The Presenter

1. A better world without them?

Talk show and reality TV hosts, newscasters, radio DJs, museum and art gallery educators, all share a common role: to present to us certain interesting persons, topics or objects.

Can we imagine a world without TV and radio presenters? Yes, but we often get it wrong. We may think this imaginary world without hosts would be a better place than where we are now. After all, aren't most TV or radio hosts plain annoying? Even the good ones just keep us away from understanding the real deal, as we may be mislead by their interpretation of the subject anyway. Would it really be better for a show to run without a host? Maybe not.

In fact, a programme without a presenter won't be as good as a hosted one. It would be boring. And this is not necessarily because presenters are entertaining by themselves. What makes a programme so much better when it's hosted is all to do with our natural indolence (read: laziness).  We just cannot afford (or just too lazy) to do everything by ourselves, so these presenters are there to help us get to know a certain subject. But why are they so good at this? Let me explain.


2. Greek chorus

The ancient Greek used to stage plays in theatres, some of which are still standing, although now in ruins. From what we understand through records and traditions, these plays were not only popular in their time, but they also had some features that may at first puzzle us today. One of their features was to have a small group of people, called the chorus, who would stand in a place between the stage and the audience, essentially to host the drama enacted on the stage.

The chorus would narrate the story, and at times, even interrupt the actors on the stage with their commentaries. They would even have some dialogues with those actors. Their explanation may help the audience to understand the story, and this might have been done through singing. (This may be the origin of choral speaking and why it may also involve some singing..)

When I first learned about the Greek chorus I thought it was absurd. Wouldn't it disrupt the play on the stage? After all, we certainly don't see people standing between us and the stage who would talk to actors during the show and singing away the plot in modern theatres . But I was wrong. The chorus have climbed the stage and finally joined the actors in the spotlight. They are now called extras, or background actors.


3. Youtube comments and fake laughs

What's more satisfying than to watch a good Youtube video? To read the viewers' comments, of course. But have we ever wondered why?

Well, Zizek might have the answer. Slavoj Zizek is a modern day philosopher and I enjoy watching his videos on Youtube for his wacky comments on mundane things. In fact, my previous post on Diet Coke and decaff coffee was inspired by his talk.

Anyway, Zizek once described why comedy shows on TV would use fake recorded audience laughs and what makes them so effective in making us enjoy these shows. It's not simply a trick that tries to make us, the viewers at home, laugh, everytime we hear those fake laughs in a scene.

In fact, those fake laughs allow us to enjoy these programmes even without us laughing. Zizek thinks that this is because the recording has already laughed for us. So we only need to sit back and relax in front of the screen, and without even forcing a laugh we can feel good after watching the comedy programme.

Back to Youtube video comments, we find reading them actually gives us more pleasure than watching the video. Well, why not? Other viewers have already shared their thoughts on the video, and so we really don't even have to bother judging the video anymore. Just read the comment section and you could still enjoy Youtube without even watching the videos.


4. Film and reality

So why do we prefer hosted TV shows and radio programmes? Well first off they can do something which we'd like to do but can't be bothered to - talk to famous people, ask embarrassing questions and gossip about others, choose the right songs to play, etc. Of course we don't always agree with the host on her conversation with the celebrity, or her taste in music.

But to have someone do something for us is always convenient, and so unsurprisingly, Greek chorus, Youtube commenters, fake audience, along with museum educators, DJs and TV hosts can entertain us with their presence. By explaining to us the story in the play, judging a video, laughing on a funny scene, telling us the history of an art work, making a song playlist and talking to famous people, these presenters have allowed us to effortlessly enjoy these things. Isn't that amazing?

What's more amazing is to realize how 'presenters' can also play a role in films. Think of any famous films, there's always a character that narrates the whole plot for us, or explain the significance of events in the story. (Avatar: Jack's video blog, Titanic: Rose's interview). Without a narrator, audience can easily get confused - like what happened at the end of Inception.

Even a film with practically one character, like Castaway, needed a narration. Otherwise, we just don't see the point of the film - or rather, we can't be bothered to find out for ourselves why Tom Hank's character had to suffer from his isolation. 




Talking about isolation, we can easily imagine why it can hurt so much. When you live alone, you need to do everything on your own. Everything. Every little thing that you used to take for granted, when they are crucial for your survival, you'd have to work hard to keep it. And do this without any help from others. That's not easy.

In other words, the miserable experience of isolation can make us realize how dependent we are on others. Try not to watch any hosted TV programmes, stop listening to the radio, don't read the comments on Youtube, watch standups with no audience, and watch Castaway without that scene above.

Of course, it's not easy to get to know famous people, discover new music, watch the whole length of Youtube videos, laugh at comedy and putting together the plot - all by ourselves. So thank goodness we have each other!