Emily in Paris may not be popular with the vast majority of viewers, but a lot of people still watch it. This is one of Netflix‘s most watched romantic comedy series of the past two years. Why does Emily in Paris get so many views despite being hated?
Why people hate Emily in Paris?
Recent TV series have brought a certain self-perception of the real world. By contrast, Emily in Paris is an intellectually empty universe.
The world of the movie exists despite the stark truths of income inequality, racial conflicts, political divisions, etc. In addition, it builds the image of the French as selfish, lazy and gossipy people. The costumes in the film make both the public and those working in the fashion industry bored. As a result, the series received countless criticisms.
But strangely, the views of this TV series are still increasing day by day.
The “watch to hate” phenomenon
“I hate watching Emily in Paris because it’s completely unrealistic and ridiculous. But each segment is so polished that you can’t turn away. In fact, I have to sigh at the absurdity of the film. Strangely, I still enjoy watching it.” iHeartRadio host – Ryan Bailey said.
That’s right. Humans are very contradictory. They want to hate something but don’t really “hate” it. It sounds crazy. However, there’s actually a whole lot of psychoanalysis behind this.
Ryan Bailey gives a very easy to understand example:
Watching Emily in Paris is like tasting bad food. Then you taste it again, even forcing others to taste it because you can’t believe what you just experienced.
Besides, Hollis Griffin, an associate professor at the University of Michigan thinks a lot of people really hate this movie. However, with what the world is going through, Emily in Paris is a perfect thing. Griffin said “It’s easy to find satisfaction while focusing our minds on some ‘naive’ things in difficult times.”
The real reason why people watch it
Firstly, we live in complicated times. There are many issues such as income inequality, racial conflicts, and political divisions. Therefore, TV series often refer to these things. In that storm of self-awareness, fatigue is inevitable.
In other words, the current world is a gray picture. So, you tend to immediately catch a brighter color if it appears. And it did appear, in the form of Emily in Paris.
Secondly, social aspects affect people. You can log into Twitter, Facebook or any other social networking platform and mock it together. That’s especially appealing in a state of social distancing. It sounds shallow, but that’s what keeps us from getting bored.
Finally, the feeling of complacency amuses many people. They like to go around and say “my taste in movies is better than Emily in Paris”. However, our hate is accompanied by a wider spread in the media. In other words, the more hated a movie is, the more prominent it is because “bad reputation spreads far and wide”.
This movie is really “making a ton of money” based on hate. It’s all simply human psychology – the “watch to hate” phenomenon.