How can the entertainment industry and social media platforms make content more relatable? Well, they turn a nationwide pandemic into an entertainment sensation.
Everything has been canceled in 2020, including the entertainment industry. However, the industry has adapted by making relatable and informational content about the coronavirus. Content creators have taken a hard situation and turned it into something entertaining, relatable and humorous.
Many festivals, concerts, movie premieres and more had to reschedule, modify or cancel their productions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Concerts were given new tour dates, and theme parks shut down. However, TV and films have found a way to adapt and are producing content. Broadway theaters are canceled until 2021.
Entertainment Industry
The entertainment industry was hit hard by COVID-19 restrictions. But this didn’t put a pause on entertainment at home, as networks like Netflix and Disney+ were booming with new subscriptions. This entertainment is the only thing distracting people at home. The entertainment industry still had to complete their jobs. How can they continue to make content while situating their lifestyles during this pandemic? The entertainment industry is relating their productions and films to how we are living our lives at home while trying to continue on with life with COVID-19 still around.
Throughout this pandemic, television networks and movie productions are making content that relates to what is going on with COVID-19.
For example, Law & Order: SVU just aired their new season which began production in mid-July after New York City entered phase four. In order to continue the production, The cast and film crew had to follow COVID-19 safety protocols. In this new season, you will see the cast wearing masks, being more cautious and bringing up the pandemic in their script.
Not only has the entertainment industry increased its content and incorporated the coronavirus into their material, but social media platforms have done this as well.
TikTok
If you are on TikTok, you may be used to content that is catered to you. When someone opens TikTok, there is a slight chance that you’ll watch a funny, gruesome or informative video on COVID-19.
For example, those who have tested positive for coronavirus have demonstrated on TikTok that their taste buds are affected. New Jersey creator, Russell Donelly, gained over 17 million views on this TikTok video, where he ate food with a strong taste to prove that his taste buds were gone. This horrified his fans and audience. However, Donnelly’s video wasn’t just for the internet clout, but to prove to his friends that COVID-19 affected his sense of taste.
Health professionals are also using TikTok to create videos that give educational facts and tips about the virus. Christina Kim, a nurse practitioner, wishes to clear up false information about COVID-19. One of her iconic videos received over 1.7 million views on TikTok which was an informational video on wearing a mask. She informed her viewers that wearing a mask doesn’t affect your oxygen intake or cause carbon dioxide poisoning. Kim demonstrates wearing a mask and uses a pulse oximeter to demonstrate her oxygen levels while switching the thickness of her masks.
What’s Next?
The world might never look the same after the coronavirus. Right now, all we can do is stay informed. That is why entertainment is important as it keeps the audience having fun while we are staying home.
The entertainment industry and TikTok will continue to create relatable content as they have done during COVID-19. There are more productions destined to create more ongoing and real-time entertainment. Stay on the lookout for when episodes and movies begin to air storylines centered around the coronavirus.