Bianca essay plan: How do Reality TV shows like Wife Swap and Supernanny construct "Reality" and why is this genre so popular?
Introduction: the development of reality TV
1. Outline essay question
2. I will be discussing why there are so many reality TV shows e.g. cheap production, no scripts, no actors (E)
“Reality programming provides a cheap alternative to drama. Typically, an hour-long drama can cost approximately $1.5m (£875,000) per hour, whereas reality programmes can cost as little as $200,000 (£114,000) per hour."
"It seems clear why producers make reality TV: these programmes are relatively cheap to make, certainly compared to drama, and they appear to guarantee audiences."
3. How the genre has been developed from a range of television genres such as game shows, talk shows, drama and documentary. (G)
Observational strands “always rely on a mix of fact and fiction, of popular elements of documentary or news, combined with popular elements of lifestyle or talk shows and even little bits of drama like melodrama or soap opera."
4. The genre is popular because it adds dramatic entertainment factors to reality (G)
"Though some of the new formats carry echoes of more serious categories of work…the feature that is common to all these newly devised formats is their entertainment orientation. Manifestly designed to appeal to a prime-time audience, the new formats have frequently imported structures and components from other TV genres to enhance their attractiveness"
4. I will explain my two case studies (Wife Swap and Supernanny) and how they take from the fly on the wall documentary genre, and how they differ from reality game show and TV talent such as Big brother and Britain's Got Talent (G) Yet the entertainment factor that makes them more reality than just factual documentary
Point one: Reality TV shows use the conventions of documentary to construct reality
"They see these developments as a more or less systematic attempt to replace the more serious and challenging forms of documentary with so much lightweight, undemanding pap"
Why? "Factual/documentary programming is now seen as having to fight for its place in the schedule alongside other genres."
1. The history of fly on the wall documentary and historical examples (H)
2. Documentary has high status and regard of representing reality fairly: (H, P, G)
3. Conventions of documentary (G, ML)
4. Analysis of Wife Swap and Supernanny and the conventions adopted from documentary e.g. voice over, music, mise en scene etc. (G, ML)
Point two: Reality TV's institutions manipulate reality to present their own ideologies
1. Channel 4 is the broadcaster of both Supernanny and Wife Swap, and I will discuss the ideologies of the channel e.g. strong entertainment values (IN, ID)
“Channel 4 and ITV are the organisations that broadcast the most popular reality television formats."
2. Institutions select characters for their shows
"First in their choice and deployment of real-life performers, programme makers are well aware that they are looking for a special kind of performance ability."
E.g. in Supernanny, all the families selected for the show have extremely bad children. All the people in these shows are REAL ordinary members of the public: the audience believe that the shows representing them are real too. (IN) Supernanny and her authority over the children could reflect the ideologies about adult power, authority and status (ID) This could then create moral panics about bad behaving children being the root of moral panics relating to young people in society: Aim to fix problems with difficult teens, (Wife Swap and problematic families)- it also reflects society. (Issues and debates- representation and stereotyping, S)
Hyper reality: "The simulation of something which never really existed." - Jean Baudrillard
"What reality TV does is bring up a moral issue and make people confront it and say, well, what kind of position are we going to take? Whether it resolves the issue for people is another matter."
Wife Swap “Subjects are clearly chosen on the basis of their demographic and psychographic heterogeneity (or difference); it is no coincidence that moderns are swapped with traditionals, urbans with rurals, etc...These binary oppositions in the organisation of the programme are a basic prerequisite; no friction, no show.”
3. Institutions use editing as a way of manipulating reality e.g. Wife Swap constantly uses binary oppositions through paralleling the families to highlight their differences (IN, ID) In particular, one family reflects the dominant ideologies of the institution which links to hegemony (ID, Issues and debates)
"The structure: Stock situations throughout the majority of the show include disagreements between husband and new ‘wife’ in both homes as the two narrative strands of each family are cross-cut to imply parallel action, usually over cleaning, cooking and disciplining children. The narrative climax is provided by the showdown between the two wives in the debriefing.”
"As well as the chained people, there are other people in the cave. Plato calls them the puppet-handlers, the ones holding those in the cave captive". e.g. the institution or authority...possibly the voiceover who constructs meaning or makes "puppet show". "If we think of the puppet handlers as the ‘elite’ or ruling class then this idea of a reality television-obsessed audience becomes controversial, drawing on the Media Studies concept of hegemony."
“Theories of hegemony are based around the idea that dominant classes persuade subordinate or lower ones to accept and adopt their values.”
“It uses ‘real’ people in certain kinds of ‘real’ situations, but it chooses and manipulates them in order to produce narrative, drama and conflict.”
4. In episodes, people are manipulated into character roles e.g. the children in Supernanny are seen as the villains (violent, abusive), the parents the princesses (victims, vulnerable) and Supernanny as the hero (dominant, authoritative) (R, N, Todorov)
5. In both Supernanny and Wife Swap, the narrative structure is always clear linear narrative with equilibrium, disequilibrium and a new equilibrium. In Wife Swap there is the recognition element too, as the families don't realise they are flawed, and there is not always a new improved equilibrium at the end. (N) I will then explain this construction and link it to the institution (IN)
Point 3: The genre is popular because audiences see themselves in the texts
1. I will discuss the audiences for Wife Swap and Supernanny e.g. families, mothers and women (A)
"Reality TV couldn’t be the success story it is if it didn’t appeal to lots of different kinds of audiences. It’s an all-round pleaser, an all-round entertainer. It manages this by drawing on the things we like about other genres. However, we do know some things: first of all, it appeals to younger viewers. I would call some older viewers ‘reality refuseniks’, whereas a lot of younger viewers, especially around 15-35 are much more attracted to the experimental nature of the genre, and the fact that it’s about people, about following ideas and subjects and emotions, and seeing what unfolds. Women tend to like it a bit more than men, and that’s certainly related to the fact that much reality TV draws on soap opera which, traditionally, has been a genre that appeals to women."
2. Uses and gratifications theory- mostly identification (A)
Contestants "mirror the manner in which all of us, in our everyday lives, are called on to produce a not dissimilar kind of performance"
“And we get to think about our own relationships and what we do in similar situations in some way. So the ‘people’ element and the emotions is crucially important."”
3. The element of self improvement for the contestants of the show- can provide information for the audiences who identify (A , Media effects)
"Such a narrative resolution is common in the ‘self-improvement’ broadcasting trends of the early twenty-first century."
Point 4: The genre is popular because it reflects society
1. Wife Swap and Supernanny deal with the family, the domestic etc- something that many people can relate to. (A ,S)
"If the genre continues to deal with big issues to do with health and education and mind, body and spirit matters or family breakdown, or the ‘broken Britain’ theme, then the programme-makers really need to build trust with the viewers. They’re dealing with serious issues and this requires a basis of trust that people have been treated fairly, that it’s a well-made programme with an ethical consideration to participation."
"It draws people in and forces them to take a position, often a critical position, often by imagining, would I do that in that situation? Would I behave in that way?"
2. It could be argued that Wife Swap aims to fix the idea of many failing marriages in the UK (S, Issues and debates)
3. Supernanny aims to reinforce the authority and hierarchy ideologies in society (S, Issues and debates)
4. Appeals to the voyeuristic nature of society e.g. journeying along side the lives of members of the public, seeing their highs and lows etc. (S)
"The success of reality TV is partly due to the increasingly voyeuristic nature of the society in which we live, and in part due to the obsession with celebrity and everyone wanting to be one. I would also argue that we are living in a much more ‘open society’; not open in terms of freedoms (in fact we have less freedoms), but open in terms of the ‘nothing is sacred’ philosophy."
Scopophilia: "Put simply, scopophilia is the pleasure of watching"
"The spectator’s gaze: the audience looking at the subject on the screen...The gaze is inextricably linked to power relationships – the bearer of the gaze has the power."
Conclusion
1. Summarise essay
2. It could be argued that reality TV is decreasing popularity
a. I will talk about the criticisms of reality TV and how it’s dumbing down society e.g. Big Brother, and the end of it (S, Issues and debates)
"there's a danger that in the rush to deliver more and more, quality will slip and standards will not be maintained"
"It’s often claimed that reality TV only appeals to stupid people, and we have to start by saying that that’s just simply not true! Firstly, it’s precisely the experimental nature of it, the fact that it is a mix of the things you like in other shows, a bit of soap opera, a bit of documentary, a bit of a talk show. We’re attracted to that hybrid nature of the genre."
b. Or are audiences becoming more active as they become aware of the mediated element of reality TV. (A)
"It is interesting how the recent discussion of reality television has heightened general awareness of fakery here, although it is not clear just what impact this has had on public perception of other, more serious, kinds of documentary work"
c. The decrease of docu-soap could reflect the future of reality TV’s popularity decrease (H)
"The unexpected popularity of series such as Airport, Driving School and Vets in Practice has, as suggested, led to a veritable feeding frenzy among programme makers, as rival channels sought to come up with their own docu-soap offerings."
Tuesday, 28 December 2010
Task 4: Web research (An introduction to Documentary- MediaEdu)
Documentaries have a reputation for being serious, reliable and objective in their reporting, with a commitment to truthfulness. There are documentary programmes with elements of comedy, or drama, and the modern documentary uses elements from entertainment programming to attract an audience and be entertaining.
This highlights the idea of mediation and construction to fit the ideologies of the institution or director
"In a documentary programme we the audience interpret the reality of what we see on the screen, according to our own preoccupations and prejudices. We construct our notion of reality. The freedom fighter on your screen is the same terrorist on someone else’s television. The viewer’s interpretation of the programme is an integral part of the viewing experience."
The origins of documentary
"British filmmaker John Grierson: ‘the creative treatment of actuality’ using ‘fragments of reality’ ... Grierson understood that he could not film ‘reality’, because the director or programme maker always had some input into the interpretation of any scene"This highlights the idea of mediation and construction to fit the ideologies of the institution or director
"In a documentary programme we the audience interpret the reality of what we see on the screen, according to our own preoccupations and prejudices. We construct our notion of reality. The freedom fighter on your screen is the same terrorist on someone else’s television. The viewer’s interpretation of the programme is an integral part of the viewing experience."
Argues that audiences have an involvement in the construction of "reality"
Documentary Types - The Observational Documentary
"This approach is also known as ‘fly on the wall’ as the participants become so used to the cameras and sound equipment they live as if the equipment was not there at all, as invisible as a fly on the wall. This type of documentary can still be original, interesting and provocative."
Definition of fly on the wall
"Modern variants of this technique tend to be set up and cleverly managed, and highly edited to highlight content that is sensational or startling."
" The set up becomes the format for the programme, as for example: Wife Swap (right) and Brat Camp"
the set up is a convention of documentary where situations are created- this is what makes wife swap
An Introduction to Documentary
Jeremy Orlebar Monday April 26, 2010
http://media.edusites.co.uk/index.php/article/an-introduction-to-documentary/
Thursday, 23 December 2010
Task 2: Bibliography
1. Butler, Jeremy G.. Television critical methods and applications. 2nd ed. Mahwah, N.J.: L. Erlbaum, 2002. Print.
2. Casey, Bernadette. Television studies: the key concepts. London: Routledge, 2002. Print.
3. Creeber, Glen. Tele-visions: An Introduction to Studying Television.. London: British Film Institute, 2006. Print.
4. Hill, Annette. Reality TV: audiences and popular factual television. London: Routledge, 2005. Print.
5. Hill, Annette. Restyling factual TV: audiences and news, documentary and reality genres. London: Routledge, 2007. Print.
6. Holmes, Su., and Deborah Jermyn. Understanding reality television . London: Routledge, 2004. Print.
7. Kilborn, R. W.. Staging the real: factual TV programming in the age of Big Brother. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2003. Print.
8. Murray, Susan, and Laurie Ouellette. Reality TV: remaking television culture. New York: New York University Press, 2004. Print.
9. Taddeo, Julie Anne, and Ken Dvorak. The tube has spoken: reality TV & history. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2010. Print.
2. Casey, Bernadette. Television studies: the key concepts. London: Routledge, 2002. Print.
3. Creeber, Glen. Tele-visions: An Introduction to Studying Television.. London: British Film Institute, 2006. Print.
4. Hill, Annette. Reality TV: audiences and popular factual television. London: Routledge, 2005. Print.
5. Hill, Annette. Restyling factual TV: audiences and news, documentary and reality genres. London: Routledge, 2007. Print.
6. Holmes, Su., and Deborah Jermyn. Understanding reality television . London: Routledge, 2004. Print.
7. Kilborn, R. W.. Staging the real: factual TV programming in the age of Big Brother. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2003. Print.
8. Murray, Susan, and Laurie Ouellette. Reality TV: remaking television culture. New York: New York University Press, 2004. Print.
9. Taddeo, Julie Anne, and Ken Dvorak. The tube has spoken: reality TV & history. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2010. Print.
