the subject matter is nonetheless compelling.
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