"During the writing of the series Rules of Engagement, and due to budget constraints, the team was forced to open an episode with a particularly calm scene. We discovered, to our surprise, that we love briefing scenes. For the audience, watching competent people joke and plan was a big part of the appeal, Rogers wrote. They began calling this formula competency porn."
"The American series, set in the emergency room of a Pittsburgh hospital, is one of the most frequently cited examples of competency porn. In each episode (one for each hour of on-call duty), doctors and residents face the challenges of an overwhelmed healthcare system."
"The FX series The Bear, set in the world of haute cuisine, is reminiscent of the hyper-competent journalists in the films All the President's Men and Spotlight. Even fictional accounts of military and criminal operations circulate as agreed-upon examples on social media."
Competency porn is an emerging entertainment niche where viewers watch TV shows and films depicting characters skillfully planning, executing, and solving problems with precision and efficiency. This non-sexual phenomenon gained prominence with the second season premiere of The Pitt, an American medical drama set in a Pittsburgh hospital emergency room. The term originated in 2009 when screenwriter John Rogers discovered audiences enjoyed watching competent people plan and brief during the production of Rules of Engagement. The concept has since expanded to include shows like The Bear, set in haute cuisine, and references military and criminal operations. This trend reflects a broader rhetorical pattern where hobbies are described as pornographic, such as foodporn or earthporn.
Read at english.elpais.com
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