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.
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