2017 pop genres group 13

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Weeks 11 and 12: Reality TV

1)How have the documentary genres ‘Direct Cinema’ or ‘cinéma vérité influenced reality TV and the presentation of the ‘real’? Discuss in the context of a contemporary reality TV show.

2)How does Hill define reality TV? Describe his definitions in the context of a contemporary Reality TV show.

3)What has the early docudrama (e.g. Cathy Come Home) contributed to the development of Reality TV? Discuss in the context of a contemporary reality TV show.

6 comments:

UnknownOctober 23, 2017 at 1:25 AM
Hill defines Reality TV as a genre with no limitations. He states that it’s a genre that has the ability of picking up on other genres whether that be drama, horror, etc. (Hill, 2005). While watching Cathy Come Home, I was confused because some parts seemed real as opposed to scripted. Upon reading reviews after the fact, I discovered that a lot of the show was based on improvisation, but still followed a general script. Yes, that script was created to portray real life events and issues, but still, was scripted. However, that is ultimately why Cathy Come Home falls under the umbrella term of “Reality TV”.

A Reality TV show can include a variety of genres that relate back to entertainment on real people. Cathy Come Home was dramatic entertainment that highlighted the issue of homelessness, children surplus, and father’s walking out on their families. While this film was quite depressing, Reality TV is not always like that. Take for example the recent TV show, The Bachelor. This is a show that captures love interests amongst a group of real people. Ideally those who created the show want it to appear as real as possible, however there are still limitations and boundaries when filming.

Hill (2005) states that Reality TV not only provides entertainment, but information as well. In Cathy Come Home we see the issues Britain faced, in shows such as the Bachelor, we see real people struggling with personal problems. I would consider Reality TV a newer genre, which I believe makes it easier to manipulate. You can create a show that coexists drama with real people, or horror with real people (i.e Ghost Busters). The options are limitless which is why I believe Hill (2005) agrees that there is no true definition to what Reality TV is, and is instead an umbrella term that is still be created.

ReplyDelete
Replies
annamordidoOctober 24, 2017 at 3:16 PM
What has the early docudrama (e.g Cathy come home) contributed to the development of reality tv? Discuss in the context of a contemporary reality to show.

In the early 1960's, television began to make itself a home for documentaries, most of which were presented in free cinema/direct cinema style. From here, a new genre, the 'docudrama' was conceived. Paget, 1998: 82 defines the docudrama style as "an invented sequence of events and fictional protagonists to illustrate the salient features of real historical occurrences or situations" (as cited by Lamb, 2016). One of the most influential contributors that defined this style was director Ken Loach; creator of BBC supported docudrama 'Cathy come home' (1966). Using this as an example we can analyze its success and contribution to contemporary television in the form of reality TV.

In Cathy come home it is difficult to distinguish the actors from people who at any given moment could exist in the 'real world'. This is largely due to the incredibly real, wider social and political context the characters were placed in. The docudrama was "meticulous research" (Lamb, 2016) portray the genuine lives of families who were socially insecure/ suffering the consequences of Britain's overcrowding and wealth inequality issues (Lamb, 2016).
The 'camera' that stood in place for the viewer is shaky and acts much like a fly on the wall being brought in to observe the real environments and people that Cathy encounters in the narrative rather than being a participant. This is often done through the camera's angles and placement often placed at a distance from the characters in the shot, sometimes behind trees or buildings followed by a zoom in to a close up of the characters' facial expression. This technique allows the story to seem to unfold on its own without the interjection of the people behind the camera (though the viewer does know that there are external observers from the interview style voice overs). Viewers are purely helpless witnesses to Cathy's plummet into poverty which forms emotional connections with the narrative.
The observational style also helped to stray away from developing a skewed view of the impoverished and government officials. From this viewers realize an sympathy for most parties involved in the crisis.

We can see an example of early docudrama's like 'Cathy come home' influencing contemporary reality TV in the series 'Benefits Street' (2014). 'Benefits Street' like 'Cathy come home' constructs a narrative around the ordinary or raw lives of people who are socially insecure. (However the people in 'Benefits Street' are not actors). It takes similar techniques such as the fly on the wall / handheld shaky camera to create realism but it makes greater use of the 'interviewing' style that was touched on slightly in 'Cathy come home'. In 'Benefits street' the characters are aware of the production team, often leading the camera around the street or talking one on one with the 'interviewer' persona that is typically another person next to the cameraman, allowing us (the viewer) to remain a third observational party.
ReplyDelete
Replies
annamordidoOctober 24, 2017 at 3:18 PM
PART 2

'Benefits Street' also draws influence docudramas like 'Cathy come home' by portraying protagonists and antagonists to develop a narrative. However it does so in a way that is heavily skewed to be in favor of the unemployed residents. It is theorized that 'Benefits Street' much like all contemporary reality TV create these skewed narratives to create a greater gap between the viewer and the situations on screen and so facilitate "an unethical passivity before representations which are framed and marketed as entertainment" ( Hester, 2014: 208). The reason for this being that televised series need to hold viewer loyalty to earn a profit and so need to manipulate the narrative to create greater entertainment value. Early docudramas were unconcerned with this, rather focusing on truth as it relates to society and politics, allowing viewers to come to their own conclusions. As a result 'Cathy come home' created a notion of "fostering national widespread sympathy towards those reliant on social security" (Lamb, 2016) while 'Benefits street' scrutinized "citizens who are wholly dependent social security or 'benefits" (Lamb, 2016)

