The thesis of Schitt’s Creek is about a rich man, Johnny Rose, who provides a luxurious lifestyle for his family. They are the epitome of a rich family, living lavish and worry-free. Johny has always provided this way of life for his family but this all clashes when the Rose’s lose their riches and are forced to live a lower class life. This change in their lifestyle would be considered the antithesis of this show. These two forces, being rich and being poor, combine to become the synthesis progression through the story.
The Rose family have to start living in a lower class area, Schitt’s Creek, while still having the mannerisms and mindsets that they had while they were rich. This battle of hot an cold is what makes the show so compelling. This is because, as Orlik said, “the clash of these two forces are within individual characters- while leaving it to the viewer to decide which force is really the thesis and which is the antithesis.”(Orlik, 2016, p.315) I found this quote in the text important because it is true that while watching viewers can see this family’s situation in many ways. For example, maybe one would view the Rose’s as a rich family forced to live in a lower class area. Or a rich family who now live in the lower class who are better people because of it. One can decide which thesis makes more sense for them as they watch. But the bottom line is that there are always two sides, a thesis and an antithesis that clash to become our synthesis progression.
The way these two lifestyles of the Rose family counteract with each other makes for a balanced storyline. There would actually be no story at all if these lifestyles didnt clash. Which makes the story accurate and more importantly, balanced. There always has to be a negative and a positive throughout a storyline and that is what synthesis portrays.
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