On Cinema at the Cinema is a satire series about two grown men trying (and often failing) to exert control over their own lives and the lives of others. In the real world, these attempts fall into three broad modes, from least to most socially aggressive: positive feedback, negative feedback, and directly controlling behavior. While all three modes are important to facilitate normal social interactions, behaving at the lowest level of aggressive necessary is generally preferred. I believe that On Cinema reflects transgression of this social norm in order to satirize the hetero-patriarchal aggression present in non-satirical American media culture. This preliminary study will conduct a comparative analysis of how the first episode establishes the protagonists' personalities via these three modes of control.
Methods
To reliably assess the frequency of positive feedback, negative feedback, and controlling behavior, they must be defined and measured quantitatively. This data coding is then used to guide a more focused qualitative analysis of the characters' behavior.
Positive Feedback
Direct agreement to an opinion (e.g. "I think so too")
Direct confirmation of a fact (e.g. "that's right")
Nodding the head in agreement
Direct and indirect compliments (e.g. "you're the expert," "I like how you did that")
Direct appreciation (e.g. "thanks for being here")
Positive feedback is not assent to a direct command, back-channel responses (e.g. "mmhm", "yeah", "I see"), or affective responses (e.g. smiling, laughing, hugging).
Negative Feedback
Direct disagreement to an opinion (e.g. "I don't think so," replying with an opposing opinion)
Direct rejection of a fact (e.g. "that's wrong," "I don't believe you")
Shaking the head in disagreement
Direct and indirect insults (e.g. "you're useless," "that loser over there")
Indirect correction of behavior (e.g. "I don't like when you do that")
Negative feedback is not giving direct commands (e.g. "do it this way") or affective responses (e.g. frowning, yelling, crying).
Controlling Behavior
Interrupting a speaker
Giving direct commands (e.g. "do it this way," "shut up")
Moving or taking an object without permission
Moving a person without permission
Controlling behavior is not extreme affective responses (e.g. kissing, hitting), though they often coincide. It also does not use softening phrases (e.g. "I think," "I hope," "please").
Coding
Season 1 Episode 1 (6 minutes, 58 seconds) was divided into 14 thirty-second increments. Each increment was coded for all three factors, with 0 representing absence of the behavior and 1 representing at least one instance. The show features two main characters, with one round of coding being separately completed for each.
Results
Each factor was summed. Sums were then charted in a bar graph to compare against the common maximum sum of 14 points.
Tim exhibited controlling behavior once, when he physically took Gregg's VHS tape away from him in order to read it. In contrast, Gregg exhibited controlling behavior throughout a majority of the video (71% of increments). These were all verbal interruptions of Tim.
Tim gave Gregg positive feedback in 57% of increments. Gregg's single instance was a congratulations to Tim in response to Tim thanking Gregg for his presence on the show. Tim's feedback consisted of appreciation for Gregg's participation and validation of Gregg's movie knowledge.
Tim's moments of negative feedback were both indirect corrections of Gregg's behavior, expressing a preference for how he would like the show to run differently. However, Gregg's negative feedback towards Tim was more direct, as he rejects Tim's positive opinion of an actress in favor of his own diminished opinion.
Discussion
By the end of the first episode, Gregg stands out as the more dominating counterpart. He continuously interrupts, neglects to provide positive feedback, and his negative feedback is more socially aggressive than Tim's. Gregg comes across as overbearing and unwilling to permit disagreement. On the other hand, Tim seems generous with his attention to Gregg and patient in correcting the direction of his show. His only controlling behavior was in service of gaining movie knowledge, which Gregg (a movie buff) does not take offense to.
Long-time viewers will recall that, as the show goes on, Tim's character quickly loses any ostentation of generosity and patience. I believe that a primary cause of this change is Gregg's dogged bids for control and staunch refusal to appreciate Tim from the very start. Gregg's character is comparatively static, and I hypothesize that continuing this method of data collection will reveal a pattern of Tim's positive feedback being rebuffed by the buff, negative feedback going unheeded, and Tim's controlling behavior aggressively escalating.
