Trans-Reality Television: The Transgression of Reality, Genre, Politics, and Audience

by Sofie Van Bauwel (Editor), Nico Carpentier Uppsala University (Editor), Fernando Andacht (Contribution by), Frank Boddin (Contribution by), Anastasia Deligiaouri (Contribution by)

Overview

Trans-Reality Television: The Transgression of Reality, Genre, Politics, and Audience offers an overview of contributions which engage with the phenomenon of reality television as a tool to reflect on societal and mediated transformations and transgressions. While some contributors delve deep into the theoretical issues, others approach the topic at hand through empirical studies of specific reality television formats and programs. The chapters in this volume are divided into four sections, all of which deal with how we see the fluid social at work in reality television through the trans-real, trans-politics, trans-genre, and trans-audience. The first section stresses the concept of the trans-real. These chapters go into the complexity of the construction of reality in reality television. The second section, which deals with the concept of trans-politics, offers a diversity of perspectives on the articulation and re-articulation of politics and the political. In the third section, trans-genre, the chapters analyze how the modern conceptualizations of genre and format are transcended. Finally, the last set of chapters articulate the concept of trans-audiences, using case studies of particular audiences and a study of reality celebrities. Trans-Reality Television concludes by returning to the sense and nonsense of the use of these 'post' concepts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739131893
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	08/04/2010
Pages:	340
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Sofie Van Bauwel is an assistant professor of communication studies at the University of Ghent (Belgium). Nico Carpentier is assistant professor of communication studies at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB D Free University of Brussels).

Table of Contents

Introduction

1 Trans-Reality TV as a Site of Contingent Reality Sofie Van Bauwel Nico Carpentier 1

Part 1 Trans-Reality

2 A Short Introduction to Trans-Reality Sofie Van Bauwel 21

3 The Spectacle of the Real and Whatever Other Constructions Sofie Van Bauwel 23

4 On the Media Representation of Reality: Peirce and Auerbach-Two Unlikely Guests in the Big Brother House Fernando Andacht 37

5 Reality TV and Reality of TV: How Much Reality Is There in Reality TV Shows? A Critical Approach Anastasia Deligiaouri Mirkica Popovic 65

6 Trans-Professionalism Undone? The 2007 British TV Scandals Matthew Hibberd 87

Part 2 Trans-Politics

7 A Short Introduction to Trans-Politics and the Trans-Political Nico Carpentier 103

8 Post-Democracy, Hegemony, and Invisible Power: The Reality TV Media Professional as Primum Movens Immobile Nico Carpentier 105

9 Punitive Reality TV: Televizing Punishment and the Production of Law and Order Jan Pinseler 125

10 After Politics, What Is Left Is the Police: Police Videos and the Neo-Liberal Order Jan Teurlings 149

11 Hijacking the Branded Self: Reality TV and the Politics of Subversion Winnie Salamon 163

Part 3 Trans-Genre

12 A Short Introduction to Trans-Genre Sofie Van Bauwel 181

13 Genre as Discursive Practice and the Governmentality of Formatting in Post-Documentary TV Frank Boddin 183

14 Trans-National Reality TV: A Comparative Study of the U.K.'s and Norway's Wife Swap Gunn Sara Enli Brian McNair 205

Part 4 Trans-Audience

15 A Short Introduction to Trans-Audience Nico Carpentier 227

16 Trans-Audiencehood of Big Brother: Discourses of Fans, Producers, and Participants Mikko Hautakangas 229

17 Reality TV and "Ordinary" People: Re-visiting Celebrity, Performance, and Authenticity Su Holmes 251

18 Lifestyle TV: Critical Attitudes toward "Banal" Programming Tanja Thomas 275

Conclusion

19 The Politics of the Prefix: From "Post" to "Trans" (and Back)? Nico Carpentier Sofie Van Bauwel 297

Index 317

About the Authors 329

Editorial Reviews

This collection offers an energetic and illuminating range of explorations into what is involved in thinking about generic shifts and generic contexts. It does so in a period characterized both by radical transformations in the recipes and modes for mediating reality and by provocative questions about just what kind of datum points for representation 'reality' provides. The writings here will provide an excellent encouragement towards further debate.

John Corner