Seventh International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

When sketch comedian Kyle Mooney created the show “Saturday Morning All Star Hits!” for Netflix, he translated the form of VHS to that of streaming content. Mooney’s VHS collection inspired the show, but the true inspiration is that of the recorded TV show instead of the retail VHS tapes that fill his shelves. His choices disrupt the psychology of binge-watching, disrupting the flow of the generalized streaming show. In particular, the segments include credits. I use theories of paratext and deconstruction to demonstrate that these credits physically engage the viewer trained to skip the credits, forcing them to recognize to what extent their viewing habits differ from those associated with childhood. The episodes’ parataxis place the adult viewer in somewhat of a parental role, seeing the show from an alienated perspective. Through Derrida’s work on differance, I challenge the idea that this perspective is lesser than that intended for the audience; the comedy of the show features a playfulness of form rather than a recreation of childhood entertainment. The show remediates the childhood morning show in the algorithmically-optimized space of Netflix, and studying the false disruption of the credits shows a replicatable example of how to play with the streaming service medium.