Wednesday, 22 December 2010
Task 3: Historical context
An American Family (Craig Gilbert, USA, 1972) http://www.subcin.com/americanfamily.html
"AN AMERICAN FAMILY was television's first reality show, shot documentary style in 1971 and first aired in the United States on PBS in 1973. The show was twelve episodes long, edited down from about 300 hours of footage, and chronicled the experience of a nuclear family, the Loud family of Santa Barbara, California"
This is an american example of where the entertainment values of reality tv were mixed with the documentary style.
Police (Roger Graef, UK, 1982) http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/464502/
"Fly-on-the-wall documentary about the routine and life of the men and women of 'E' division of Thames Valley Police"
"Police was quintessential fly-on-the-wall fare. Favouring long takes over fast editing, and shorn of commentary, background music or interviews, the series offered instead the drama of real, unpredictable, life and challenged the fictional stereotypes that had dominated television police drama."
Reality TV can construct reality by showing alternatives and varied representations different to the repeated representations
"In episode three, 'A Complaint of Rape', a woman with a history of psychiatric treatment claims she has been raped by three strangers and is, in turn, bullied and cajoled by three male officers who dismiss her story out of hand ... As she is subjected to the most hostile questioning, the accusing officers fill the frame in penetrating close-ups and the viewer gains some sense of her double violation."
This example shows how the use of shots and editing have an emotional and shocking impact on its audiences, as the show "caused a public outcry and led to a change in the way police forces handled rape cases ... Police showed that the fly-on-the-wall doesn't just watch the world. It can change it too."
Sylvania Waters (BBC 1, 1993)
"highly selective and skillfully edited" page 209, staging the real
Titcut Follies (1967)
"Wiseman's cinema-verite masterpiece about the horrid conditions at a Massachusetts asylum for the criminally insane is very possibly the greatest documentary film of all time, and it is not the kind of film that you just sit back in your oversized bean bag chair to enjoy. Forget about
what youve seen in Hollywood films, this is the raw, hellish reality of living in a cement cell,
as indifferent and sadistic guards taunt and abuse the inmates. Watch in horror as a doctor
forcefeeds a patient through a nose-tube, while carelessly dropping cigarette ash into the mix.
Screaming, babbling maniacs galore... the lunatic is on the grass, indeed"
http://www.subcin.com/titicut.html
"AN AMERICAN FAMILY was television's first reality show, shot documentary style in 1971 and first aired in the United States on PBS in 1973. The show was twelve episodes long, edited down from about 300 hours of footage, and chronicled the experience of a nuclear family, the Loud family of Santa Barbara, California"
This is an american example of where the entertainment values of reality tv were mixed with the documentary style.
Police (Roger Graef, UK, 1982) http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/464502/
"Fly-on-the-wall documentary about the routine and life of the men and women of 'E' division of Thames Valley Police"
"Police was quintessential fly-on-the-wall fare. Favouring long takes over fast editing, and shorn of commentary, background music or interviews, the series offered instead the drama of real, unpredictable, life and challenged the fictional stereotypes that had dominated television police drama."
Reality TV can construct reality by showing alternatives and varied representations different to the repeated representations
"In episode three, 'A Complaint of Rape', a woman with a history of psychiatric treatment claims she has been raped by three strangers and is, in turn, bullied and cajoled by three male officers who dismiss her story out of hand ... As she is subjected to the most hostile questioning, the accusing officers fill the frame in penetrating close-ups and the viewer gains some sense of her double violation."
This example shows how the use of shots and editing have an emotional and shocking impact on its audiences, as the show "caused a public outcry and led to a change in the way police forces handled rape cases ... Police showed that the fly-on-the-wall doesn't just watch the world. It can change it too."
Sylvania Waters (BBC 1, 1993)
"highly selective and skillfully edited" page 209, staging the real
Titcut Follies (1967)
"Wiseman's cinema-verite masterpiece about the horrid conditions at a Massachusetts asylum for the criminally insane is very possibly the greatest documentary film of all time, and it is not the kind of film that you just sit back in your oversized bean bag chair to enjoy. Forget about
what youve seen in Hollywood films, this is the raw, hellish reality of living in a cement cell,
as indifferent and sadistic guards taunt and abuse the inmates. Watch in horror as a doctor
forcefeeds a patient through a nose-tube, while carelessly dropping cigarette ash into the mix.
Screaming, babbling maniacs galore... the lunatic is on the grass, indeed"
http://www.subcin.com/titicut.html
Books and relevant quotes
Annette Hill, Reality TV: audiences and popular factual television, Routledge, 2005
"From a positive perspective, certain reality TV programmes can encourage viewers to apply an ethics of care in their everyday lives...an ethics of care presented in lifestyle programming is primarly about the care and responsibilities of individual households."
Reality TV adopts elements from documentary:
Different types of documentary:
Observational
Reflexive/performative
Docu-drama
Mock documentaries
Staging the real: factual TV programming in the age of Big Brother
The decrease in popularity of documentary in "Factual/documentary programming is now seen as having to fight for its place in the chedule alongside other genres." page 8
The shift from documentary to reality genres: "They see these developments as a more or less systematic attempt to replace the more serious and challegening forms of documentary with so much lightweight, undemanding pap"
Histrical example of the documentary and its values:
Civilisation (BBC 2, 1969)"When first transmitted it was generally considered to have enhanced the status of documentary by the way in which it brought a difficult high culture topic to the attention of a mass TV audience" page 9
"Though some of the new formats carry echoes of more serious catagories of work (the observational documentary, the investigative report), the feature that is common to all these newly devised formats is their entertainment orientation. Manifestly designed to appeal to a prime-time audience, the new formats have frequently imported structures and components from other TV genres to enhance their attractiveness" page 9
This shows how reality TV adopts elements of other TV show
Selection process of reality shows: "First in their choice and deployment of real-life performers, programme makers are well aware that they are looking for a special kind of performance ability." page 13
Audience appeal: "checking out how well subjects are able to maintain this level of performance"
Audience appeal: "mirror the manner in which all of us, in our everyday lives, are called on to produce a not dissimilar kind of performance" page 14
Audience appeal: "the pleasures that audiences take in measuring the subject's ability to generate an appropriate performance as a reflection of that real-life role-playing in which all of us are required to indulge on a daily basis." page 15
"It seems to me that all this inclusion and democratization fosters a culture which values participaton over ablity and popularity over excellence: the karaoke culture" page 15
Docu-soaps dumbing down- could reality tv be doing the same? "there's a danger that in the ruch to deliver more and more, quality will slip and standards will not be maintained" page
The decrease of docu-soap- could this suggest how post-2000 reality might end up?
"The unexpected popularity of series such as Airport, Driving School and Vets in Practice has, as suggested, led to a veritable feeding frenzy among programme makers, as rival channels sought to come up with their own docu-soap offerings."
Suzan Murray, Laurie Ouellette, Reality TV: remaking television culture
http://books.google.com/books?id=4_W19oHGzZQC&pg=PA179&dq=channel+4+and+reality+tv&hl=en#v=onepage&q=channel%204%20and%20reality%20tv&f=false
"Producer Craig Gilbert described the above nonfiction program, An American Family, as a "real-life soap opera" in regard to its narrative structure." page 65
"it is now alternately discussed as an observational documentary and an early form of reality television" page 66
This is one of my historical examples and shows how the genre is not clear cut like my contemporary shows Wife Swap and Supernanny
"The types of reality programs that share the most textual and aesthetic characteristics with documentaries tend to focs on the everyday lives of their subjects in somewhat "natural" settings without a game set up...or the promise of prizes"
This shows how my two case studies can be considered as taking from documentary because there is the natural element
Television: critical methods and applications By Jeremy G. Butler http://books.google.com/books?id=9ZtBYbEGhi8C&pg=PA80&dq=reality+and+narrative+structure&hl=en&ei=DigTTZy0BKGShAfoxOm2Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=reality%20and%20narrative%20structure&f=false
"they should have structure and conflict, problem and denouement, rising and falling action, a begining, a middle and an end" page 80
narrative structure of my case studies
"the media manipulate and process those events that they have selected for us... it is also mediates according to ideological, institutionalised parameters" page 81
the link between mediation and the institution that does it
An ordinary person in a reality show is called as "social actor" as they represent themselves in the show- though it is still somewhat a performance. Page 84
The feeling of personal audience interaction: "The characters interact as if there were no one watching...there are millions watching" Page 85
The tube has spoken: reality TV & history By Julie Anne Taddeo, Ken Dvorak
http://books.google.com/books?id=NBHXVBEHVzEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=wife+swap+reality+TV&hl=en&ei=eikTTeDkLYabhQfO8qy3Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&sqi=2&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=wife%20swap%20reality%20TV&f=false
Tele-vison: An introduction to studying television
"It is interesting how the recent discussion of reality television has heightended general awareness of fakery here, although it is not clear just what impact this has had on public perception of other, more serious, kinds of documentary work" page 62
"From a positive perspective, certain reality TV programmes can encourage viewers to apply an ethics of care in their everyday lives...an ethics of care presented in lifestyle programming is primarly about the care and responsibilities of individual households."
Reality TV adopts elements from documentary:
Different types of documentary:
Observational
Reflexive/performative
Docu-drama
Mock documentaries
Staging the real: factual TV programming in the age of Big Brother
The decrease in popularity of documentary in "Factual/documentary programming is now seen as having to fight for its place in the chedule alongside other genres." page 8
The shift from documentary to reality genres: "They see these developments as a more or less systematic attempt to replace the more serious and challegening forms of documentary with so much lightweight, undemanding pap"
Histrical example of the documentary and its values:
Civilisation (BBC 2, 1969)"When first transmitted it was generally considered to have enhanced the status of documentary by the way in which it brought a difficult high culture topic to the attention of a mass TV audience" page 9
"Though some of the new formats carry echoes of more serious catagories of work (the observational documentary, the investigative report), the feature that is common to all these newly devised formats is their entertainment orientation. Manifestly designed to appeal to a prime-time audience, the new formats have frequently imported structures and components from other TV genres to enhance their attractiveness" page 9
This shows how reality TV adopts elements of other TV show
Selection process of reality shows: "First in their choice and deployment of real-life performers, programme makers are well aware that they are looking for a special kind of performance ability." page 13
Audience appeal: "checking out how well subjects are able to maintain this level of performance"
Audience appeal: "mirror the manner in which all of us, in our everyday lives, are called on to produce a not dissimilar kind of performance" page 14
Audience appeal: "the pleasures that audiences take in measuring the subject's ability to generate an appropriate performance as a reflection of that real-life role-playing in which all of us are required to indulge on a daily basis." page 15
"It seems to me that all this inclusion and democratization fosters a culture which values participaton over ablity and popularity over excellence: the karaoke culture" page 15
Docu-soaps dumbing down- could reality tv be doing the same? "there's a danger that in the ruch to deliver more and more, quality will slip and standards will not be maintained" page
The decrease of docu-soap- could this suggest how post-2000 reality might end up?
"The unexpected popularity of series such as Airport, Driving School and Vets in Practice has, as suggested, led to a veritable feeding frenzy among programme makers, as rival channels sought to come up with their own docu-soap offerings."
Suzan Murray, Laurie Ouellette, Reality TV: remaking television culture
http://books.google.com/books?id=4_W19oHGzZQC&pg=PA179&dq=channel+4+and+reality+tv&hl=en#v=onepage&q=channel%204%20and%20reality%20tv&f=false
"Producer Craig Gilbert described the above nonfiction program, An American Family, as a "real-life soap opera" in regard to its narrative structure." page 65
"it is now alternately discussed as an observational documentary and an early form of reality television" page 66
This is one of my historical examples and shows how the genre is not clear cut like my contemporary shows Wife Swap and Supernanny
"The types of reality programs that share the most textual and aesthetic characteristics with documentaries tend to focs on the everyday lives of their subjects in somewhat "natural" settings without a game set up...or the promise of prizes"
This shows how my two case studies can be considered as taking from documentary because there is the natural element
Television: critical methods and applications By Jeremy G. Butler http://books.google.com/books?id=9ZtBYbEGhi8C&pg=PA80&dq=reality+and+narrative+structure&hl=en&ei=DigTTZy0BKGShAfoxOm2Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=reality%20and%20narrative%20structure&f=false
"they should have structure and conflict, problem and denouement, rising and falling action, a begining, a middle and an end" page 80
narrative structure of my case studies
"the media manipulate and process those events that they have selected for us... it is also mediates according to ideological, institutionalised parameters" page 81
the link between mediation and the institution that does it
An ordinary person in a reality show is called as "social actor" as they represent themselves in the show- though it is still somewhat a performance. Page 84
The feeling of personal audience interaction: "The characters interact as if there were no one watching...there are millions watching" Page 85
The tube has spoken: reality TV & history By Julie Anne Taddeo, Ken Dvorak
http://books.google.com/books?id=NBHXVBEHVzEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=wife+swap+reality+TV&hl=en&ei=eikTTeDkLYabhQfO8qy3Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&sqi=2&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=wife%20swap%20reality%20TV&f=false
Tele-vison: An introduction to studying television
"It is interesting how the recent discussion of reality television has heightended general awareness of fakery here, although it is not clear just what impact this has had on public perception of other, more serious, kinds of documentary work" page 62
Tuesday, 21 December 2010
Task 1: Wife Swap Series 7 Episode 1 Textual Analysis
The main analysis refers to the introduction of the two families: 1.20-4.20
I watched this episode on 40D via Youtube and now has come off due to its 30 day viewing time, but the family names are the Escotts Vs Ahmeds
The narrative structure is simple and ends very much like a fictional show; there is mostly a happy ending. The linear narrative show allows the audience to journey along side the family; the voyeuristic element allows intimacy with their lives. The show starts off with the equilibrium of two families living their lives. The disequilibrium is the swap itself, the disruption of a new wife with very different values and life style which then leads onto the rule changes, disrupting the family lives even more. The show ends with a “show down” where the two families attempt to resolve any issues. The ending usually shows the two families with a happier ending and provides the audience with denouement. This repetative structure of the show relfects how society lives in the fictional world with films and dramas, which reinforces the idea of hyperreality: "The simulation of something which never really existed" (Baulldrid) and the inability to distinguish reality and fantasy.
