HEJ 231 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Mockumentary, Damien Leith, Product Placement
30 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Journalism week 9: Celebrity and Audiences
Reality TV and disposable celebrities:
- think about the relationship between the media and the ordinary world
- gives us an inclination about what everyone else is doing without actually
knowing them
- through the media we get a broad cross section of society- or at least we are
suppose to
ochose and select a proportion of society
- “barrier between media and ordinary world is particular seen in the
relationship between celebrities and audiences”
- tabloid magazines:
otrying to show the ordinary person behind the glamour
obetween want to see version of ourselves in them
omay take pride and interest in seeing celebrities in this light
othese are also constructions
ocarefully representation of reality
ois magazine construction different to an interview
- ‘media texts don’t reflect reality’ we get a taste or a version of that that is not
the entire picture
- Reality TV:
oNow seen to be expected not an exception
oSomewhere between fiction and reality
o‘conventions built in the signify to us that what we are watching is
real’
CTV footage
Camera confessionals
Fly on the world footage
Giving us eye contact talking directly to us, telling us how they
fell
We don’t usually get this
Ordinary people as opposed to trained actors
oHow do media companies deliberately construct footage so that
audiences think what we see is real
TV shows edit out certain footage
Camera angles: deliberately chosen to show people in a harsh
light
Editing and music, emphasizing ‘realness’
oCarefully constructed versions of reality, deliberately constructed in a
way
oConventions are drawn from drama, to help build suspense
“Narrative
Cliff hangers
Emotions and intimacy”
- History:
o1990’s increase in production costs, reality television is cheaper than
dramas etc,
oreduced time and energy
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
mocumentary rise in popularity is also due to this
oExample: the Real World
Are we more savvy as media consumers so don’t trust the
realness of it
Appeals to:
Drama; interpersonal, relationships
Why would we watch this over fictionalized/narrative
drams:
oRelatable factor
oRise of reality game shows
Previously just game shows, now include drama into this
Franchised: designed in one country and exported to many
Follows a successful formula and format
Range of demographics
Sometimes not as obvious that series is part of a franchise
Think that the voice is an Australian show
The format is sold
oFrances Bonner (2203): ‘boundaries are blurred between text and
audience’
Directly saying this could be you
- ‘narratives of transformation’ are popular in reality TV
omedia industry is what is in between ordinary person and celebrity
othe makeover: Bonner 2003
‘fuelling and responding to a persistent cultural obsession with
transformation the makeover’
o‘building brand identity on transformation powers’
super nanny
- ‘profitable by product’: celebrity comes out of reality TV but is not the aim of
it, the selling of a larger product
oDamien Leith: winner of Australian Idol
oOften the runners up can end up more famous
oJulie Goodwin: winner of Mastership
oPho: runner up
- Reality TV often sets up the ‘notion of the disposable celebrity… commodity
that is used for a brief period of times, then disposed of… they often have no
power over their image.. they must assert their image in some way”
oDifficult for people on music shows because they resigned into
ridiculous contracts
Five years of cover based stuff, in debt to record company
Prohibiting contracts: ties to TV shows and the content they
want
Behind the scenes
- Jessica Malbouy:
o‘embodies two defining features of reality television: orderliness and
transformation’
often don’t think when they walk in they are capable of what
they do
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Media texts don"t reflect reality" we get a taste or a version of that that is not the entire picture. Reality tv: now seen to be expected not an exception, somewhere between fiction and reality, conventions built in the signify to us that what we are watching is real". Giving us eye contact talking directly to us, telling us how they fell. Ordinary people as opposed to trained actors: how do media companies deliberately construct footage so that audiences think what we see is real. Camera angles: deliberately chosen to show people in a harsh light. Editing and music, emphasizing realness": carefully constructed versions of reality, deliberately constructed in a way, conventions are drawn from drama, to help build suspense. History: 1990"s increase in production costs, reality television is cheaper than dramas etc, reduced time and energy. Mocumentary rise in popularity is also due to this: example: the real world.