Conclusion & Future Directions
The collection of additional data would be necessary to identify more key turning points in Tim and Gregg's dynamic in each of the story's main arcs. Through that further analysis, it may become possible to better pin down which particular details of asocial behavior the creators of On Cinema are aiming to satirize. These findings would also need to be put in conversation with current media and political events of the time. Furthermore, it is important to consider which aspects of social behavior are being left out. Who or what does the story not satirize, and what messages about control and appropriate social behavior might that negative space reveal?
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
âś“ Live Streamingâś“ Interactive Chatâś“ Private Showsâś“ HD Qualityâś“ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
My Evil Google Doc. for some reason I have felt compelled to think about such things lately. I think I'm still missing something essential about them but I'm not sure what......
gregg would be such a bad dog owner. he takes the dog outside to walk, but never for long enough. the most consistent attention he gives is petting the dog while they sit on the couch together watching a movie. maybe he sometimes talks to it about movie facts, but this interaction is not clearly tied to any of the dog's behavior to make it an effective positive reinforcement. he thinks putting on "Lassie" or "Air Bud" is a treat. the only times gregg gives instant feedback is when the dog starts begging for attention. if it whines, that's when he will feed it popcorn, and if it nips, he'll scamper out of the room (playing "chase"). so the dog learns that whining works, but barking works better. nipping works, but biting works better. it just wants gregg's attention. so so badly.
maybe some insight into how tim thinks of himself later in the show, once he starts his rotating cast of new identities? does he hate himself for doing this?
now here is the first time tim uses physical violence by slapping the popcorn bucket out of gregg's hand (twice), and it comes right after gregg is 1. disagreeing with tim on the merits of animated movies and 2. calling a man handsome. I think this is what pushes tim over the edge because now he's not just being disrespected by gregg refusing to budge, but he also doesnt want his show to Look Gay. and/or could he also be getting mad about gregg saying that people "don't want to look at" fat guys? an early showing of his weight insecurity that drives all the dangerous diet stuff later
The state of affairs at the end of s13: Tim spent 2 weeks in the ICU with no visitors, and everyone has abandoned him when he gets out. G Amato has destroyed his physical home and left the country to be with his real family. Gregg is the only one willing to talk to Tim and even brings him an xmas present. Gregg also shows his care by cautioning Tim against drinking shards of glass and giving the emotional present of a “restored Christmas” experience living together. Tim seems especially interested in xmas movies that remind him of his childhood. At the end of the scene, Gregg carries everything and directs Tim to leave the set “this way,” and Tim follows like a child.
My interpretation is that Tim wants nothing more than a dad who will protect him and won’t leave him; this is the point in the series where Gregg is closest to filling that niche. This may also be why Tim is willing to be more subservient to Gregg, because that is how he believes sons should behave towards fathers (and that disobedience justifies a father abandoning his son).
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
âś“ Live Streamingâś“ Interactive Chatâś“ Private Showsâś“ HD Qualityâś“ Free Actions
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
I think a Gregg fact that doesn’t get enough play is what a fucking creep he is. Absolutely no respect for privacy. A few that come to mind:
s3e9. accuses Ayaka of ripping off his segment and goes through her purse in the greenroom
s4e9. makes Tim read Ayaka’s pregnancy announcement on air
s5e4. stalks Joe all day and sneaks onto private property to get a movie interview
(But to be somewhat fair, Tim has no respect for Gregg’s privacy either. In s5, when Gregg tries to keep his surgery secret, Tim reveals that on air too. And by s6, he has no personal space bc Tim commandeered his bedroom. They make each other worse.)
how much more bleak and sinister does gregg's character become if you consider that he may not actually love movies all that much. what if movies are just the easiest means to the end of achieving power and success by "being an expert." like... he's always getting basic facts wrong, has no genuine critiquing skills, regularly denounces movies and professional movie people for petty reasons. what if the movies are a complete facade.
ok i know this reading is not really supported by the text; there are plenty of moments that can only be explained by gregg actually devoting himself to Movies. but thinking about that hyperbole leads me to think about how delicious and #nuanced it could be if gregg is half-lying almost constantly--exactly the way tim is. sure he watches movies, but he recognizes (even if just subconsciously) that he's not really an expert, yet he will do everything to make himself appear so.