One of the narrative techniques that makes the show unique is the strong binary oppositions of the two families which connotes and foreshadows conflict. The binary oppositions come from the contrasting representations of the families and their ethinicities. The first family introduced is an asian family called the Ahmeds. In terms of Structuralism, shots of the mosque, clothing and close ups of cultural food all signify how the institution has chosen to highlight their strong religious and cultural background. This distances and alienates the family from some audiences as they may not recognise the things they've seen. In particular the use of non-digetic music reinforces their culture and is unrecognisable to the audience. This contrasts with the British family where the non-digetic music is a well known allowing British and majority of other audiences to identify with this family. This all suggests that not only are opposite families are selected to create contrast and conflict, but that the institution mediated the swap process to make one family favoured by the audience; in this case it is the Escotts. This is because the Escotts reflect the diverse nature of families in Britiain with a lesbian daughter, bredwinner mother and a step father. The Ahmeds may have been poorly represented as the text allowes space for post-9/11 attituedes towards them from the audience, and does little to challenge and accuratly represent their religion and culture.
Though there are little educational elements of the show, its aesthetics adopts the conventions of documentary. Wife Swap is a fly on the wall documentary with entertainment and self improvement values which sometimes classes it as reality TV. Fly on the wall documentaries such as An American Family (Gilbert, 1972) show the origins of shows surrounding the voyerism of family life. Wife Swap uses conventions such as the humorous voice over, interviews with the family member characters and sound bridging all add to the feel of a documentary. The most noticable convention is the hand held camera providing voyeristic elements to the show. This is one of the elements that make reality TV so popular as it highlights societies love of viewing and prying in others lives in our "open society"
Wife Swap’s entertaining nature strongly reflects the ideologies of its broadcaster, Channel 4. Channel 4 is a commercial channel which means unlike a Public Service Broadcaster, it's sole intention is to make lots of money which mean providing programmes that audiences want to watch. In the current tv landscape it seems that reality tv and its entertainment is what audiences want and therefore many of the shows Channel 4 broadcast such as "Alan Carr: Chatty Man" or "The Simpsons" reflect its strong entertainment values and at times this entertainment can be of adult content suggesting why Wife Swap is aired after watershed. Channel 4 also has aims of reflecting a multicultural society and this shows why it would air this programme and in particular this episode of the show, highlighting its positive and liberal ideologies. As money is important to this institution, a show such as Wife Swap with a cheap production cost, real people, no scripts or expensive settings would attract such a broadcaster.
Like other reality TV shows, Wife Swap has a larger audience compared to other genres, which makes the show very popular. Wife Swap is targeted at 16-45 year olds with a wider audience of 14-60 year olds. Interestingly the show has the capability to appeal to all of the 4C’s as the show represents theses people through their lifestyle and values which audiences can identify with and support. For example the Ahmed’s are a resigned family as they stick to historical and cultural traditions, while the Escotts are Reformers, independent with their individual values. Not only does it appeal to a wide range of 4Cs but a wide range of ethnicities as they want to see how they are represented in the show. The show is targeted at a family audience due to its house hold setting and family orientated characters. The show provides narrative pleasure such as the happy endings, suspense of how the wives and families will interact and there are always strong expectations for conflict as this is the main source of entertainment. In terms of the uses and gratifications theory, escapism allows audiences to voyeuristically interact with another home and family life, see how they live in the comfort of their own home. With this comes the entertainment, seeing how the wife’s and new families struggle to get on with each other or settling into the new rules. The ways in which families respond to the Wife Swapping situation allows audiences to identify with the families as well as identifying their own faults and possible improvements in their own lives: this becomes the information and learning element of the uses and gratifications theory.
I watched this episode on 40D via Youtube and now has come off due to its 30 day viewing time, but the family names are the Escotts Vs Ahmeds
The narrative structure is simple and ends very much like a fictional show; there is mostly a happy ending. The linear narrative show allows the audience to journey along side the family; the voyeuristic element allows intimacy with their lives. The show starts off with the equilibrium of two families living their lives. The disequilibrium is the swap itself, the disruption of a new wife with very different values and life style which then leads onto the rule changes, disrupting the family lives even more. The show ends with a “show down” where the two families attempt to resolve any issues. The ending usually shows the two families with a happier ending and provides the audience with denouement. This repetative structure of the show relfects how society lives in the fictional world with films and dramas, which reinforces the idea of hyperreality: "The simulation of something which never really existed" (Baulldrid) and the inability to distinguish reality and fantasy.
One of the narrative techniques that makes the show unique is the strong binary oppositions of the two families which connotes and foreshadows conflict. The binary oppositions come from the contrasting representations of the families and their ethinicities. The first family introduced is an asian family called the Ahmeds. In terms of Structuralism, shots of the mosque, clothing and close ups of cultural food all signify how the institution has chosen to highlight their strong religious and cultural background. This distances and alienates the family from some audiences as they may not recognise the things they've seen. In particular the use of non-digetic music reinforces their culture and is unrecognisable to the audience. This contrasts with the British family where the non-digetic music is a well known allowing British and majority of other audiences to identify with this family. This all suggests that not only are opposite families are selected to create contrast and conflict, but that the institution mediated the swap process to make one family favoured by the audience; in this case it is the Escotts. This is because the Escotts reflect the diverse nature of families in Britiain with a lesbian daughter, bredwinner mother and a step father. The Ahmeds may have been poorly represented as the text allowes space for post-9/11 attituedes towards them from the audience, and does little to challenge and accuratly represent their religion and culture.
Though there are little educational elements of the show, its aesthetics adopts the conventions of documentary. Wife Swap is a fly on the wall documentary with entertainment and self improvement values which sometimes classes it as reality TV. Fly on the wall documentaries such as An American Family (Gilbert, 1972) show the origins of shows surrounding the voyerism of family life. Wife Swap uses conventions such as the humorous voice over, interviews with the family member characters and sound bridging all add to the feel of a documentary. The most noticable convention is the hand held camera providing voyeristic elements to the show. This is one of the elements that make reality TV so popular as it highlights societies love of viewing and prying in others lives in our "open society"
Wife Swap’s entertaining nature strongly reflects the ideologies of its broadcaster, Channel 4. Channel 4 is a commercial channel which means unlike a Public Service Broadcaster, it's sole intention is to make lots of money which mean providing programmes that audiences want to watch. In the current tv landscape it seems that reality tv and its entertainment is what audiences want and therefore many of the shows Channel 4 broadcast such as "Alan Carr: Chatty Man" or "The Simpsons" reflect its strong entertainment values and at times this entertainment can be of adult content suggesting why Wife Swap is aired after watershed. Channel 4 also has aims of reflecting a multicultural society and this shows why it would air this programme and in particular this episode of the show, highlighting its positive and liberal ideologies. As money is important to this institution, a show such as Wife Swap with a cheap production cost, real people, no scripts or expensive settings would attract such a broadcaster.
Like other reality TV shows, Wife Swap has a larger audience compared to other genres, which makes the show very popular. Wife Swap is targeted at 16-45 year olds with a wider audience of 14-60 year olds. Interestingly the show has the capability to appeal to all of the 4C’s as the show represents theses people through their lifestyle and values which audiences can identify with and support. For example the Ahmed’s are a resigned family as they stick to historical and cultural traditions, while the Escotts are Reformers, independent with their individual values. Not only does it appeal to a wide range of 4Cs but a wide range of ethnicities as they want to see how they are represented in the show. The show is targeted at a family audience due to its house hold setting and family orientated characters. The show provides narrative pleasure such as the happy endings, suspense of how the wives and families will interact and there are always strong expectations for conflict as this is the main source of entertainment. In terms of the uses and gratifications theory, escapism allows audiences to voyeuristically interact with another home and family life, see how they live in the comfort of their own home. With this comes the entertainment, seeing how the wife’s and new families struggle to get on with each other or settling into the new rules. The ways in which families respond to the Wife Swapping situation allows audiences to identify with the families as well as identifying their own faults and possible improvements in their own lives: this becomes the information and learning element of the uses and gratifications theory.
Saturday, 20 November 2010
Critcal Investigation proposal
I would pitch my idea as "Supernanny goes to school"
This reality show, set in a school, focuses on out of control, angry, intimidating students who have weak, vunerable teachers who just can't cope.
To solve this constant torment, the "Take Overs" come in- three strong minded, skilled, experienced, boot camp like authoritative figures who go into the class room and shake things up a bit by disiplining them, to turn them into ideal students.
This will have similar ideologies and values to Supernanny and Wife Swap as it aims to better people in society. It fits into a contemporary media landscape as it is reality tv and aims to tackle "obedient teens" and related moral panics associated e.g. gang culture and knife crime.
This would target an age range of 16-35: teens who can identify with the setting and student characters, and adults- parents and teachers- can identify with the teen characters in the text
Sinker
This text might be controversial as it may appear to reinforce negative stereotypes of teenages. However, as most classes are, there are particular students who are the bad one and some who are the good hard working. I would aim to reflect this as best as I can.
Narrative
Similar structure for every episode: Equilbrium would be the bad class with the stressed out teenagers, disequlibrim would be the takeovers coming in disrupting the norm, the new equilibrium would be the students' behaviour improves and the teacher can relax in lessons =)
This reality show, set in a school, focuses on out of control, angry, intimidating students who have weak, vunerable teachers who just can't cope.
To solve this constant torment, the "Take Overs" come in- three strong minded, skilled, experienced, boot camp like authoritative figures who go into the class room and shake things up a bit by disiplining them, to turn them into ideal students.
This will have similar ideologies and values to Supernanny and Wife Swap as it aims to better people in society. It fits into a contemporary media landscape as it is reality tv and aims to tackle "obedient teens" and related moral panics associated e.g. gang culture and knife crime.
This would target an age range of 16-35: teens who can identify with the setting and student characters, and adults- parents and teachers- can identify with the teen characters in the text
Sinker
This text might be controversial as it may appear to reinforce negative stereotypes of teenages. However, as most classes are, there are particular students who are the bad one and some who are the good hard working. I would aim to reflect this as best as I can.
Narrative
Similar structure for every episode: Equilbrium would be the bad class with the stressed out teenagers, disequlibrim would be the takeovers coming in disrupting the norm, the new equilibrium would be the students' behaviour improves and the teacher can relax in lessons =)
Wednesday, 17 November 2010
Critical Investigation essay plan
How does the Reality TV genre construct "Reality" and why is it so popular?
Intro
The history of reality TV- where did it come from and why does it exist (http://http//biancamest4.blogspot.com/2010/10/reality-tv-big-brother-phenomenon.html, http://http//biancamest4.blogspot.com/2010/11/reality-tv-interview-with-annette-hill.html)
Cheap production, new fresh idea, wide audience appeal (http://http//biancamest4.blogspot.com/2010/11/what-can-philosophy-teach-us-about.html)
Reality TV- (Wife Swap and Supernanny: documentary style- more believed) (http://http//biancamest4.blogspot.com/2010/11/reality-tv-interview-with-annette-hill.html)
Point one
Intro
The history of reality TV- where did it come from and why does it exist (http://http//biancamest4.blogspot.com/2010/10/reality-tv-big-brother-phenomenon.html, http://http//biancamest4.blogspot.com/2010/11/reality-tv-interview-with-annette-hill.html)
Cheap production, new fresh idea, wide audience appeal (http://http//biancamest4.blogspot.com/2010/11/what-can-philosophy-teach-us-about.html)
Reality TV- (Wife Swap and Supernanny: documentary style- more believed) (http://http//biancamest4.blogspot.com/2010/11/reality-tv-interview-with-annette-hill.html)
Point one
Mediation-how do the texts create meaning through selecting and editing (character roles and representations) - http://http//biancamest4.blogspot.com/2010/11/constructed-world-of-wife-swap.html
Selecting process- target the fame hungry and desperate- provies more entertainment (http://http//biancamest4.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-do-reality-shows-select-contestants.html
Hegemony (http://http//biancamest4.blogspot.com/2010/11/what-can-philosophy-teach-us-about.html)
Textual analysis of the two texts and how the mediation effects the audience
Point two
Why is it constructed this way?- The institutions values and how they are conveyed
Channel 4- commercial institution (famous for broadcasting reality TV e.g. big brother)can afford to produce "risky shows"
Present their own ideogies- take sides etc. (http://http//biancamest4.blogspot.com/2010/11/constructed-world-of-wife-swap.html)
Point three
Why is it so popular? (http://http//biancamest4.blogspot.com/2010/11/reality-tv-interview-with-annette-hill.html) Voyeristic element
Uses and gratifications theory- identification, escapism, discussion and information (Wife Swap and Supernanny-moral panics and media effects)- http://http//biancamest4.blogspot.com/2010/11/reality-tv-whats-happening.html
Postmoderinsm- bluring of reality and entertainment
Wide range of reality genres- accessible to a wide audience
Point four
Is it decreasing popularity (Death of Big brother)
Reality TV as junk food
Effects on society (Media Effects)
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Relevant Issuses and Debates
Representation and stereotyping
There is a lot of exaggerated and repetition of representations, sometimes creating and reinforcing particular stereotypes.
