Martha Lauren Smith
RHE 309 #44681
4 November 2013
Rhetorical Analysis 2.1
Author Andrew Romano of Newsweek chronicles, in depth, the most relevant
cultural phenomenon to hit the masses since boy bands and the Rubik’s cube. This
phenomenon is summarized by one hyphenated word hyper-serial. Romano argues in his
feature article “The Way They Hook Us—For 13 Straight Hours” that today’s television
consumers have shifted from using TV as an occasional entertainment outlet to an
addictive, life-altering medium. The appeals that are used in the article resonate with the
broad audience of Newsweek who are readers relating to the situation and examples that
Romano discusses. In Romano’s detailed description of current television viewing, he
brings the topic of hyper-serial viewing to the forefront and uses a large range of appeals
to allow the reader to relate to at least something he is talking about.
Romano uses ethos extensively “The Way They Hook Us...” to establish the
credibility of his statements. He cites various media and television visionaries such as,
Vince Gilligan, creator of AMC’s Breaking Bad, and D.B. Weiss, head writer of Game of
Thrones. “Serialized storytelling looms larger than it did in 2003,” says Weiss. Both
visionaries discuss in further detail the evolution of television shows into a lifestyle,
lending credibility to Romano’s argument. Romano also cites network research in the
article. From NPD Market Research he states, “Among TV-watching households, videoon-demand is the fastest-growing way people watching non-real-time TV.” This furthers
the notion that viewers, in a face-off with patience, choose outlets that allow for
continuous viewing rather than waiting to see what will happen a week later. Romano’s
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cites evidence with extreme integrity from his discussion with TV’s notable executive
producers, or as they are referred to as “showrunners.” The showrunners disclose to
Romano how they intentionally put “chemicals” into our “potato chips.” The geniuses
behind our favorite addictive dramas detail how they structure the shows so that viewers
get just enough of the story to be drawn in, for good. Romano uses facts and ratings to
cement the ethos of the feature. According to the article, households viewing nontraditional TV such as Netflix and Video On Demand increased from 2,010,000 in 2007
to 5,010,000 in 2013 with “66% of these households under the age of 44.” The logical
appeals in the essay are communicating a clear message to the reader. Romano’s
selection of the numbers he provides make the argument prevalent to the broad audience.
“The Way They Hook Us—For 13 Hours Straight” maintains its relatability
because of Romano’s use of pathos in the Newsweek feature. He discusses his experience
with hyper-serialized TV, specifically Lost, the ABC series that aired from 2004 to 2010
that follows the survivors of a commercial plane crash. Romano’s wife resolved to stream
all five previous seasons of Lost in preparation for the May 2010 series finale. He decided
to join in with his wife; Romano says, “how dangerous could it be?” Throughout two
detailed paragraphs of the article Romano chronicles how their addiction “spiraled out of
control.” By the time the series finale aired on ABC, Romano and his wife had watched
all 120 episodes of Lost within almost thirty days. During this time the couple drastically
changed their lifestyle. They stopped going out to eat or even being social. Romano
makes himself vulnerable in his descriptions of how Lost took over his life. As an author
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this is a powerful emotional appeal. Romano is bringing this topic to the table and
proving that it is all right to talk about this. This long-term viewing event is far from
unfamiliar and it is an extremely relatable experience. Romano’s emotional connection
with hyper-serialized viewing showed that he felt somewhat guilty about he and his
wife’s obsession.
The most interesting use of appeals in “The Way They Hook Us—For 13 Hours
Straight” comes from the author’s use of logos. Romano’s factual appeals are critical to
the logical structure of his article. He cites numerous nuggets of information taken from
various sources to show readers that his argument makes sense. Romano discusses the
change from 20th century to 21st century television. TV hits in the 20th century were
mainly episodic, not needing to be viewed in a sequence or strictly followed week to
week by the viewer. In the late 1990s everything changed. “HBO upended that
conventional wisdom, producing one stunning serialized drama after another: Oz, The
Sopranos, Six Feet Under, The Wire, Deadwood.” A change in the dynamic of these
programs was subsequently followed by a change in the viewers dynamic. Soon TV
spectators were no longer just fans, they were addicts. Romano ties emotion into his
logical appeals that creates a more relatable reading context. His personal experience
with Lost makes the most sense in that it is a first-hand account. We read and can see the
results of what these shows are doing to our daily lives. Romano is arguing, in the most
straightforward way, that what he has experienced is a repercussion of televisions change
from entertainment to addiction.
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RHE 309 #44681
4 November 2013
Romano’s most scholarly citation in “The Way They Hook Us—For 13 Hours
Straight,” comes from a study done by Princeton University psychologist Uri Hasson.
Romano cites Hasson’s work because it holds a lot of weight in the eye of the reader. His
work credits the notion that precision in film narration may be triggering an increase in
viewer engagement. To describe the work that he did, Hasson coined the term
“neurocinematics,” meaning the neurobiological study of how films interact with the
brain. For the study, Hasson screened four different film clips and observed how the
viewers’ brains reacted. The goal was “to measure the degree to which different people
would respond the same way to what they were seeing.” Hasson’s conclusion was
insightful, and extremely useful to Romano’s argument about TV viewing evolution.
Hasson deduced that “the more ‘controlling’ the director—the more structured the film—
the more attentive the audience.” According to Hasson, directors can control everything:
what you think, what you expect, where you are looking, even what you are feeling. The
idea that a director controls on a program can directly influences television habits lends a
different perspective on what we’re viewing and how we’re viewing it—exactly what
Romano is trying to accomplish in this article.
Romano’s use of the hypnosis metaphor is important to his argument. He first
explains the metaphor using a mix of personal experience and scientific facts. “The
orienting response [an evolutionary reaction to new stimuli that is designed to protect us
from predators] may partly explain common viewer remarks such as ‘If a television is on,
I just can’t keep my eyes off it, ‘and ‘I feel hypnotized when I watch television.’” When
we watch TV our brain imitates the same movements that occur during a light hypnotic
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state. As this process occurs, our body is taken over by endorphins “which explains why
viewers tell scientists they feel relaxed as soon as they switch on the TV.” Romano and
his wife’s experience prove that this information is in fact correct. He says that while
watching Game of Thrones, “the apartment goes suddenly quiet. Our guilty eyes meet
from opposite ends of the sofa. We are thinking the same thing. Maybe just one more?”
By presenting the metaphor then explaining how it works, readers are able to relate and
understand exactly what he’s talking about. These shows and the television in particular
really do suck us in for hours on end. This process is where the addictive drug aspect
comes in. Why would any viewer choose to turn off something that produces so many
good feelings in exchange for instant withdrawal? The rise in binge watching and
serialized shows in sync with our endorphin attraction makes streaming TV a “deadly”
and potentially “life-altering” combination.
The hyper-serial phenomenon, so vividly discussed in Romano’s article, is a
sensation that is new but oddly familiar to the reader and avid television viewer. This idea
of television viewing is in direct relation to the past. Shows that aired ten to fifteen years
ago were made as one installment at a time, in no particular order, therefore protecting
themselves from losing viewers. In the 1990’s TV shows changed this notion when
producers began airing twelve or thirteen episode-serialized dramas that required constant
attention. Todays hyper-serialized shows are defined by their lack of patience, recaps and
teasers and intense focus on one linear series-long plotline. These shows make much less
sense when viewed out of order, and most importantly they “always pose a clear question
designed to propel the story forward.” Romano engages readers with his word choice
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about these shows, such as “adrenalized meth saga” and “paranoid terrorism drama”, to
show us what is so different about these shows than in the past. Today’s most addictive
programs require a level of commitment that feeds our need for control in constant
streaming and viewing.
The appeals employed and claim made by Andrew Romano in “The Way They
Hook Us—For 13 Straight Hours” are both alluring and daunting. Romano’s use of
personal claims as well as factual information lends credibility to the article that furthers
his claim and also achieves a relatability that is needed for the argument being made. The
broadness of the topics covered parallels with the broadness of his audience and helps
him support his argument. Romano does more than reflect on his own viewing
experience, he asks us to do the same. “The Way They Hook Us—For 13 Straight Hours”
leaves room for personal reflection, which is possibly the most important argument of the
writer. Romano is arguing, with a plethora of evidence, that TV has changed the way we
live our lives and that it will continue to embrace technology whether it be beneficial for
the viewer or not.
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RHE 309 #44681
4 November 2013
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