Japanese obsessive about learning even while watching TV?

[grapefruit]

While watching Japanese TV shows, I've noticed that many programs dedicate some section of the show to presenting some sort of ﾂ"summaryﾂ" with visual aids, you know, those colorful boards with hidden phrases or numbers that appear when the covering paper is peeled off.

It reminds me of taking notes for a lecture or watching a PowerPoint presentation. I wonder why Japanese people like this mode of presentation. My guess is that it brings Japanese viewers the satisfying feeling that they are learning something. Could it possibly be because the people are so diligent and serious that they are unwilling to waste time even when they watch TV shows?

 

[Ashikaga]

I have noticed that, too. I never thought that had anything to do with the viewers' desire to "learn", though. That is very interesting. I always thought those boards were there to keep the viewers better engaged in whatever they were talking about. When something is hidden, by a piece of covering paper in this case, your natural reaction is to want to know what's behind it, no? That keeps people from reaching for the remote. When the "answer" is finally revealed, it gives the people that "Wow / Aha!" feeling that they love. It IS true, though, that one sometimes feels likes/he is being lectured. Maybe there's a certain amount of condescending attitude on the part of the producers toward their viewers, and that possibly has something to do with those oh-so-annoying "subtitles" displayed on the screen highlighting some punchlines... like we are so thick that we need to be pointed out when something funny is said.