Supernanny: Naughty and rude kids- typical behaviour expected of teenages not 5 year olds
Wife Swap: Dominant members in the family who are controling- this is brought up witgh the swap such as clashing of families and their values
Reality TV
The genre is reality TV but is presented as a documentary. This may be due to the criticisms of reality TV. Documentaries have historically been taken seriously and as a source of information.
Moral Panics
Similar to the moral panic, after watching this show, audiences that identify with the texts may change their ways to make their lives better.
Supernanny: Struggling parents might use similar techniques from the show to control their child.
Wife Swap: Families might review their lives after watching the show to improve their own.
There is a lot of exaggerated and repetition of representations, sometimes creating and reinforcing particular stereotypes.
Supernanny: Naughty and rude kids- typical behaviour expected of teenages not 5 year olds
Wife Swap: Dominant members in the family who are controling- this is brought up witgh the swap such as clashing of families and their values
Reality TV
The genre is reality TV but is presented as a documentary. This may be due to the criticisms of reality TV. Documentaries have historically been taken seriously and as a source of information.
Moral Panics
Due to the representations of groups constatntly being repeated, it makes the audience become concerned about certain issues
Supernanny: Constantly seeing children behaving extremely badly- could raise concerns about parenting in Britain as the parents are represented as bad or weak people.
Helps "fix" the moral panics of bad behaving teens who are constantly represented in the media negativly. This text aims to "nip it in the bud".
Wife Swap: In society failing marriages seems to be a problem (something like 1 in 3 divorce rate). This text is possibly trying to resolve this by making families see their own problems and their attempts to fix them at the end of the show. This tells audiences that things can be solved in a marriage.
Media EffectsSimilar to the moral panic, after watching this show, audiences that identify with the texts may change their ways to make their lives better.
Supernanny: Struggling parents might use similar techniques from the show to control their child.
Wife Swap: Families might review their lives after watching the show to improve their own.
Saturday, 6 November 2010
Reality TV: an interview with Annette Hill
This article from Mediamagazine is relevant to my critical investigation as it provides information on the history of reality TV, how it appeals to its audiences, connections with other genres and its links and relativity to society.
"We could say that there are two broad elements of a genre that make it reality TV: an observational strand, where you follow people around and see what happens, and a created strand where you make a situation work in front of the television, almost like made-for-TV reality. Both of those strands always rely on a mix of fact and fiction, of popular elements of documentary or news, combined with popular elements of lifestyle or talk shows and even little bits of drama like melodrama or soap opera."
"it blurs the boundary between factual programming like news and documentary and fictional programming like soap opera or melodrama"
"Reality TV is a hybrid of the two things coming together."
"Reality TV is a direct response to that. For example, in the 1980s, the growth and huge success of the talk show, with people talking about themselves, arguing and debating and fighting over their emotional and personal lives became high conflict situations, could be seen as a precursor of reality TV. In the 1980s there was an actors’ strike and a big conflict around what was paid to writers of drama. And this created a wonderful gap in the market which was filled by reality TV. It also exploited the success of local news, which was a boom area in the 1980s, where we had ‘on-scene/as-it-happened’ styles of news. Throughout the 1990s reality TV took over from the talk show and became the most dominant genre in factual entertainment in America and in Britain...Now in the Noughties, we have strikes going on around writers’ pay and actors’ pay once again, and we can see the huge growth of the reality talent show genre as a direct response to this. So it’s always a creative and economic response to a crisis going on within broadcasting."
"Public service broadcasters like the BBC came in early on the more instructional observational styles of reality television....Changing Rooms were good examples of reality television which, though entertaining, also had an instructional public service element."
"commercial broadcasters was much more about shows which would produce income, for example, voting revenue; that voting revenue didn’t feed back into a public service environment but into a direct commercial environment. Channel 4, being a hybrid of public service and a commercial channel, can pick a format like Big Brother where the revenue feeds back into the commercial environment of the show."
"The reality genre has had a huge impact on other kinds of factual genres. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that there’s been a more general restyling of many kinds of factual content, from news and investigative programmes, through documentary to lifestyle and reality TV as a whole."
"It’s often claimed that reality TV only appeals to stupid people, and we have to start by saying that that’s just simply not true! Firstly, it’s precisely the experimental nature of it, the fact that it is a mix of the things you like in other shows, a bit of soap opera, a bit of documentary, a bit of a talk show. We’re attracted to that hybrid nature of the genre."
"A second factor would be the emphasis on emotions, drama, relationships: our hopes and fears and dreams, and what makes us angry, what makes us cry, what makes us happy. All of that is performed within these kinds of reality TV shows. And we get to interact with these people, whether through arguing with them, relating to them, or voting for or against them. And we get to think about our own relationships and what we do in similar situations in some way. So the ‘people’ element and the emotions is crucially important."
"Reality TV couldn’t be the success story it is if it didn’t appeal to lots of different kinds of audiences. It’s an all-round pleaser, an all-round entertainer. It manages this by drawing on the things we like about other genres. However, we do know some things: first of all, it appeals to younger viewers. I would call some older viewers ‘reality refuseniks’, whereas a lot of younger viewers, especially around 15-35 are much more attracted to the experimental nature of the genre, and the fact that it’s about people, about following ideas and subjects and emotions, and seeing what unfolds. Women tend to like it a bit more than men, and that’s certainly related to the fact that much reality TV draws on soap opera which, traditionally, has been a genre that appeals to women."
"reality TV unites the public across gender, and across class, and this makes it appealing to the audience, even though it’s representing different classes within the shows themselves."
"some of the biggest and still most dominant discussions about reality TV are precisely that it’s trash TV, junk food TV. Reality TV as junk food TV has become such a dominant discourse in society that even viewers who watch it are repeating the same arguments back to us.
"Also, because reality TV is controversial in the way it mixes different things, it often makes mistakes and can produce something that’s terrible as well as something brilliant. And these concerns are not only about the quality of the content – is it good? – but about the impact of the content on the audience."
"Reality television is very much a people-orientated kind of genre. It is about emotional relations, social relations, the way we communicate, the way we don’t communicate. It draws people in and forces them to take a position, often a critical position, often by imagining, would I do that in that situation? Would I behave in that way? In some ways it provides a kind of safe space in your own home to watch the social relations, the way people fight and argue and love and hate, and so on."
"What reality TV does is bring up a moral issue and make people confront it and say, well, what kind of position are we going to take? Whether it resolves the issue for people is another matter."
Renowned documentary maker, Roger Graef’s idea of chains of trust and distrust is a wonderful concept for us to use in the analysis of reality television. I would say at its best, reality TV can invoke a chain of trust"
"If the genre continues to deal with big issues to do with health and education and mind, body and spirit matters or family breakdown, or the ‘broken Britain’ theme, then the programme-makers really need to build trust with the viewers. They’re dealing with serious issues and this requires a basis of trust that people have been treated fairly, that it’s a well-made programme with an ethical consideration to participation."
"The trend that we’ve seen already set over the last few years for reality talent shows is going to continue, for lots of reasons. One is that variety is an absolute fundamental part of popular culture, and it’s part of its history from day 1, and it will continue to be a crucial part of the way popular culture develops in the future. And secondly, economically and in terms of production issues, the birth of the format, which allows a particular show to be reproduced around the world, will continue to ride the wave in popular TV genres."
"Looking at social and cultural trends more broadly, I think we’re going to see some kind of move towards issues to do with the mind, body and spirit, perhaps to do with religious beliefs but, more importantly, in the way that we relate to our dead relatives – getting in touch with them; speaking to psychics. These issues are already featuring in daytime TV, and talk shows; Most Haunted is one quite long-running example. I expect to see examples of spiritual transformation shows in the future."
"We can also expect to see even more short-term examples of programmes that deal directly with the economic crisis – how to make more money, how to improve your CV, how to get a job in a difficult environment. So we’ll see some short-term responses to specific issues that we’re dealing with right now and I think, some longer-term trends that clearly raise much bigger questions to do with what happens to us when we die"
Annette Hill was interviewed by Jenny Grahame.
This article first appeared in MediaMagazine 30, December 2009.
"We could say that there are two broad elements of a genre that make it reality TV: an observational strand, where you follow people around and see what happens, and a created strand where you make a situation work in front of the television, almost like made-for-TV reality. Both of those strands always rely on a mix of fact and fiction, of popular elements of documentary or news, combined with popular elements of lifestyle or talk shows and even little bits of drama like melodrama or soap opera."
"it blurs the boundary between factual programming like news and documentary and fictional programming like soap opera or melodrama"
"Reality TV is a hybrid of the two things coming together."
"Reality TV is a direct response to that. For example, in the 1980s, the growth and huge success of the talk show, with people talking about themselves, arguing and debating and fighting over their emotional and personal lives became high conflict situations, could be seen as a precursor of reality TV. In the 1980s there was an actors’ strike and a big conflict around what was paid to writers of drama. And this created a wonderful gap in the market which was filled by reality TV. It also exploited the success of local news, which was a boom area in the 1980s, where we had ‘on-scene/as-it-happened’ styles of news. Throughout the 1990s reality TV took over from the talk show and became the most dominant genre in factual entertainment in America and in Britain...Now in the Noughties, we have strikes going on around writers’ pay and actors’ pay once again, and we can see the huge growth of the reality talent show genre as a direct response to this. So it’s always a creative and economic response to a crisis going on within broadcasting."
"Public service broadcasters like the BBC came in early on the more instructional observational styles of reality television....Changing Rooms were good examples of reality television which, though entertaining, also had an instructional public service element."
"commercial broadcasters was much more about shows which would produce income, for example, voting revenue; that voting revenue didn’t feed back into a public service environment but into a direct commercial environment. Channel 4, being a hybrid of public service and a commercial channel, can pick a format like Big Brother where the revenue feeds back into the commercial environment of the show."
"The reality genre has had a huge impact on other kinds of factual genres. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that there’s been a more general restyling of many kinds of factual content, from news and investigative programmes, through documentary to lifestyle and reality TV as a whole."
"It’s often claimed that reality TV only appeals to stupid people, and we have to start by saying that that’s just simply not true! Firstly, it’s precisely the experimental nature of it, the fact that it is a mix of the things you like in other shows, a bit of soap opera, a bit of documentary, a bit of a talk show. We’re attracted to that hybrid nature of the genre."
"A second factor would be the emphasis on emotions, drama, relationships: our hopes and fears and dreams, and what makes us angry, what makes us cry, what makes us happy. All of that is performed within these kinds of reality TV shows. And we get to interact with these people, whether through arguing with them, relating to them, or voting for or against them. And we get to think about our own relationships and what we do in similar situations in some way. So the ‘people’ element and the emotions is crucially important."
"Reality TV couldn’t be the success story it is if it didn’t appeal to lots of different kinds of audiences. It’s an all-round pleaser, an all-round entertainer. It manages this by drawing on the things we like about other genres. However, we do know some things: first of all, it appeals to younger viewers. I would call some older viewers ‘reality refuseniks’, whereas a lot of younger viewers, especially around 15-35 are much more attracted to the experimental nature of the genre, and the fact that it’s about people, about following ideas and subjects and emotions, and seeing what unfolds. Women tend to like it a bit more than men, and that’s certainly related to the fact that much reality TV draws on soap opera which, traditionally, has been a genre that appeals to women."
"reality TV unites the public across gender, and across class, and this makes it appealing to the audience, even though it’s representing different classes within the shows themselves."
"some of the biggest and still most dominant discussions about reality TV are precisely that it’s trash TV, junk food TV. Reality TV as junk food TV has become such a dominant discourse in society that even viewers who watch it are repeating the same arguments back to us.
"Also, because reality TV is controversial in the way it mixes different things, it often makes mistakes and can produce something that’s terrible as well as something brilliant. And these concerns are not only about the quality of the content – is it good? – but about the impact of the content on the audience."
