Part of The Student Room Group

  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

What is the relationship between TV and reality? Choose a specific TV show on which to focus, including some attention to concepts of liveness, flow and seriality.

Extracts from this document...

Introduction

What is the relationship between TV and reality? Choose a specific TV show on which to focus, including some attention to concepts of liveness, flow and seriality. Television used to be like the movies, an escape from reality. Television programs became so popular because the way of spectatorship is different form movies in cinema, television is handy. First of all, television acted as a tool of entertainment everywhere such as home, bars, caf� and shops. Audience are not required to gaze at the screen, in other words, audience are mobilized. Due to the advanced technology, viewers have an option to review the texts by the remote control through the VCR machine. Because of the remote control, also called magic- wand, viewers are able to pause, rewind, fast forward to skip the advertisements or even change the channels, therefore, it generated the power of control to the user. The tradition television programs were focused on unique story, specially crafted, either funny or exciting or intelligent or emotional. However, the insurgence of reality television into everyday life has raised a question in audience's mind, 'what is real?' ...read more.

Middle

Recently, Big Brother have changed Australia's perception of the 'celebrity' and represent how the nature of fame has changed in recent years. Housemates enter the house as regular people and exit as superstars who are invited to regular film premiers and show business bashes. Alison Neighbour suggests that this and the immense popularity of Big Brother indicate the nature of fame has changed dramatically in recent years. "A famous person was once required to have a particular talent, and to work their way up to a celebrated position. Now, instant stardom awaits anyone willing to let the nation watch them in their daily lives, or be humiliated through Production Company's idea of entertainment" (Neighbour 2002:1). Neighbour further suggests that the reason Big Brother has so much appeal is because it represents the aspirations of many Australians - fame and riches for doing nothing. The conclusions that can be drawn from the immense popularity of Big Brother and Australia's recent embrace of reality programs cannot be underestimated. As Kubey argues "Television has become our species preferred and most powerful means of mass communication" (Kubey 1990:XI). ...read more.

Conclusion

Reality television shows take advantage of a society, which embraces fame as a good way of life, in order to make millions. Celebrities are respected by the public and these contestants, who are normal people, dream of making themselves a well known face. Reference List Butler. J, Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity London: Routeledge, 1990e Chichester. J, 'Regs of society they may be, but we still love an underdog' Sydney Morning Herald 23rd July, 2003 Fargher. S, 'Reality TV here to stay' Illawara Mercury 1st August , 2003 Goffman. E, The Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life New York: Double Day plx5uO from plx5uO Johnson - Woods, T, Big Bother Queensland: University of Queensland Press, 2002 Kubey. R, Television and the Quality of Life New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc, 1990 Mcqueen. D, Television A Media Student's Guide London: Oxford University Press,1998Carstens Neighbour. A, Reality Check 15th August www.vision.york.ac.uk, 2003 Roscoe. J, Faking it: Mock-documentary and the Subversion of Factuality Manchester, New York: Manchester University Press, 2001 Spencer. B, The Return of Big Brother 4th March www.abc.net.au, 2002 Tranter. N 200s Big Brother Australia 15th August www.popmatters.com Van Zoonen. L, Gender, Representation and the Media, in Downing Questioning the Media: A Critical Introduction 2nd ed Thousand Oaks: Sage, 1995 ?? ?? ?? ?? 1 ...read more.

The above preview is unformatted text

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our University Degree Television & Radio Studies section.

Found what you're looking for?

  • Start learning 29% faster today
  • 150,000+ documents available
  • Just £6.99 a month

or


Not the one? Search for your essay title...
  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

See related essaysSee related essays

Related University Degree Television & Radio Studies essays

  1. How does the Television Drama Series Shameless, Disrupt Stereotypes of Working Class Ideologies?

    However, this seems to go against traditional representations on TV as fathers tend to look after their family in terms of providing financial support as the 'bread winner' and showing displays of masculinity. But yet somehow without any parental guidance from the absent mum or father the family still mange

  2. Big Brother and its slant on how celebrity is constructed and represented in our ...

    Despite these theorists outlining conflicting approaches, they both outline ways in which surveillance now blends into society and has turned these negative aspects that devalued our life experience into positive imagery. It is argued that if contemporary culture is just a simulation, then "the recirculation of our images again thorough surveillance hardly carries any loss or danger.

  1. The insurgence of reality television (TV) into everyday life has left us increasingly asking ...

    Jealousy, greed, humiliation and betrayl are fundamental themes explored throughout 'Big Brother'. The structure of the show encourages contestants to back stab their fellow participants by voting them off, and fosters greed by using money as the final motivation. The naturalisation of such vices has, as Andi Cook argues resulted

  2. What has been the social, cultural, political and technological impact the TV programme Big ...

    These kiss-and-tell stories have long been a feature of tabloids, but never before have members of the public, which is what essentially the housemates are, been given so much media coverage. Pictures of ex-housemates worse for wear after a night out is another tabloid favourite, and gossip magazines such as

  1. Is genre a useful way of analysing television? The norms and conventions that are ...

    to mass-market popular culture texts, so the programmes that are within the boundaries of a genre can be seen as mechanically designed in some form. However, texts often participate in several genres at the same time as well as the fact that all texts contribute to genre to some extent.

  2. REALITY SHOWS AS A REFLECTION OF A CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY

    fulfilment, human frailties, the exposé of tricks of the trade and the small crisis[4]. There were many different reactions during these experiments, some would hide their faces, some would laugh, some would hug Funt and some would show some aggression.

  1. My essay is based on how Blacks and Arabs are represented in the media, ...

    She is also portrayed as a mammy figure as she cares for the Johnson family after Lucas Johnson was convicted. Stam and Shohat (1994, p.184) states that ?In the UK only 5% of characters in TV dramas were black and only 3 of 62 non-white appearances constituted leading roles?.

  2. The Portrayal of Women in The Walking Dead TV Show.

    Rick Grimes and his partner, Shane Walsh, are discussing the differences between men and women. Rick quickly explains that Lori is impossible to get along with: Rick: Everything I say makes her impatient, like she doesn?t want to hear it anymore.

  • Over 160,000 pieces
    of student written work
  • Annotated by
    experienced teachers
  • Ideas and feedback to
    improve your own work