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Chinese Reality TV - A Case Study of GDTV’s The Great Challenge for Survival A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Waikato by LUO, WEI The University of Waikato 2010 i Abstract The emergence of reality programming has a parallel development with Chinese television media at the beginning of this century. This study of Chinese “Reality TV” is based on a case study of a pioneer Chinese reality production, namely The Great Challenge for Survivor (GDTV, 2000-2006). The general concern of this thesis is an examination of the localizing of popular foreign outdoor survival formats (the Japanese top-rating Airway Boys and the international format Survivor) within a Chinese context. The study of this subject consists of field research into a major Party-state owned television broadcaster and a comparative analysis of the six broadcast seasons of the selected example. The research outcome presented here highlights some distinctive Chinese patterns in the outdoor survival reality strand prevailing early in this century and articulates the complex roles that a nationalized television station was required to play in the industrialized reform era. By recognizing the GDTV crew’s continuous efforts to improve production quality and to satisfy their assumed audiences’ needs, the thesis further addresses some key factors of the specific institutional system and broad media environment shaping local reality programme makers' decision making. Facing a “special television zone” in China, the local producer’s continuous modification of their reality programming was on the cutting edge of commercialization and globalization in the early 2000s. The production of the studied case was an exploratory enterprise which involved a set of negotiations, arguments and compromises while dealing with a range of issues which emerged in such areas as the cultural landscape, social environment, political discourse and economic power. To a large extent, the manifested transition taking place in this studied local production mirrors unprecedented social and economic changes occurring in contemporary China. ii Acknowledgement Firstly and most importantly I would like to say a big thank you to my supervisors Dr. Craig Hight, Dr. Ann Hardy, Assoc. Geoff Lealand, especially Craig who helped me through the most difficult time in my PhD studies. Without you, this thesis would not exist. There is no way I could fully express my appreciation. I guess the completion of this thesis is the best return for your unconditional support. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you a lot of people who have been offering me enormous help and supports throughout the year. Without you, this thesis would not exist either. I would like to give my sincere appreciation to Sasha McLaren, Carolyn Henson, Bevin Yeatman, Andrea Haines, Alistair Swale and Lisa Perrott for their generous support. Finally, I would like to thank for my parents and grandparents for believing in me for the very beginning and for their unconditional love and support, both financially and emotionally. iii CONTENTS Abstract ii Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 An Overview 1 1.2 Personal and Intellectual Engagement 5 1.3 The Significance of the Research 6 1.4 The Key Argument of the Thesis 13 1.5 The Structure of the Thesis 16 1.6 Conclusion 20 Chapter Two: Television Media and Reality TV in China 2.1 Television in Mainland China 22 2.1.1 Television in the Pre-reform Period 22 2.1.2 Television in the Reform Period 24 2.2 The Guangdong Television Market 28 2.3 Reality TV in China 32 2.4 Some Important Issues Concerning Chinese Television Reform 38 2.4.1 Television Entertainment 38 2.4.2 A Social Interest in Ordinary People 40 2.4.3 Political Culture 41 2.4.4 Party publicity Inc., 43 2.5 Conclusion 44 Chapter Three: Theoretical Frameworks 3.1 Defining Reality TV 45 3.2 Western Studies on Reality TV 49 3.2.1 Some Problematic Approaches to the Reality TV Phenomenon 50 3.2.2 Two Important Theoretical Speculations 53 3.2.3 Recent Western Studies on Reality TV 56 3.3 Studies on Chinese Realty TV 58 3.4 Chinese Documentary 67 3.4.1 Theoretical Debates on “Special Topic” Programme 74 iv 3.5 Localization 80 3.6 Cultural Discount 82 3.7 Conclusion 83 Chapter Four: Considerations of Methodology 4.1 The Research Approach: A Case Study 84 4.2 Tripartite