Slow TV: Why it's hilariously addictive.

https://www.ted.com/talks/thomas_hellum_the_world_s_most_boring_television_and_why_it_s_hilariously_addictive

Analysis of Thomas Hellum's Slow TV TED Talk:


      In this TED talk, Thomas Hellum presents a current TV fad in Norway in which he played a role. He explains to his audience why Slow TV is interesting/addictive. Hellum starts by explaining how a D-Day invasion special that would last the whole of the invasions anniversary, transformed in a 7 hours long train ride broadcasted across Normandy. He explains how the idea was presented to the station and finally the set-up of this first Slow TV broadcast. The train ride lasted a whole of 7 hours and attracted an incredibly spike in viewers during the broadcast time. Hellum shows how social media played a role in bringing people together in their discussion of the train ride.
      After the train ride Hellum moves on to the main focus of his presentation where he explains why he believes Slow TV is so popular with the people in Norway. He begins to speak of the boat ride which would go from one end of Norway to the other. The course had been done countless times before and have even have the same Norway broadcasting channel on it in the past, however, this time would be a full viewing experience of over 1080 hours. Hellum showcases the setup behind this giant endeavor before he begins to break down why people gathered in such mass to view and see this ship sail across Normandy in a slow, and uneventful process.
On the Boat:
  1)  Hellum talks about how, with such a long and boring ride, people make their own stories. Theres an national appeal to seeing your own country and its people broadcasted across Normandy for 1080 hours. People came out to see themselves on TV and wave their Norwegian flag. The whole of the experience was nationally unifying, pulling over 20% of the Norwegian population to view the program at some point of its airing.
  2)  The emotional appeal of Slow TV was apparent too in Hellum's talk. He discusses how people would watch the coastal camera on board the boat, pointing out the concern showed on social media by some people when they witnessed a certain man on horseback fall off during the broadcast. Hellum also presents that Slow TV is emotionally calming because of its lack of story. No characters or plot, only calm and consistent images which allow the viewer to create their own stories at their own paces. "When people smile, it might be a good idea"  -Thomas Hellum (in this TED Talk)
     Soon Hellum moves on to discuss the other broadcasts done as Slow TV. From additional train rides during the 4 seasons, a knitting channel, and even the hours spent watching men in the woods cutting logs and then burning them for hours to follow. Overall, Hellum presents the experience of Slow TV being one that is driven by the viewer while maintaining emotionally calming an atmosphere.

One Final Point on Hellum's Talk: The scene of a barn on the coast and a cow on the shore.
In his final minutes Hellum shows a clip from the summer in which a coast line barn is shown for around half an hour. He discusses step by step how the viewer processes this rather boring image. He explains how it is emotionally soothing yet soon lets you make your own story. Aside from the national connection Slow TV brought to Norway, though both social media and social gatherings, Hellum explains how things like this scene allow the viewer to make their own personal perception of the video.

Over the course of his talk, Hellum explains the appeal of Slow TV with reference to its ability to bring together people, sooth emotions, and allow the viewer to create their own stories without being forced to watch a definitive story. He shows a variety of social media posts and TV coverage which support his conclusions on why Slow TV is so interesting yet so boring for its viewers. The variety of evidence he provides supports his emotional explanation (is the man who fell off the horse ok?).


     Personally, I've enjoyed things like Hellums Slow TV. While i cant think of any apparent examples on American TV. I can think of things like this that I'll put on for hours just to pass time and relax. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI__53kBBKM
I really ejoyed just the short clips Hellum showed and would honestly watch this channel given the opportunity. Even though he constantly refers to his Slow TV as boring I personally felt it would be incredibly interesting to watch or at the very least leave on for hours in a room while you work on something else. My favorite kind of entertainment is the kind that can be enjoyed in ambiance.