The Perfection Series, or why I can’t stop watching the Miracle Blade infomercial
I have always been fascinated by the “Miracle Blade” infomercial, in which Chef Tony demonstrates the miraculous powers of a series of kitchen knives. I used to watch it on the Italian television local channels endlessly… And I have always dreamt of studying the nature of such a fascinating experience. That’s what I will try to do at the 23rd SERCIA Conference “That’s Entertainment!”. Spectacle, Amusement, Audience and the Culture of Recreation in the Audiovisual Contexts of English-speaking countries, held at the University of Bologna. In my paper The Perfection Series. Informercial demonstrations as entertainment programs, I analyze the informercial genre – a misunderstood and under-researched form of television – in terms of semiotic strategies and stylistic aspects, but I also suggest that my unavoidable desire to watch is due at least to two kind of psychological and anthropological-based “appeals”, the technical appeal and the magical appeal.