Framework: Text-Production-Reception 87 4.2.1 Text Analysis 88 4.2.2 Audience 90 4.2.3 Production Research 92 4.3 The Ethnographic Approach 96 4.4 Data Collection 99 4.5 Semi-structured Interviewing 99 4.6 Production Observation 100 4.7 Some issues about Production Research 103 4.7.1 Preparation for the changes 104 4.7.2 My approach to production crew and other interviewees 108 4.7.3 Researcher’s Influence 111 4.7.4 The Coverage of the Interviewees 113 4.7.5 Interview Practice 114 4.7.6 Recording the data 116 4.8 Conclusion 119 Chapter Five: The Origins of the TGCFS 5.1 GDTV’s Travel Documentary Tradition 122 5.2 Airwave Boys: A Predecessor of Reality TV 123 5.2.1 The Emergence of an Outdoor Sports Culture 128 5.2.2 Life Experience Format 131 5.2.3 Concerns of Safety 132 5.2.4 The Crew’s Pioneer Spirit 134 5.3 Survivor : A Paradigm of Gamedoc 138 5.3.1 Infotainment Approach 143 5.3.2 Ethical Considerations of Privacy 148 5.4 Conclusion 149 Chapter Six: Documentary Approach and Dramatic Effects 6.1 The Documentary Approach 152 6.1.1 A Non-Interventionist Approach 153 v 6.1.2 The Presence of Camera 155 6.1.3 An Expositional Mode of Televisual Presentation 159 6.1.4 Communication between the Director and Editor 160 6.3 Public’s Suspicions of Authenticity 163 6.4 Generic Confusion 164 6.5 The Act of Intervention 167 6.6 Reconstruction 170 6.6.1 Presenting Emotional Truth 171 6.6.2 Innovating the Voice Over 173 6.7 The Application of Dramatic Devices 175 6.7.1 Emotional Appeal 177 6.7.2 An Exploration of Romance 178 6.7.3 Planting Suspense 180 6.7.4 Conspiracy 183 6.7.5 The Transience of the Production 186 6.8 Conclusion 188 Chapter Seven: The Role and Experience of Participants 7.1 The Role of Chinese Participants 192 7.2 The Criteria of Casting 194 7.2.1 Urban Young Middle Class 196 7.2.2 Occupational Appeal 201 7.2.3 Regional Division 202 7.3 The Experience of Chinese Participants 203 7.3.1 Lack of Game Spirit 204 7.3.1.1 Against the Elimination Strategy 206 7.3.1.2 Sharing the Reward 210 7.3.2 Avoiding the Camera 216 7.3.3 Concerns of Expression 219 7.4 Conclusion 222 Chapter Eight: Entertainment Function and Political Purpose 8.1 Survivor meets the Long March 227 8.2 Cultural conflicts 231 8.3 Political Apathy 232 8.4 Portrayal of Role Models 238 8.5 Emotionalized Narrative 244 8.6 Edutainment Approach 247 8.7 Ritualized Ceremony 248 8.8 Long March “hands-on history” strand 251 8.9 Conclusion 255 vi Chapter Nine: Commercial Operation and Institutional Environment 9.1 The Dominance of Advertising Revenue 260 9.2 Commercialist Approach 262 9.3 The Importance of the Local Market 266 9.4 The Ambivalent Marketing Concerns 273 9.4.1 Revenue Building 273 9.4.1.1 Sponsorship 274 9.4.1.2 Distribution 277 9.4.2 The Foregrounding of Brand Influence 281 9.4.3 Risk Control of Production Investment 282 9.4.4 Multimedia Collaboration 285 9.5 Controversial Publicity Strategy 287 9.6 Conclusion 294 Chapter Ten: Original Format and Creative Approach 10.1 A Request for New Game Rules 298 10.2 The “1+2+3” Model of Game Rules 301 10.2.1 The Multi-Polarization of Competition 302 10.2.2 Breaking up the Chinese-Style Alliance 304 10.2.3 Balancing Competition and Collaboration 305 10.2.4 The Culturally-Preferred Competition Model 307 10.2.5 The Unique Rescue System 309 10.2.6 A Six-Member Contest Team 311 10.3 New Functions of Training 314 10.4 Conclusion 317 Chapter Eleven: Conclusion 320 Bibliography 334 Appendices Appendix 1: The Synopsis of the Studied Productions 348 Appendix 2: Interview List 352 Appendix 3: Interview Questions 355 Appendix 4:Data of TGCFS 359 vii List of Illustrations Illustrations Figure Page 1 Six seasons of TGCFS 2 2 The cover of the production plan of the seventh season of 5 TGCFS (2006) 3 Go to the West Following the Footprint of the Master 5 Monk Xuan Zhang (2006) 4 Super Girls (2005) 34 5 The second season of Wise Man Takes it All (2006) 35 6 Perfect Vacation (2002) 36 7 Date with Beauty (2007) 37 8 Zhaoren Xie’s Diary of Friendship 127 9 The First Season: Tracing China Overland Border (2000) 130 10 Snapshots of the finale 136 11 working photos of the crew 144-5 12 Survival challenges around the world 146 13 Playing games around the world 147-8 14 Some working photos 157 15 Some images illustrating the producers' interesting in 179-80 romance 16 Dao Lü becoming a street vendor touting pedestrians to earn 183 money 17 Dao Lü as the guest in