Tuesday, March 14, 2017

This Is Us


            I am a self-proclaimed television show junkie. On average, I watch more TV than any person probably should to the point where I can remember exactly what happens in every episode. The list of television shows I watch weekly and have binge watched on Netflix is long. However, as an avid TV show viewer, I can easily discern the difference between a show that is absolutely amazing and one that falls short and I only watch when I’m bored and nothing else is on. Few shows have excited me as much as NBC’s new show This Is Us.
            Over this past summer, I remember watching a trailer for a new NBC drama called This Is Us on Facebook. Everyone was sharing it; it went viral. After watching the trailer, I knew I had to see this show if only to see Milo Ventiimiglia from Gilmore Girls and Justin Hartley from Smallville. I may have originally been drawn to the show because I recognized a few of the actors from their past work, but I stayed for the story and the extremely creative way in which this story is told. Like I said, I watch a lot of TV, but I have never seen a TV show uses flashbacks so effectively to move the story forward. Dan Fogelman is the creator of This Is Us. In the past, Fogelman was a screenwriter for the movies Tangled and Crazy, Stupid, Love as well as others. In television, he has found the most success with his two most recent TV shows This Is Us and Pitch. This Is Us tells the story of a family with triplets. The shows transitions from the past to the present telling the story of the family when the triplets are children and when they are thirty-six year old adults. This treatment of time not only allows the writers to give the viewers a more complete understanding of the characters, but it also allows the writers to continue the story of characters that are no longer living in the present time. As the first season of the show is set to conclude in a week, it has already earned numerous award nominations and has already been renewed for two more seasons. This Is Us started out as an abandoned script for a feature film which Fogelman originally titled 36. Much of This Is Us is autobiographical. Fogelman drew most of his inspiration from his family, friends, and life experiences. According to Gardner, “childhood is a powerful ally” for the creative individual. (31). Fogelman’s childhood shines through the characters of This Is Us. The mother in the show, Rebecca, was inspired by Fogelman’s own mother who passed away eight years ago. Fogelman’s sister Deborah served as inspiration for the character of Kate, who similarly suffers weight and self-image issues. In creating the show and its characters, Fogelman also researched areas in which he did not have personal experience. He spoke with an expert on transracial adoption to perfect the character of Randall and his storyline. I have not watched an episode of this show without crying, but Fogelman did not intend to make people cry with his show. He wanted to move people and provide them with a reflection of their own lives. Fogelman is the master of both emotion and plot twists. The first two episodes end in plot twists that would keep the most stubborn viewer watching to see what happens next.
            According to Gardner, “the creative individual is a person who regularly solves problems, fashions products, or defines new questions in a domain in a way that is initially considered novel but ultimately becomes accepted in a particular cultural setting” (33). The idea of a television show centered on a family is not a novel idea, but the realism Fogelman brings to the show is.  Sometimes, I find this show more relatable than actual reality television shows. Fogelman’s ability to portray characters and storylines that everyone can relate to adds to the success of the show. Through Fogelman’s creation of a family TV show, he was able to remind viewers of the importance of overcoming life’s obstacles and disappointments with love and the people that matter most at your side. And that is something everyone can relate to.

You can watch the trailer for the show here.

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5 comments:

  1. I think Fogelman's idea for this show really stands out in an era where every other TV show isn't focusing on: genuine emotion. I've never watched this show (although I've seen the trailer, which I'm pretty sure broke a record because of how often it had been watched) but I think it's very creative for a TV show to cause its viewers to go through such real emotional roller coasters. A creative person doesn't always have to create a new idea, sometimes a creative person is someone who can teach its audience various lessons in a time where its easy to be confused. I've read articles about how this TV show has taught certain people about family lessons, which is a big step in the other direction from major production shows. On another note, I wonder how Fogelman could have adapted his tv show idea into a film? TV shows are relatable to everyday life, but maybe he thinks these types of lessons can be better taught in a movie to audiences.

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  2. This show was playing on a plane I took recently and it wasn't until the woman next to me started whimpering from tears that I plugged into the headphone jack and soon joined her on an emotional journey. This show does play on a lot of classic TV drama tropes, but I agree that there is an innovative use of flashback. The show was marketed as a kind of replacement for "Parenthood" and I think that it has diverted from that map of a non-traditional family drama with use of time lapses.

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  3. This show was playing on a plane I took recently and it wasn't until the woman next to me started whimpering from tears that I plugged into the headphone jack and soon joined her on an emotional journey. This show does play on a lot of classic TV drama tropes, but I agree that there is an innovative use of flashback. The show was marketed as a kind of replacement for "Parenthood" and I think that it has diverted from that map of a non-traditional family drama with use of time lapses.

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  4. I absolutely love this show! Ever since I watched the first episode, I've been completely hooked. I agree that the use of flashback is used so effectively here, adding to the plot twists and cliffhangers. I didn't know it was originally written to be a movie, but do you think it would have been as effective as a movie as it is a TV show? I feel like so many things are able to happen from episode to episode that it is just too much to have in one movie, and still be able to evoke all of these different emotions in your audience.

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  5. I have not watched this show and now really want to watch it. I love the unusual shift between time, and, as said before, the focus on real emotion. Especially for tv shows, gripping the viewers' attention is so crucial, and if this show manages to do so by conveying authentic emotion -- whether happy or sad or anything in between -- that is such an accomplishment.

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