Pandemic ends = let spending begin! | The history (and future?) of the sitcom laugh track. | Context is king.

Published: March 1, 2021, noon

On this episode of Commute - The Podcast:

When the pandemic is finally over will consumers start spending money like it's going out of print? We look back 100 years for a clue.

Sitcoms and cartoons have utilized fake laughter for 70 years - but how did they start, and why do some TV executives think laugh tracks will be around forever?

Context is king. What does a clever experiment with an anonymous musician teach us about our inability to assess value when we encounter it unexpectedly?


Follow Commute:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/commutethepodcast/
Twitter - @PodcastCommute
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/commutethepodcast

***


Episode Sources/Go Deeper:
https://nofilmschool.com/Defense-of-the-laugh-track
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20160926-where-does-canned-laughter-come-from-and-where-did-it-go#:~:text=When%20Douglass%20first%20'invented'%20the,were%20filmed%20without%20live%20audiences.
https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/laugh-tracks-sitcoms-history-laff-box
https://www.npr.org/2007/04/11/9521098/a-concert-violinist-on-the-metro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKS3MGriZcs (video with no laugh track)

http://www.commutethepodcast.com

Follow Commute:
Instagram - instagram.com/commutethepodcast/
Twitter - @PodcastCommute
Facebook - facebook.com/commutethepodcast