"Reality television is very much a people-orientated kind of genre. It is about emotional relations, social relations, the way we communicate, the way we don’t communicate. It draws people in and forces them to take a position, often a critical position, often by imagining, would I do that in that situation? Would I behave in that way? In some ways it provides a kind of safe space in your own home to watch the social relations, the way people fight and argue and love and hate, and so on."
"What reality TV does is bring up a moral issue and make people confront it and say, well, what kind of position are we going to take? Whether it resolves the issue for people is another matter."
Renowned documentary maker, Roger Graef’s idea of chains of trust and distrust is a wonderful concept for us to use in the analysis of reality television. I would say at its best, reality TV can invoke a chain of trust"
"If the genre continues to deal with big issues to do with health and education and mind, body and spirit matters or family breakdown, or the ‘broken Britain’ theme, then the programme-makers really need to build trust with the viewers. They’re dealing with serious issues and this requires a basis of trust that people have been treated fairly, that it’s a well-made programme with an ethical consideration to participation."
"The trend that we’ve seen already set over the last few years for reality talent shows is going to continue, for lots of reasons. One is that variety is an absolute fundamental part of popular culture, and it’s part of its history from day 1, and it will continue to be a crucial part of the way popular culture develops in the future. And secondly, economically and in terms of production issues, the birth of the format, which allows a particular show to be reproduced around the world, will continue to ride the wave in popular TV genres."
"Looking at social and cultural trends more broadly, I think we’re going to see some kind of move towards issues to do with the mind, body and spirit, perhaps to do with religious beliefs but, more importantly, in the way that we relate to our dead relatives – getting in touch with them; speaking to psychics. These issues are already featuring in daytime TV, and talk shows; Most Haunted is one quite long-running example. I expect to see examples of spiritual transformation shows in the future."
"We can also expect to see even more short-term examples of programmes that deal directly with the economic crisis – how to make more money, how to improve your CV, how to get a job in a difficult environment. So we’ll see some short-term responses to specific issues that we’re dealing with right now and I think, some longer-term trends that clearly raise much bigger questions to do with what happens to us when we die"
Annette Hill was interviewed by Jenny Grahame.
This article first appeared in MediaMagazine 30, December 2009.
The constructed world of Wife Swap
Lucy Scott-Galloway shows how reality TV, and a single episode of Wife Swap can help us to understand ideology. (Important information and quotes from the article)
Defining ideology:‘a thought or suggestion as to a possible course of action; a mental impression; a belief’.
"When the same life choices are valued by the majority of texts, the majority of the time, these ideologies become dominant. Because the majority of the mainstream media are owned by similar people, with similar interests, the majority of media texts encourage life choices that are in the interest of those media owners"
"He describes residual ideology referring to beliefs and practices that are derived from an earlier stage of society, and emergent ideology, referring to those values and practices which are developing in society outside of, and sometimes actively challenging, the dominant."
This is reinforcing a patriarchal society- females are swaping rather than males. Suggets women are interchangable. This could suggest there is hegemonic values in this text- as it still in some way subordinates women through male dominance. There is also a representation of women to need acceptance from other people and society- it reinforcies it as a representation and also it might impose this representation on others- media effects/hyperdermic needle theory
"It may be in keeping with feminist thought, Wife Swap refuses to take up a permanent ideological position on gender roles in contemporary life, preferring to sit, accompanied by the audience, on the proverbial fence – a particularly high fence from where we may look down with sadistic glee upon the warring, dogmatic wives."
Though it could be argued this is hegemony, a feminist would argue that there is no set gender ideologies- as some female characters are very dominant, there is no repetative ideology of males or females being more powerful than the other.
"It is usually one of the husbands who emerges in the most positive light, having undergone an emotional journey in which he realises that perhaps things could be done differently. Flexibility is therefore suggested as a desirable character trait; husbands who are willing to embark on a spiritual journey provided by Wife Swap are rewarded with positive – or at least sympathetic – representation."
Defining ideology:‘a thought or suggestion as to a possible course of action; a mental impression; a belief’.
"When the same life choices are valued by the majority of texts, the majority of the time, these ideologies become dominant. Because the majority of the mainstream media are owned by similar people, with similar interests, the majority of media texts encourage life choices that are in the interest of those media owners"
"He describes residual ideology referring to beliefs and practices that are derived from an earlier stage of society, and emergent ideology, referring to those values and practices which are developing in society outside of, and sometimes actively challenging, the dominant."
Wife Swap – the concept and the narrative
"The narrative structure is clear. After a set up which involves the male voiceover introducing the two families, the problematic is caused by two women being placed in unfamiliar roles at odds with their own values."
"The stage of selection in the process of representation cannot be overlooked here. Subjects are clearly chosen on the basis of their demographic and psychographic heterogeneity (or difference); it is no coincidence that moderns are swapped with traditionals, urbans with rurals, etc...These binary oppositions in the organisation of the programme are a basic prerequisite; no friction, no show."
This text challenges gender roles, expectations and their own values and how they might differ to others in society. This creates conflict of individuals and people creating entertainment for audiences.
"The structure: Stock situations throughout the majority of the show include disagreements between husband and new ‘wife’ in both homes as the two narrative strands of each family are cross-cut to imply parallel action, usually over cleaning, cooking and disciplining children. The narrative climax is provided by the showdown between the two wives in the debriefing."
The use of parallel allows audience to journey with both families learning new things from both. It also allows audiences to viewpoint from both sides. By paralleling these activities, usually done by women, is it at the same time reinforcing gender roles? Representation and stereotyping
"The swapping of wives, a sexual double entendre in itself, may suggest that a wife is owned by her husband in some way, and is his property to swap with another man. It is the woman who changes home and leaves her children, not the man....writing of manuals as ‘experts’ in their domestic environments and their participation in the final showdown, all reinforce the competitiveness of women for the approval of others, in this case, the audience."This is reinforcing a patriarchal society- females are swaping rather than males. Suggets women are interchangable. This could suggest there is hegemonic values in this text- as it still in some way subordinates women through male dominance. There is also a representation of women to need acceptance from other people and society- it reinforcies it as a representation and also it might impose this representation on others- media effects/hyperdermic needle theory
"It may be in keeping with feminist thought, Wife Swap refuses to take up a permanent ideological position on gender roles in contemporary life, preferring to sit, accompanied by the audience, on the proverbial fence – a particularly high fence from where we may look down with sadistic glee upon the warring, dogmatic wives."
Though it could be argued this is hegemony, a feminist would argue that there is no set gender ideologies- as some female characters are very dominant, there is no repetative ideology of males or females being more powerful than the other.
"It is usually one of the husbands who emerges in the most positive light, having undergone an emotional journey in which he realises that perhaps things could be done differently. Flexibility is therefore suggested as a desirable character trait; husbands who are willing to embark on a spiritual journey provided by Wife Swap are rewarded with positive – or at least sympathetic – representation."
There is a typical narrative struture, or narrative role that is dominant in the text: most likely constructed this way. Another example of hegemony- the males get the sympathetic view and the positive representation- suggested this text is constructed by an elite male.
"Such a narrative resolution is common in the ‘self-improvement’ broadcasting trends of the early twenty-first century. The problem with Wife Swap is that the couples don’t realise they’ve got a problem; that’s the show’s role to point out. Although the newly enlightened husband’s new ‘wife’ invariably claims his ‘conversion’ as her victory, it is doubtless short lived, as both women will be represented as narrative antagonists. The women rarely admit alternative life options are viable, sticking to their guns as overbearing harpy or lazy good-for-nothing. Who was it who said that if women ruled the world, there’d be no more war? Certainly nobody working on Wife Swap!"
This shows how the text suggests how people should be or live- media effects theory.
"Whilst the juxtaposition of such obvious binary opposites is useful in the study of ideology itself, it is the narrative representation of women that I find most interesting. I’m fascinated not by the ideological choices that the producers openly display for us to dissect, but by the ideology implicitly encoded in the programme’s production."
Wife Swap case study – the New Year episode: Channel 4’s Christmas 2004 ‘specials’
"The audience’s perception of these two women is very carefully constructed in the opening five minutes of the show; and we may begin to make some educated guesses about how the audience will be positioned in relation to the female ‘stars’ of the show."
"Darenda is presented seated in the bottom two thirds of the frame, on the far left of a high angle shot with Pete, standing, taking up most of the right hand side. He points at her as he speaks, as if addressing a child, and penetrating her half of the frame. Dressed in a shirt and tie in comparison to her casual style, and emphasised by the choice of shot type, Pete appears authoritative and domineering, Darenda insolent and child-like. To reinforce the point, Darenda punctuates her sentences with the word ‘fuck’ – and it’s only two minutes past 9pm. The VO continues, ‘and what happens when your new man doesn’t meet your standards?’ There is no irony lost in the juxtaposition of the now common-currency term ‘new man’ to anchor an image of Alani in which the pint he is downing takes up the majority of the mid-shot."
This is an analysis of how characters are mediated to convey an ideology of the institution. It is mostly done in the opening of the text.
"Whilst we cannot overlook the way Wife Swap is constructed, the fact remains that the participants are real people, living real lives after the cameras have stopped rolling. For us, as audience, the pleasure in the programme comes from our view of the drama of social difference played out before us. Not only must the participants be different from each other, they must be different from the audience. Perhaps this is why this particular episode of Wife Swap is so entertaining."
This reminds us that the text is based on real people, but is constructed to show create entertainment: this is why the show is popular.
"Going back to Raymond Williams’ classifications of ideology: whilst the audience are dominant, Bonny has been represented as having residual values, and Darenda as having emergent, both safely represented as outside the ‘norm’."
"Wife Swap is no more or less constructed than any other pseudo social-scientific documentary"
"These hour-long offerings of entertainment contain significant records of social identity and hierarchies of class in Britain in the early twenty-first century."
Lucy Scott-Galloway teaches Media Studies at Havering 6th Form College
This article first appeared in MediaMagazine 12, April 2005
Reality TV : What’s happening?
"We certainly expect to see real people in somewhat strange situations, and we expect to watch them, safe in the knowledge that they are unable to watch us back."
The audience take great satisfaction out of watiching others lives- voyerism
"It seems clear why producers make reality TV: these programmes are relatively cheap to make, certainly compared to drama, and they appear to guarantee audiences."
The audience
"The success of reality TV is partly due to the increasingly voyeuristic nature of the society in which we live, and in part due to the obsession with celebrity and everyone wanting to be one. I would also argue that we are living in a much more ‘open society’; not open in terms of freedoms (in fact we have less freedoms), but open in terms of the ‘nothing is sacred’ philosophy."
This is why people are more willing to be on TV, because its acceptable to spill your whole life out onto tv.
"I know that there is a huge voyeuristic component attached to my own and others’ viewing. I’m watching people in odd situations, with their warts and all in full view, but they can’t see me watching them. Do I watch because it makes me feel better about myself, because I think I am not like them?"
Instant success – no talent required
All four categories of Uses and Gratifications research: (Diversion, Personal Relationships, Personal Identity, Surveillance), can be applied to reality TV.
"There is no doubt that we use reality TV as a form of escapism, it certainly helps you forget about the stresses of the day when you can see people having a much worse day than you have had.
Reality TV performs the function of companionship through identification with television characters, and there is no doubt that there is sociability
In discussion: everyone was talking about BB5. In terms of personal identity, comparisons are a relatively natural thing to make: we either take the stance that we are better than the participants, or we want to be them.
And finally, it is a source of information about the world, not just from a psychological perspective, but also from finding out about a particular way of life – for example, Airport, Property Ladder etc."
Reality and post-modernism
To quote Baudrillard: Art (or popular culture) today has totally penetrated reality.
He meant that the border between popular culture and reality has vanished as both have collapsed into the universal simulacrum. There are four stages to this:
• It is the reflection of a basic reality.
• It masks and perverts a basic reality.
• It marks the absence of a basic reality.
• It bears no relation to any reality whatever – it is its own pure simulacrum in which the distinctions between ‘real life’ and its media representations have become blurred.
"Reality becomes redundant and we have a hyper-reality, in which images breed with each other without reference to reality or meaning. Though a little abstract, it is possible to apply this to reality TV in the sense that we watch the shows because we believe we are watching real people; which in fact in a postmodern sense is nonsense. They are not real anymore; they are not even in a real situation anymore. In real terms, once you see the mediation process involved, you are aware that it is not a real situation."
Tina Dixon is an Examiner for AQA.
This article first appeared in MediaMagazine 10, December 2004
The audience take great satisfaction out of watiching others lives- voyerism
"It seems clear why producers make reality TV: these programmes are relatively cheap to make, certainly compared to drama, and they appear to guarantee audiences."
The audience
"The success of reality TV is partly due to the increasingly voyeuristic nature of the society in which we live, and in part due to the obsession with celebrity and everyone wanting to be one. I would also argue that we are living in a much more ‘open society’; not open in terms of freedoms (in fact we have less freedoms), but open in terms of the ‘nothing is sacred’ philosophy."
