There seems to be a trend of TV shows these days that revolve around
the theme of selling, finding, or restoring old antiques. I remember the days of Antiques Roadshow, which
I believe is still on air, but it seems like the networks have really taken
that theme and ran with it. Here are a few that I have rounded up in a list. Most
of these are still on air, a few I think may have been taken off air, and I'm sure there are more.
History Channel:
Pawn Stars
American Restoration
Cajun Pawn Stars
American Pickers
Rick’s Restorations
Discovery Channel:
Auction Kings
National Geographic:
Bid and Destroy
Abandoned
Diggers
Americas Lost Treasures
Bid and Destroy
Other Random Channels:
Hardcore Pawn
Auction Hunters
Storage Wars
Oddities
Pawn Queens
Comic Book Men
Storage Hunters
Counting Cars
What the Sell?
Why have these kinds of shows suddenly become so popular? Doesn’t the fact that there are so many of
these shows reflect something? My personal theory is that these shows reflect the status of the economy.
Look at this trend from google trends on the word "pawn shop":
The show Pawn Star was one of the first of these types of shows, at least that I remember seeing. It's first episode aired in July, 2009. Notice the spike halfway into the year 2009? Could it be related?
*EDIT* Well I did a google trends search with both the phrases "pawn stars" and pawn shop," and they certainly do seem to be related:
Here is a youtube clip where the discuss the show Pawn Stars last year:
*EDIT* Well I did a google trends search with both the phrases "pawn stars" and pawn shop," and they certainly do seem to be related:
Here is a youtube clip where the discuss the show Pawn Stars last year:
Now let's do a google trend for the phrase "sell old junk":
That phrase didn't even register enough hits with google to show up on trends. Then the economy tanked around 2008 and it shows up. Notice the spike again half way in 2009?
Am I just linking random trends that really aren't related?
Regardless if I have solved some elusive mystery, or if I've simply wasted a half hour of my life, I think a lot can be said about the kind of TV shows that are popular. It makes sense that in a time of economic hard ship like we see now, these kinds of shows would become popular.
Maybe if we were to examine TV shows more closely, could we come up with themes like historians now recognize during the Great Depression, as the link below suggests?
Historical Context: The Great Depression
This is also a great way to demonstrate how you can use google trends. If you are ever working at a museum that will generate enough hits with google to show up on google trends, you could use it to estimate something such as the popularity of an exhibit.
I was looking at the first graph and thinking that it looked like there was a spike right around the end of the year right after Christmas. Then I watched the interview, and that confirmed that thought!
ReplyDeleteI think people associate age with value, but at the same time, they don't associate that value with its history. Is it valuable because it's a part of history or is it valuable because it's old and rare? I really wish people would look at the historical value as much as the monetary value.
Yea, I just noticed if you hover over the graph it will give you the months.
ReplyDeleteNothing kills me more than seeing seeing someone sell their family herilooms on that show.
"This =rifle has been in my family for four generations!"
"I'll give you a $500 for it."
"Sure"
What is equally interesting to me is how the don't equate all the negative with the show... Antiques Roadshow is primarily about appraisal and information, it's pbs follow up show Market Warriors is about antiques and competition, but still shows things somewhat educationally. Pawn Stars, people are selling things because they need or want money - still somewhat educational but there is something going in the background - by the time you get to shows like Auction Hunters, it is all about "competition" between the buyers with little educational value and those lockers are being sold because someone lost the abilty to pay for them, which is never really addressed in the show. A show I find interesting when I see it is Barter Kings - which is all about two people who see what all they can trade up for, usually starting with something small and trading up till they get to something huge. That is interesting to me because there is an exchage taking place - people aren't just selling stuff for money - but finding ways to trade that make both parties happy. As a side note, there has been a lot written on how some aspects of Pawn Stars is faked, especially with musical instruments - but that is probably another article... Personally I believe these shows are popular because the they are cheap to produce and don't require a large staff of writers and such.
ReplyDelete