Have you noticed your favorite television characters wearing masks lately?
Now that shooting has resumed, some programs have decided to take on the pandemic within their plots. But how it’s done is all over the map.
Commercials may show masked employees to make viewers feel safe to shop there, while reality shows are doing so as they try to keep everyone safe on set. But when you see a mask on a sitcom like Superstore, it is more of a creative choice.
"Everything is a decision," said Lauren Bratslavsky is an associate professor at Illinois State University in the School of Communication.
Bratslavsky said that television shows known for covering current events, like Blackish or Law and Order, are showing masked characters within episodes. But she does not believe it’s about trying to change viewers’ behavior.
"It’s not as much of 'this is what you should be doing' as (much as it is about) reflecting our anxieties and conversations," she said.
On news programs, however, Bratslavsky said she believes masks become more of a message and need to be used wisely. "So that you’re not going over the edge of putting them on for the sake of performance," she said.
Bratslavsky noted that television news reporters should be careful when trying to prove a point, and that a solo reporter wearing a mask, with no one else in sight, could cause the safety message to backfire as some viewers roll their eyes.
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