This is why people are more willing to be on TV, because its acceptable to spill your whole life out onto tv.
"I know that there is a huge voyeuristic component attached to my own and others’ viewing. I’m watching people in odd situations, with their warts and all in full view, but they can’t see me watching them. Do I watch because it makes me feel better about myself, because I think I am not like them?"
This explores the uses and gratifications of identification or lack of it. People use these reality texts to explore their lives and their own vaules.
"Firstly, reality TV appears to have arrived in our schedules at a time when soap operas were becoming more and more realistic: very naturalistic acting/characterisation and realistic storylines and issues"..."producers could see that the next step was to use real people and see how they react, hence the title docu-soap when they were first screened."Instant success – no talent required
All four categories of Uses and Gratifications research: (Diversion, Personal Relationships, Personal Identity, Surveillance), can be applied to reality TV.
"There is no doubt that we use reality TV as a form of escapism, it certainly helps you forget about the stresses of the day when you can see people having a much worse day than you have had.
Reality TV performs the function of companionship through identification with television characters, and there is no doubt that there is sociability
In discussion: everyone was talking about BB5. In terms of personal identity, comparisons are a relatively natural thing to make: we either take the stance that we are better than the participants, or we want to be them.
And finally, it is a source of information about the world, not just from a psychological perspective, but also from finding out about a particular way of life – for example, Airport, Property Ladder etc."
Reality and post-modernism
To quote Baudrillard: Art (or popular culture) today has totally penetrated reality.
He meant that the border between popular culture and reality has vanished as both have collapsed into the universal simulacrum. There are four stages to this:
• It is the reflection of a basic reality.
• It masks and perverts a basic reality.
• It marks the absence of a basic reality.
• It bears no relation to any reality whatever – it is its own pure simulacrum in which the distinctions between ‘real life’ and its media representations have become blurred.
"Reality becomes redundant and we have a hyper-reality, in which images breed with each other without reference to reality or meaning. Though a little abstract, it is possible to apply this to reality TV in the sense that we watch the shows because we believe we are watching real people; which in fact in a postmodern sense is nonsense. They are not real anymore; they are not even in a real situation anymore. In real terms, once you see the mediation process involved, you are aware that it is not a real situation."
Tina Dixon is an Examiner for AQA.
This article first appeared in MediaMagazine 10, December 2004
What can philosophy teach us about reality TV?
Sean Richardson suggests the Greek philosopher Plato might give us a steer.
Reality television appears to have taken over our TV schedules! From the monstrous behemoth that is Big Brother the genre spawned many hybrids and sub-genres. Faced with a serious documentary on BBC4 or Wife Swap on Channel 4
"The relatively cheap production costs and high audience viewing figures ensure a steady stream of new and repeated formats of reality television on our screens. The ‘real’ drama of the programmes is added to by the interactivity, with the audience supposedly directly influencing events on screen."
Again, the reality genre is a cheap production: no actors, scripts or major setting creations (sometimes), making the genre abundant on TV! The more successful shows, the more they create.
"In his most famous allegory, Plato described a dark cave containing prisoners chained to the floor facing a blank wall. They know nothing other than the shadows they see on the wall, cast by objects and people moving in front of a fire. They have lived this way for their entire lives, and most of them are content to sit staring at the shadows."
Reality television appears to have taken over our TV schedules! From the monstrous behemoth that is Big Brother the genre spawned many hybrids and sub-genres. Faced with a serious documentary on BBC4 or Wife Swap on Channel 4
"The relatively cheap production costs and high audience viewing figures ensure a steady stream of new and repeated formats of reality television on our screens. The ‘real’ drama of the programmes is added to by the interactivity, with the audience supposedly directly influencing events on screen."
Again, the reality genre is a cheap production: no actors, scripts or major setting creations (sometimes), making the genre abundant on TV! The more successful shows, the more they create.
"In his most famous allegory, Plato described a dark cave containing prisoners chained to the floor facing a blank wall. They know nothing other than the shadows they see on the wall, cast by objects and people moving in front of a fire. They have lived this way for their entire lives, and most of them are content to sit staring at the shadows."
The dark cave becomes the TV "shadow box"..."The voyeuristic scopophilia of watching reality TV is undeniable."
"As well as the chained people, there are other people in the cave. Plato calls them the puppet-handlers, the ones holding those in the cave captive". e.g. the institution or authority...possibly the voiceover who constructs meaning or makes "puppet show".
"If we think of the puppet handlers as the ‘elite’ or ruling class then this idea of a reality television-obsessed audience becomes controversial, drawing on the Media Studies concept of hegemony."
The hegemonic view
"Theories of hegemony are based around the idea that dominant classes persuade subordinate or lower ones to accept and adopt their values. In programmes like Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor, a panel of so-called experts decide who has talent and who has not."
Supernanny: Jo could possibly be the elite one on the show: she makes strugging parents adopt her values of looking after their children.
Wife Swap: The instition picks a family that they most vaule and represent them as the right way to live, while the other family are subordinated.
"The programme makers and the television networks are the ultimate puppet handlers, with their manipulative editing and presentation of the judges to the viewing public. Channel 4 and ITV are the organisations that broadcast the most popular reality television formats."
"The allegory of Plato’s cave offers an interesting comment on reality television programming, particularly with the notion of celebrity, our obsession with confession and voyeurism, and the desire to get past the ‘puppet handlers’ and the fire to the rarefied celebrity lifestyle. The chained audience theory might be limited by the active social engagement that audiences bring to this viewing experience, as reality programmes clearly seem to serve a social function. "
The future of reality TV in the UK seems assured, as new series are continually commissioned.
Sean Richardson is Head of Media Studies at Penistone Grammar School, and an examiner for WJEC Media Studies A Level.
from MediaMagazine 22, December 2008.
Reality TV and Theory
Sean Richardson, MediaMagazine 22, December 2007, TV special, New online September 2008, Reality TV, accessed 6 Nov 2010
Supernanny Series 2, Episode 1: MIGRAIN
http://www.seesaw.com/TV/Lifestyle/b-5160-Supernanny?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=CPC&utm_term=supernanny%2Bepisodes&utm_content=Broad&utm_campaign=SeeSaw%2BMost%2BViewed%2BProgrammes&gclid=CJyK85LBjKUCFSr-2Aod7iC8MA
Media Language
Voice over- informal- reflects "real" family life as informal- inviting audience
V.O used to anchor a lot of shots
Few shots with lots of cameramovement- voyerstic- looking into familes private life- audience fulfilment
Mise en scene-setting- housing: family environment
clothing and props- casualwear with familes
Supernanny wears suits and glasses- connotes
Institution
Channel 4
Fly on the wall makes the text inclusive
Audience feel apart of the family home
Conventions: Voice Over with character sound bridging, interviews, shots of events, hand-held cameras, long shots of setting
Representation
Children- represented as violent, abusive and childish (alternative representation of children)
Parents- weak, vurnerable- almost presented as children- character development, crying, sadness
Supernanny (Jo Frost)- Teacher-like
Reinforces female expectations- maternal females
subverts female expectation- powerful and dominant over children and parents
Echoing of roles:
Parent and child
Parent and Supernanny= almost like parent and child
Audience
Esapism and identification for the audience
Possibly a main female audience
Ideologies
Narrative
Linear narrative- audience journey with the process- gain a sense of achievement, learn new skills along with it
Equlibrium- Meet new family, see the problems they deal with- in a montage
Disequlibrium- for chilbren- Supernanny brings change in the house with rules ect.
Equibrium- the children and the parents live more peacefully
Media Language
Voice over- informal- reflects "real" family life as informal- inviting audience
V.O used to anchor a lot of shots
Few shots with lots of cameramovement- voyerstic- looking into familes private life- audience fulfilment
Mise en scene-setting- housing: family environment
clothing and props- casualwear with familes
Supernanny wears suits and glasses- connotes
Institution
Channel 4
Genre
Fly on the Wall documentary/ reality TVFly on the wall makes the text inclusive
Audience feel apart of the family home
Conventions: Voice Over with character sound bridging, interviews, shots of events, hand-held cameras, long shots of setting
Representation
Children- represented as violent, abusive and childish (alternative representation of children)
Parents- weak, vurnerable- almost presented as children- character development, crying, sadness
Supernanny (Jo Frost)- Teacher-like
Reinforces female expectations- maternal females
subverts female expectation- powerful and dominant over children and parents
Echoing of roles:
Parent and child
Parent and Supernanny= almost like parent and child
Audience
Esapism and identification for the audience
Possibly a main female audience
Ideologies
Narrative
Linear narrative- audience journey with the process- gain a sense of achievement, learn new skills along with it
Equlibrium- Meet new family, see the problems they deal with- in a montage
Disequlibrium- for chilbren- Supernanny brings change in the house with rules ect.
Equibrium- the children and the parents live more peacefully
Friday, 5 November 2010
Change in focus...
As the reality TV genre is so vast, I have decided to narrow my search to fly on the wall documentaries. In particular, I plan to focus on Wife Swap and Supernannay
Similarities
They are both fly on the wall documentary reality tv shows.
They both focus on family life and aim to rebuilt them.
Similarities
They are both fly on the wall documentary reality tv shows.
They both focus on family life and aim to rebuilt them.
Tuesday, 26 October 2010
How do reality shows select contestants?
http://www.starnow.co.uk/Casting-Calls/Reality-TV/tv_family_mediation_series_need_sep.htm
A new reality TV show is advertising for aplicants this is what it says:
TV family mediation series need separated couples with kids
New Living TV series that aims to help couples who have split up but have kids together
Are you a father who finds it hard to communicate with your children now you’re no longer living under the same roof? Would you like help to rebuild your relationship with them? Or are you a mother finding it hard to juggle work and raising your children and need your ex to take more responsibility?
Maybe you’d like help working through a difficult relationship with your ex and would like help from our mediators and legal experts? Do you see your children as often as you’d like? Or does your ex have a new partner and you’re worried about where you fit into your child’s life now?
Living TV is making a new programme that aims to help parents like you work things out for the sake of your children. Our team of experts who specialise in this area could help you reach an amicable arrangement and find a real resolution to improving your child’s happiness.
Location: London, United Kingdom
Payment details: no pay
Any gender, aged 18 to 50 from the United Kingdom
Casting:
Producers of programmes play on the needs and desires of people in society and use their situations for entertainment!- This is shown through the rhetorical questions, inclusive and emotive language.
Similar to big brother- plays on peoples desire to be rich and famous
Could come dine with me play on pride and competition- to be the best cook on the show?
Why is this relevant?
If producers select "desperate","vunerable" or "proud" contestants for their show it will create emotional drama, dramatic conflicts and lots of competition- and this is what audiences want- making the show popular!
A new reality TV show is advertising for aplicants this is what it says:
TV family mediation series need separated couples with kids
New Living TV series that aims to help couples who have split up but have kids together
Are you a father who finds it hard to communicate with your children now you’re no longer living under the same roof? Would you like help to rebuild your relationship with them? Or are you a mother finding it hard to juggle work and raising your children and need your ex to take more responsibility?
Maybe you’d like help working through a difficult relationship with your ex and would like help from our mediators and legal experts? Do you see your children as often as you’d like? Or does your ex have a new partner and you’re worried about where you fit into your child’s life now?
Living TV is making a new programme that aims to help parents like you work things out for the sake of your children. Our team of experts who specialise in this area could help you reach an amicable arrangement and find a real resolution to improving your child’s happiness.
Location: London, United Kingdom
Payment details: no pay
Any gender, aged 18 to 50 from the United Kingdom
Casting:
Producers of programmes play on the needs and desires of people in society and use their situations for entertainment!- This is shown through the rhetorical questions, inclusive and emotive language.
Similar to big brother- plays on peoples desire to be rich and famous
Could come dine with me play on pride and competition- to be the best cook on the show?
Why is this relevant?
If producers select "desperate","vunerable" or "proud" contestants for their show it will create emotional drama, dramatic conflicts and lots of competition- and this is what audiences want- making the show popular!
Why is the reality genre so popular?
http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews195612.html
These are peoples reviews of Come Dine With Me. This will give some feedback on what makes a reality programme successful...
NEWREVIEWQUEEN's review (8th Mar 2010, 5 stars)
Come dine with me is true entertainment for the real life food critic. The show focuses on creating a three course meal to satisfy guests which are all unknown to the host of the night but the twists and turns along the way are classic comedy moments. The narrator is a genius of whit. All round great show.
Taylott's review ()
Come Dine With Me is brilliant. Great Sunday evening viewing! Basically, you have a handful of people; get them to cook for each other during the course of a week, and each contestant gets to score each contestant at the end of each meal! The winner gets £1000!
Obviously the contestants aren't experienced chefs; they're just like you and me, which makes it great. Some can cook, others really can't... but it's the gossiping and scheming that makes this programme. The narrator is absolutely brilliant. Sometimes I watch it just to hear his quick sarcastic quips.