To conclude docudramas such as 'Cathy come home' have contributed greatly to the contemporary reality TV in the way that it's original purpose; to unearth the raw lives of ordinary people is still being translated in today's reality TV culture.
ReplyDelete
Replies
UnknownOctober 26, 2017 at 1:13 AM
The process of categorising reality TV highlights the inherent problems… in defining a genre that by its very nature is concerned with multiple generic participation and constant regeneration (Hill, 2005). By looking at historical influences and common features associated with the genre, we can begin to unpack the processes of definition, interpretation and analysis of reality TV. Hill (2005) roots the development of reality TV into three areas of media production; tabloid journalism, popular entertainment, and documentary. He also states that the common styles and techniques associated with, but not limited to, reality TV are non-professional actors, unscripted dialogue, surveillance footage, hand held cameras, and seeing events unfold as they are happening (Hill, 2005). However, programmes that come under the umbrella term of reality TV do not necessarily need to encompass all these features because due to its dynamic and porous nature it is imperative to allow flexibility within an analysis of a definition. With regards to these definitions, MasterChef Australia in the contemporary context of reality TV embodies a multitude of these facets however also eschews a number of them to in turn question the reality of reality TV.

When attempting to define reality TV Hill (2005) takes into consideration the influences of previous styles of media productions. The first of Hill’s (2005) considerations is tabloid journalism which encompassed the interplay between ordinary people and celebrities, intersecting the public and private life. Tabloid journalism is the basis of the popularity of reality TV where audience interest lay in the lives of ordinary people. Within MasterChef Australia we can see that this influence is certainly true wherein ordinary amateur chefs are placed in a competition that presents opportunities to interact with, not only the celebrity chef judges, but many other guests of celebrity status. The second of Hill’s (2005) consideration is popular entertainment which presents a situation that allows non-celebrity’s to be treated as celebrities. Such programmes would be game shows and talk shows. It brings the private sector of the ordinary person and presents it in a public sector, negotiated by an interactive element be it a host or a judge. MasterChef Australia certainly conforms to this influence wherein it is largely about the personalities of the contestants and tells their stories (Neutze, 2017). The judges also negotiate this area where they understand the contestants’ backgrounds and mentor them largely to cater to their individual goals and influences.
ReplyDelete
Replies
UnknownOctober 26, 2017 at 1:15 AM
The last of Hill’s (2005) considerations are of the documentary genre and the presentation of the real and in the case of MasterChef Australia, cinema verite. This style encompasses Hill’s (2005) outlined technique of seeing events unfold as they are happening. Documentary styles attempt to faithfully record the real and create a refined sense of immediacy and being there (Biressi & Nunn, 2005). Cinema verite had an explicit agenda in its presentation of the real and was overtly interventionist (Biressi & Nunn, 2005). This would include filming subject’s responses to rough cuts of film footage, which is particularly evident in MasterChef Australia where contestants would reflect and narrate what they were thinking during specific footage. Cinema verite acknowledged that the presence of cameras affected film subjects but that their presence prompted them to be more truthful and more authentically themselves (Biressi & Nunn, 2005). In this agenda however, editing was used to reveal contradictions in testimony and arguments and as previous MasterChef Australia contestant Jules Allen claimed, their contributions were edited to fit a particular narrative or character type and the audience only gets a certain version of the contestant (Hassall, 2014). The objective of observational realism in the documentary sector therefore has been eschewed in the contemporary context through the use of certainly ordinary people however placing them in an unusual situation (Hill, 2005). In MasterChef Australia, contestants are cut off from friends and family, deprived of sleep and designed to produce drama and high emotion- good TV in other words (Hassall, 2014). This reveals the criticism of editing and the constructed reality of reality TV.

Hill (2005) claims that techniques attributed to reality TV such as non-professional actors, unscripted dialogue, surveillance footage, and hand held cameras are true in the production of reality programmes. In the case of MasterChef Australia, there is no surveillance footage or handheld cameras however the contestants are ordinary, amateur chefs, albeit placed in an unusual environment. Dialogue is unscripted and raw but narrative is created through editing ‘dead’ or ‘empty’ time where nothing of narrative significance occurs to sustain temporal and spatial continuity (Biressi & Nunn, 2005). Therefore, it can be seen that editing is a substantial part of the depiction of reality to produce overblown melodrama (Neutze, 2017) and create strong stories and characterisation to attract repeat viewers (Hill, 2005).

Overall, reality TV in definition is less about genre but more about the treatment of realities (Hill, 2005). There is certainly influence from other facets of media production such as tabloid journalism, popular entertainment and documentary that all have a home in the development of reality TV in the contemporary context. Reality TV is not a fact or fiction dichotomy but rather a continuum (Hill, 2005) that shifts through the utilisation and editing of common techniques associated with reality TV such as non-professional actors, unscripted dialogue, surveillance footage, hand held cameras, and seeing events unfold as they are happening (Hill, 2005). Ultimately, reality programming is an example of how television cannibalises itself in order to survive, drawing on existing genres to create successful hybrid programmes and it is this hybridisation that gives reality TV such a strong market value (Hill, 2005), such is the case for MasterChef Australia.
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment