Control Issues: Binge-watching, channel-surfing and cultural value

This article explores binge-watching as part of neoliberal discourses surrounding control, class and ‘good’ television, which leads to an overall discourse concerning the legitimation and de-legitimation of the medium. Binge-watching is understood here as part of a continuum of viewing practices that help us to understand and discuss the medium in popular discourse. As historical precedent, the emphasis lies on channel-surfing to illustrate the intersection of technology, control and ‘good’ television. This article outlines some of the discourses at stake in channel-surfing and its relationship with remote controls as these ancillary technologies move from being devices associated with avoiding ‘bad’ television to devices that subjugate viewers. Such a discursive de-legitimation of a viewing practice interlinks with an overall de-legitimation of the medium. This precedent is indicative of the way binge-watching’s cultural positioning has been negotiated throughout its history and may be re-negotiated now, especially in relation to Netflix. The dynamics of this negotiation take place at the intersection of class, technology, viewing practices and ‘good’ or ‘quality’ television.