I suppose to a certain extent it's real life telly. You get to see other people's homes, the way they cook, and ultimately how they interact with complete strangers. Some get on, but some do not. Good light hearted entertainment.
What makes Come Dine With Me successful?
Comedy moments- created by twists and turns (narrative shifs)
Narrator- entertaining comical- says what we really thing (reflects british society- we don't say how we feel- contrast in openess of narrator and reserved ideologies of a dinner party)
Scheeduling- Sunday night (family audience- widens audiences)
Winning prize £1000- triggers competition and entertainment for audiences.
Competitors- ordinary people
Gossip and schemening- structure of the show- contestants have the chance to privatly say how they feel- creates gossip and scheming
The element of voyerism-contestants and audience get to pry into other people's lives (again reflecting british society- wanting to know about others lives- celebrity culture)
These are peoples reviews of Come Dine With Me. This will give some feedback on what makes a reality programme successful...
NEWREVIEWQUEEN's review (8th Mar 2010, 5 stars)
Come dine with me is true entertainment for the real life food critic. The show focuses on creating a three course meal to satisfy guests which are all unknown to the host of the night but the twists and turns along the way are classic comedy moments. The narrator is a genius of whit. All round great show.
Taylott's review ()
Come Dine With Me is brilliant. Great Sunday evening viewing! Basically, you have a handful of people; get them to cook for each other during the course of a week, and each contestant gets to score each contestant at the end of each meal! The winner gets £1000!
Obviously the contestants aren't experienced chefs; they're just like you and me, which makes it great. Some can cook, others really can't... but it's the gossiping and scheming that makes this programme. The narrator is absolutely brilliant. Sometimes I watch it just to hear his quick sarcastic quips.
I suppose to a certain extent it's real life telly. You get to see other people's homes, the way they cook, and ultimately how they interact with complete strangers. Some get on, but some do not. Good light hearted entertainment.
What makes Come Dine With Me successful?
Comedy moments- created by twists and turns (narrative shifs)
Narrator- entertaining comical- says what we really thing (reflects british society- we don't say how we feel- contrast in openess of narrator and reserved ideologies of a dinner party)
Scheeduling- Sunday night (family audience- widens audiences)
Winning prize £1000- triggers competition and entertainment for audiences.
Competitors- ordinary people
Gossip and schemening- structure of the show- contestants have the chance to privatly say how they feel- creates gossip and scheming
The element of voyerism-contestants and audience get to pry into other people's lives (again reflecting british society- wanting to know about others lives- celebrity culture)
Reality TV: the Big Brother phenomenon (article)
http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=314&issue=114
Important quotes from the article:
"The kinds of programmes known as ‘reality TV’ form a very mixed bag. They include what are essentially game shows, such as Big Brother, ‘docusoaps’ such as Airport and ‘true crime’ shows such as Crimewatch UK."
There is a wide range of documentaries and therefore makes the genre accessible to a wide audience.
"The popularity of such programmes is located in the shifting economics of broadcasting, which involves increasing competition and a move from the search for a mass audience to a niche audience. Television began as a technology that could only sustain a small number of channels. The imperative was to try to attract the largest possible number of people to a channel, and programme types such as the soap opera, the situation comedy and the variety show were developed precisely to generate this ‘mass’ audience."
This is explaining that the more channels that were created, the more competition there was for the mass audience and niche channels targeting niche audiences. This meant that terrestial channels such as BBC and ITV had to create progammes that targeted both niche and mass audiences- the reality genre- which made it very popular.
They used many techniques to gain wider audiences:
"find new programme types that could still gather a mass audience but which were much less expensive than the traditional formats";
"making new programmes that are quite like old programmes that were a hit or by reusing a format that has succeeded in another broadcasting market";
"commercialise programmes more fully, for example by pushing associated merchandise such as books and DVDs, and using the same material across different platforms";
"develop programme types that appealed to particularly desirable audience segments"
"It was this combination of factors that led to the rise of the wide variety of reality TV shows. Such shows are relatively cheap, and some are very cheap indeed. There is no need to pay writers or actors, no endless rehearsals, no need for elaborate sets, no need for rights clearance for music, and so on. Using ‘ordinary’ people, and later minor and declining celebrities, is a cheap way to make television:
Reality programming provides a cheap alternative to drama. Typically, an hour-long drama can cost approximately $1.5m (£875,000) per hour, whereas reality programmes can cost as little as $200,000 (£114,000) per hour."
It could be argued that the reason the genre was popular was because:
New fresh idea
Appealed to a wide audience
There was a variety accessible due to its production was cheap and easy
"The flood of ‘documentary’ films about passing a driving test, working in the air transport industry, looking after animals, and the flood of makeover programmes about houses, clothes and body shape, all fit this economic dynamic exactly."
The doumentary element made it seem very real to audiences allowing them to identify with characters and situations. The subjects would very much appeal to people in society reflection social issues and morals.
Big Brother-internationally known, created in Neatherland- The company sold the idea making money. The show however is very expensive e.g. staff, cameras, celeb fees...
Why is this genre regarded as real?
Fly on the wall documentaries- vouyeristc
Characters are not famous or actors- everyday people
No scripts or rehersals- "live" action
Mediation
First process is selecting:
"The process of manipulation begins long before the shooting starts. The selection of contestants is the first hurdle"
"‘Ordinary’ contestants get a fee to cover expenses—for these contestants, a major motive often seems to be a desire to become a celebrity and to work in television. Certainly some people, Jade Goody for example, have seen their lives transformed by success."
It could be argued the producers select the "fame hungry" as they will act abnormal or stand out deliberatly or try to be overtly entertaining for audience purpose - which arguably is unrealistic in life.
"In fact, the people we get to see are the product of an elaborate process of selection in which the producers choose a group that they hope will produce good television"
The original producer of the show said: "There are three crucial factors in the production of Big Brother: casting, casting and casting"
"The process of selection for the 2007 show, which closed in February, was rather simpler, which may reflect reduced public interest" Is there a possible link between the more effort put into the mediation process the more popular the show is?
"The contrived nature of the environment, with many of the determinants (eg work) and distractions (eg television) that characterise our everyday lives removed, acts strongly to prioritise personal interactions based upon taste and interest. This probability is intensified through the interventions of the disembodied Big Brother himself and the tasks set for the participants" Isolation and the removal of distractions intensify the show and create more drama!
"In order to achieve dramatic narratives, the producers ruthlessly edit the raw footage" key word being "narratives"- produces are trying to impose ideologies in there text but present them as real. Editing is another process of creating narrative.
"Just as much as anything else on television, Big Brother is constructed to attract and hold an audience which will, in a commercial context, be sold to the highest bidder. It uses ‘real’ people in certain kinds of ‘real’ situations, but it chooses and manipulates them in order to produce narrative, drama and conflict. "
Important quotes from the article:
"The kinds of programmes known as ‘reality TV’ form a very mixed bag. They include what are essentially game shows, such as Big Brother, ‘docusoaps’ such as Airport and ‘true crime’ shows such as Crimewatch UK."
There is a wide range of documentaries and therefore makes the genre accessible to a wide audience.
"The popularity of such programmes is located in the shifting economics of broadcasting, which involves increasing competition and a move from the search for a mass audience to a niche audience. Television began as a technology that could only sustain a small number of channels. The imperative was to try to attract the largest possible number of people to a channel, and programme types such as the soap opera, the situation comedy and the variety show were developed precisely to generate this ‘mass’ audience."
This is explaining that the more channels that were created, the more competition there was for the mass audience and niche channels targeting niche audiences. This meant that terrestial channels such as BBC and ITV had to create progammes that targeted both niche and mass audiences- the reality genre- which made it very popular.
They used many techniques to gain wider audiences:
"find new programme types that could still gather a mass audience but which were much less expensive than the traditional formats";
"making new programmes that are quite like old programmes that were a hit or by reusing a format that has succeeded in another broadcasting market";
"commercialise programmes more fully, for example by pushing associated merchandise such as books and DVDs, and using the same material across different platforms";
"develop programme types that appealed to particularly desirable audience segments"
"It was this combination of factors that led to the rise of the wide variety of reality TV shows. Such shows are relatively cheap, and some are very cheap indeed. There is no need to pay writers or actors, no endless rehearsals, no need for elaborate sets, no need for rights clearance for music, and so on. Using ‘ordinary’ people, and later minor and declining celebrities, is a cheap way to make television:
Reality programming provides a cheap alternative to drama. Typically, an hour-long drama can cost approximately $1.5m (£875,000) per hour, whereas reality programmes can cost as little as $200,000 (£114,000) per hour."
It could be argued that the reason the genre was popular was because:
New fresh idea
Appealed to a wide audience
There was a variety accessible due to its production was cheap and easy
"The flood of ‘documentary’ films about passing a driving test, working in the air transport industry, looking after animals, and the flood of makeover programmes about houses, clothes and body shape, all fit this economic dynamic exactly."
The doumentary element made it seem very real to audiences allowing them to identify with characters and situations. The subjects would very much appeal to people in society reflection social issues and morals.
Big Brother-internationally known, created in Neatherland- The company sold the idea making money. The show however is very expensive e.g. staff, cameras, celeb fees...
Why is this genre regarded as real?
Fly on the wall documentaries- vouyeristc
Characters are not famous or actors- everyday people
No scripts or rehersals- "live" action
Mediation
First process is selecting:
"The process of manipulation begins long before the shooting starts. The selection of contestants is the first hurdle"
"‘Ordinary’ contestants get a fee to cover expenses—for these contestants, a major motive often seems to be a desire to become a celebrity and to work in television. Certainly some people, Jade Goody for example, have seen their lives transformed by success."
It could be argued the producers select the "fame hungry" as they will act abnormal or stand out deliberatly or try to be overtly entertaining for audience purpose - which arguably is unrealistic in life.
"In fact, the people we get to see are the product of an elaborate process of selection in which the producers choose a group that they hope will produce good television"
The original producer of the show said: "There are three crucial factors in the production of Big Brother: casting, casting and casting"
"The process of selection for the 2007 show, which closed in February, was rather simpler, which may reflect reduced public interest" Is there a possible link between the more effort put into the mediation process the more popular the show is?
"The contrived nature of the environment, with many of the determinants (eg work) and distractions (eg television) that characterise our everyday lives removed, acts strongly to prioritise personal interactions based upon taste and interest. This probability is intensified through the interventions of the disembodied Big Brother himself and the tasks set for the participants" Isolation and the removal of distractions intensify the show and create more drama!
"In order to achieve dramatic narratives, the producers ruthlessly edit the raw footage" key word being "narratives"- produces are trying to impose ideologies in there text but present them as real. Editing is another process of creating narrative.
"Just as much as anything else on television, Big Brother is constructed to attract and hold an audience which will, in a commercial context, be sold to the highest bidder. It uses ‘real’ people in certain kinds of ‘real’ situations, but it chooses and manipulates them in order to produce narrative, drama and conflict. "
Saturday, 9 October 2010
MIGRAIN/SHEP
From G's to Gents
Media Language- Iconographies- Lots of gold jewellery, smoking and expensive cars- stereotypical objects associated with gangsters.
Institution- Producer- Jamie Foxx- known for producing films for black audiences, aired on MTV- audiences
Genre- Reality programme- uses conevntions e.g. characters having a 1 to 1 with the camera
Representation- Misrepresents black males to be or "wannabe" "gangsters". The Host is an alternative representation of black males signified by costume (smart ect)
Audience-
Ideologies- Progressive ideologies- to change people -"remove" or challenge black male stereotypes that already exist in society
Narrative- many episodes contain Proppian heroes and villains. – Mediated for audiences to take sides. There is always a disequilibrium (fights, people losing the competition) and new equilibrium (character develops, one character is lost)
Dating in the dark
Media Language- Night vision- Voyeuristic- puts the audience in power of the date
Institution- Broadcasted by Living- female housewife audiences
Genre- Reality programme - uses conevntions e.g. characters having a 1 to 1 with the camera
Representation- Representations are dominant- females are communal e.g. toasting with glasses of champagne
Audience-
Ideologies- Looks and appearance seems to dominate our society, this show questions if both sexes can look beyond looks or not.
Narrative- Unconventional narrative:
Equilibrium- Single ladies and single guys doing their own thing
Disruption- they have dates in the dark
Realisation- they might like the person
New equilibrium- they stay with the person or leave them
Big Brother
Media Language- Iconographies- Lots of gold jewellery, smoking and expensive cars- stereotypical objects associated with gangsters.
Institution- Producer- Jamie Foxx- known for producing films for black audiences, aired on MTV- audiences
Genre- Reality programme- uses conevntions e.g. characters having a 1 to 1 with the camera
Representation- Misrepresents black males to be or "wannabe" "gangsters". The Host is an alternative representation of black males signified by costume (smart ect)
Audience-
Ideologies- Progressive ideologies- to change people -"remove" or challenge black male stereotypes that already exist in society
Narrative- many episodes contain Proppian heroes and villains. – Mediated for audiences to take sides. There is always a disequilibrium (fights, people losing the competition) and new equilibrium (character develops, one character is lost)
Dating in the dark
Media Language- Night vision- Voyeuristic- puts the audience in power of the date
Institution- Broadcasted by Living- female housewife audiences
Genre- Reality programme - uses conevntions e.g. characters having a 1 to 1 with the camera
Representation- Representations are dominant- females are communal e.g. toasting with glasses of champagne
Audience-
Ideologies- Looks and appearance seems to dominate our society, this show questions if both sexes can look beyond looks or not.
