Dissecting The New York Times' Love/Hate Affair With One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill's no stranger to press (both good and bad), but in a sea of recent coverage, this New York Times article caught our eye. The author doesn't mince words: OTH is "trashier, less earnest and refreshingly, horribly unlike anything else in its genre." Ouch. Doesn't sound like she's a big fan. So we were surprised when we continued reading and actually saw some positive aspects of OTH highlighted (its optimism and dedication to hard work, for starters). Er, so do you like the show or not, NYT?
We read on to the final paragraph:
"The portrayal of 20-somethings is so wildly inauthentic and unfamiliar as to make watching it feel like foreign correspondence. One Tree Hill is a no-arrogance, no-entitlement zone, and I’m (shamefully) happy to pull up and park."
So yeah, it's a guilty pleasure. Okay, we agree with them there. But there's no need to rip on the show for being unrealistic. We love OTH precisely because it's not believable -- it transports us to a fantasy world where anything is possible, from successful marriage and motherhood at 18 to overseeing a booming business at 22. Yeah, our boyfriends don't look like Nathan and our career isn't quite as stellar as Brooke's... but that's why we watch TV!
The characters' lives might not be that relatable, but their personal relationships are. Who hasn't been involved in a love triangle, worked with a wiseass, or wanted someone who's already attached? Sometimes the solutions to these situations aren't so easy to find in real life; that's why we love watching the OTH gang make sense of it all, even when the outcome isn't totally plausible.
Check out the article for yourself and tell us what you think. We'll be talking more about it in this week's One Tree Hill podcast!
Comments
I don't get these people. Ok so let me guess, being able to talk to dead people (ghost whisperer) is realistic (i do love the show but still!)
Gosh!!!!!!
Byee
Posted by: Zakia | May 7, 2008 12:16 PM
That article is wrong. It is flat out untrue. That so makes me mad now. The show is realistic. I can relate to this show big time, mostly with lucas.
Posted by: Josh Clark | February 6, 2008 11:03 AM
The article is so unfair! One can not stereo-type any age-group. There are 20-somethings who have reached success - as there are 40-somethings who are still in the dump! Realism is based on one's perspective of life and not all share that perspective
Posted by: gaye2008 | February 5, 2008 2:28 AM
Know what bothers me? Is that they say being successful at 22 is unrealistic? I sucked at highschool (like brooke did) but when college came along I worked hard and I could afford a house, had two degrees, and had a great career at 21... so the 'New York Times' needs to research hard working teens now-a-days. Not everyone is like Peyton just because she didn't get anywhere doesn't mean the rest of us can't.
Oh and my best firend gave birth the day before graduation but her fiance had his own business so shes 19 with a child, husband, and a great house, sne she doesnt' even have to work.
Posted by: TAB | February 4, 2008 11:27 AM
It really bothers me when critics come out and trash OTH. Half of the time these people don't even watch the show on a regular basis, so they look at one episode and judge it from that and don't stick with it to find the history behind what is going on.
At least these characters aren't spoiled rich kids running around sleeping with everybody.
Also, what does Haley going into labor during her valedictory speech have to do with Feminism? Although there has been a rise in the teen birth rate in the past year I don't think one show is to blame for that. I did notice they mentioned Jamie Lynn Spears in their article. I don't see them writing any articles about how, because of her pregnancy news the ratings for her Disney show went up. Now that is something to be disappointed about not a television show that is based on characters developed from someones ideas to give it's audience entertainment.
I would much rather watch the struggles of a recently graduated from college, struggling with career issues, married couple and their beautiful son than subject myself to the horrible singing auditions of a reality show on another network.
Posted by: Anita | February 1, 2008 8:48 PM
What does this person know just because she doesn't like the show it doesn't mean she has to trash it.
Posted by: Krista | January 31, 2008 2:45 PM
This is what I hate, articles/reviews on OTH that basically trashes the show. First of all, the point of TV is to escape reality. So what if only 40% or even 60% is completely unrealistic and not relatable, so is a lot of Reality TV itself. The problem is also that many of the critics judge OTH based on the surface of it rather than analyzing many of the real concepts of the show.
Ever since day one I have been able to relate to Peyton. Maybe not having a psycho stalker and all of that drama but one can relate to the character's itself and the concept of what they have to struggle with in life.
OTH is just so much more than what many of the critics claim to say.
Posted by: Zury | January 31, 2008 10:48 AM