If you watched this weekend’s episode of Saturday Night Live , chances are that you saw the hilarious sketch called “The Dudleys.”
The concept of the “Dudleys” sketch was to focus on a traditional sitcom with a “traditional” sitcom family (i.e. stay at home father that is a klutz, workaholic mother, etc.) However, the interesting part of the “Dudleys” sketch occurs when the producers start making changes to the show based on the feedback that they receive from fans and critics making comments on Twitter.
As you can see in the video , “The Dudleys” is forced to go through a number of different changes — especially when it came to sexual orientation, gender identity, gender roles, and many other factors of sitcoms that seem to be drastically criticized today on the internet and in printed magazines.
Even though you might laugh at “The Dudleys,” there is a valuable lesson that is taught about the power of social media. To find it, you just need to pay attention to the realism behind the satire. The fact is that social media does have this type of power. Think about the number of cancelled shows that have been put back on the air because of online feedback. Think about the numerous plot changes that have been made to your favorite TV series and sitcoms because of positive (or negative) feedback that has been generated on Facebook and Twitter.
Yes, Saturday Night Live created “The Dudleys” as a funny sketch featuring SNL host Woody Harrelson. However, when it comes to learning and appreciating the value of social media as a dynamic force in Hollywood today, “The Dudleys” was able to accomplish so much more than Lorne Michaels probably realizes with this one SNL sketch.
What do you think about “The Dudleys?”
[Image Credit: Yahoo! Screen ]