Narrative- Unconventional narrative:
Equilibrium- Single ladies and single guys doing their own thing
Disruption- they have dates in the dark
Realisation- they might like the person
New equilibrium- they stay with the person or leave them
Big Brother
Media Theories
What media theories can be applied to these texts?
Propp's 7 Spheres of Action - What character roles are created through mediation?
Todorov's Equilibrium Theory - Is there a clear typical narrative structure?
Hypodermic Needle Theory - Do audiences believe everything they see?
Uses and Gratifications - Escapism, identification ect
Propp's 7 Spheres of Action - What character roles are created through mediation?
Todorov's Equilibrium Theory - Is there a clear typical narrative structure?
Hypodermic Needle Theory - Do audiences believe everything they see?
Uses and Gratifications - Escapism, identification ect
Contemporary Media Landscape
Why does reality TV fit into the contemporary media landscape?
Big Brother seen as the starter of the Reality TV era in 1999
Reality TV has dominated in the last decade
Both Dating in the Dark and G's to Gents tackle contemporary issues and aim to "better" people- These shows have progressive ideologies to also better society
Big Brother seen as the starter of the Reality TV era in 1999
Reality TV has dominated in the last decade
Both Dating in the Dark and G's to Gents tackle contemporary issues and aim to "better" people- These shows have progressive ideologies to also better society
Issues and Debates
From G's to Gents
Black males and Gangsters stereotypically have little respect for women, this tackles this stereotypes by teaching the contestants how to respect them.
Dating in the Dark
Looks and appearance seems to dominate our society, this show questions if both sexes can look beyond looks or not.
Big Brother
It began as an experiment of how people socialise and can work together, but now it's about who can be the biggest character in the house, and how many magazine deals you can get when you leave- Main focus is desire for fame.
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Critical Investigation Ideas
How is the notion of reality constructed in Reality Television? Why is the genre so popular?
or
How is the notion of reality constructed in Reality Television? Why does the institution construct it in this way?
Reality Shows:
Wife Swap (C4)
Big Brother (C4)
Come Dine with Me (C4)
X Factor (ITV)
Britain's Got Talent (ITV)
The Family (C4)
Dating in the Dark (Living)
From G's to Gents (MTV)
What Not to Wear (BBC)
I have chosen these texts because they come from a range of institutions so I can explore the genre in a fair and accurate way. They all explore different aspects of society: Love and relationships, fame, fashion and appearance and social experiments about "people".
or
How is the notion of reality constructed in Reality Television? Why does the institution construct it in this way?
Reality Shows:
Wife Swap (C4)
Big Brother (C4)
Come Dine with Me (C4)
X Factor (ITV)
Britain's Got Talent (ITV)
The Family (C4)
Dating in the Dark (Living)
From G's to Gents (MTV)
What Not to Wear (BBC)
I have chosen these texts because they come from a range of institutions so I can explore the genre in a fair and accurate way. They all explore different aspects of society: Love and relationships, fame, fashion and appearance and social experiments about "people".
Friday, 27 August 2010
Media Audience
This film is aimed at a psychograpic audience of explorers due to its unique hybrid genre. I think the age groupt targeted is possibly 16-35, as the themes in the film are very adult and the actors would be recognisable to both older and younger adults.
Sweeney Todd is a very dark film with very dark themes such as death. The film is also very gory. It could be assumed the film is aimed at people interested in dark genres. It also informs audiences of what life was like during the dark ages appealing to audiences with an interest in the past, especially British history.
The film was released in January which clearly rules out children as the target audience, leaving it to older audiences.
I think this film would have a small following, due to it's dark nature. However, due to the famous actors from famous films (Depp), and actors from the Harry Potter films, it could have a larger following than I think.
Dominant reading is to sympathise with the protagonist. Though the protagonist kills, it’s due to his troubled past. The oppositional reading is possibly that the protagonist is taking as a comical character rather than a serious character.
I sympathise with the protagonist because it has been made clear at the beginning of the film through the flashbacks that he had been forced to prison for something he didn’t do. Though there are a lot of similarities between the characters of Sweeney Todd and Ms Lovett, do not sympathise with her and her love motives for lying about the death of Lucy (Benjamin Barker’s wife). I don’t think my age, or my back ground is the affect of my opinion. However it is a possibility that my gender, as a female, causes me to identify with the sensitivity of the protagonist, as he is an alternative representation of men.
Sweeney Todd is a very dark film with very dark themes such as death. The film is also very gory. It could be assumed the film is aimed at people interested in dark genres. It also informs audiences of what life was like during the dark ages appealing to audiences with an interest in the past, especially British history.
The film was released in January which clearly rules out children as the target audience, leaving it to older audiences.
I think this film would have a small following, due to it's dark nature. However, due to the famous actors from famous films (Depp), and actors from the Harry Potter films, it could have a larger following than I think.
Dominant reading is to sympathise with the protagonist. Though the protagonist kills, it’s due to his troubled past. The oppositional reading is possibly that the protagonist is taking as a comical character rather than a serious character.
I sympathise with the protagonist because it has been made clear at the beginning of the film through the flashbacks that he had been forced to prison for something he didn’t do. Though there are a lot of similarities between the characters of Sweeney Todd and Ms Lovett, do not sympathise with her and her love motives for lying about the death of Lucy (Benjamin Barker’s wife). I don’t think my age, or my back ground is the affect of my opinion. However it is a possibility that my gender, as a female, causes me to identify with the sensitivity of the protagonist, as he is an alternative representation of men.
Thursday, 26 August 2010
Burton and Depp interview on Sweeney Todd
I watched this interview with Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. Burton says when he watched the muical "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" he was facinated by the hybrid genre: the mixture of nice melodic songs, contrasting with the dramatic graphic visuals and the melodrama. This made him want to make the film reflect the muscial as best as possible, having those same elements.
It also seems that having Depp as the main character was more important than wheather he could sing as he was casted without a singing audition. Could this suggest the institutions main aim is to have a hollywood actor to appeal to larger audiences!
Sunday, 15 August 2010
Media Institutions
This film is produced by Warner Bros. Entertainment and Dreamworks Pictures, which are both major Hollywood production companies, who are commerical. Not only that, but the main actors in the film are American and the minor charaters are British, though the film is representing a British historic period. This suggests the production companys aims is to appeal to a large audience as the main actors are well known, rather than reflecting the characters in a more realistic way and informing them of the real story.
As the director, Burton, favours a gothic genre, he has chosen to reflect a very dark, medeval period of London, rather than a modern contemporary one. The choice of storyline of the fim, as in the history of Sweeney Todd, could have been mediated to fulfil audience expectaion of the film and its characters, for example the motives of Sweeney Todd's murders are an act of revenge. From what I have read of the "real Sweeney Todd" there is no actual motive for killing other than for fun.
The film has been distributed on DVD in a one disc and two disc edition, and on blu ray. In the two disc edition there are extra features about the director and the actors, how the film came alive, the real story of Sweeney Todd and the musical version of the film.
As the director, Burton, favours a gothic genre, he has chosen to reflect a very dark, medeval period of London, rather than a modern contemporary one. The choice of storyline of the fim, as in the history of Sweeney Todd, could have been mediated to fulfil audience expectaion of the film and its characters, for example the motives of Sweeney Todd's murders are an act of revenge. From what I have read of the "real Sweeney Todd" there is no actual motive for killing other than for fun.
The film has been distributed on DVD in a one disc and two disc edition, and on blu ray. In the two disc edition there are extra features about the director and the actors, how the film came alive, the real story of Sweeney Todd and the musical version of the film.
Saturday, 7 August 2010
Media Values and Ideology
One of the main themes of the film. The progonist ends up dead in the film as he takes his revenge too far and ultimaly killing innocent people. This could signify that revenge can cause people to get caught up in it too much, and ultimaly is a bad thing.
The female protagonist helps the audience assume that manipulting someone to get their love doesn't work either as she is killed at the end of the film.
The film almost uses death as a punishment for wrong-doing. One of the first charaters to be killed is Prielle, who had tried to sell counterfit hair products and treated his slave badly.
Throughout the film, the idea of slitting throats becomes almost "normal" as the protagonist kills his customers so casually, while singing. We as the audience begin to expect the protagonist to kill. At one point, he almost plays with the audience as he doesn't slit the throat of a character straight away when you think he will. This almost makes the audience identify with the protagonist, and becomes just as evil as him, for anticipating the death of an innocent charater.
The female protagonist helps the audience assume that manipulting someone to get their love doesn't work either as she is killed at the end of the film.
The film almost uses death as a punishment for wrong-doing. One of the first charaters to be killed is Prielle, who had tried to sell counterfit hair products and treated his slave badly.
Throughout the film, the idea of slitting throats becomes almost "normal" as the protagonist kills his customers so casually, while singing. We as the audience begin to expect the protagonist to kill. At one point, he almost plays with the audience as he doesn't slit the throat of a character straight away when you think he will. This almost makes the audience identify with the protagonist, and becomes just as evil as him, for anticipating the death of an innocent charater.
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
Media Narrative and Genre
The narrative is mainly linear, which allows the audience to journey alongside the gothic genre film, as it includes lots of enigma. However there is flashbacks at the begining of the narrrative, introduced by Ms Lovett, which allows the audience to identify with her more, as the Proppian helper for both the audience and the protagonist.
Another Proppian helper in the text is the old lady. It is clear that females in the text seem to play the Proppian helper. This could signify that the institution reflect a patriarchial society, reinforcing females stereotypes, where females play a more passive role as a helper, rather than a dominant role as a protagonist. However, it could also signify that females hold power as they know the right information to give to both the audience and the characters within the film.
Themes such as Love, Betrayal and Death are typical of a mainstream film, suggesting the film or at least the institution are of a commercial one. However, the film's unique hybrind genre of musicals, gothic and a hint of humour, introduces the mainstream themes to a niche audience.
Due to the musical genre, the digetic sound track helps move the plot foward or expresses the internal emotions of the characters. This is typical of musicals and is useful to the audience as it introduces different views of the narrative.
Iconographies of the gothic genre are present. For example the strip of white in the black hair- stereotyped view of crazy or insane characters derived from the mad scientist in Frankenstein.
One of the conventions of gothic genre present are a dark gritty mise en scene. This is signified through the colours and the low key lighing. Also the time period of the film also helps, as it is during the Medival period.
Tim Burton is a director famously linked with the Gothic genre with films such as Corspe Bride, Batman, And Nightmare Before Christmas. Tim Burton alongside Johnny Depp is a duo known to work together for example Corspe Bride, Edward Scissorhands, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Sleepy Hollow. Therefore audiences will have a certain expectation for the style and genre of the film, In particular expecting a strong male protagonist from Depp.
Helena Bonhem Carter is the main female character, who like Depp and Burton is famous for playing characters in "dark" films such as the Harry Potter series and Alice in Wonderland. She usually plays a charatcer which is mad or whacky, which is also present in this film.
Another Proppian helper in the text is the old lady. It is clear that females in the text seem to play the Proppian helper. This could signify that the institution reflect a patriarchial society, reinforcing females stereotypes, where females play a more passive role as a helper, rather than a dominant role as a protagonist. However, it could also signify that females hold power as they know the right information to give to both the audience and the characters within the film.
Themes such as Love, Betrayal and Death are typical of a mainstream film, suggesting the film or at least the institution are of a commercial one. However, the film's unique hybrind genre of musicals, gothic and a hint of humour, introduces the mainstream themes to a niche audience.
Due to the musical genre, the digetic sound track helps move the plot foward or expresses the internal emotions of the characters. This is typical of musicals and is useful to the audience as it introduces different views of the narrative.
Iconographies of the gothic genre are present. For example the strip of white in the black hair- stereotyped view of crazy or insane characters derived from the mad scientist in Frankenstein.
One of the conventions of gothic genre present are a dark gritty mise en scene. This is signified through the colours and the low key lighing. Also the time period of the film also helps, as it is during the Medival period.
Tim Burton is a director famously linked with the Gothic genre with films such as Corspe Bride, Batman, And Nightmare Before Christmas. Tim Burton alongside Johnny Depp is a duo known to work together for example Corspe Bride, Edward Scissorhands, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Sleepy Hollow. Therefore audiences will have a certain expectation for the style and genre of the film, In particular expecting a strong male protagonist from Depp.
Helena Bonhem Carter is the main female character, who like Depp and Burton is famous for playing characters in "dark" films such as the Harry Potter series and Alice in Wonderland. She usually plays a charatcer which is mad or whacky, which is also present in this film.
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