Syracuse University SURFACE S.I. Newhouse School of Public Mass Communications - Dissertations Communications 2011 Performing the Self: Character Agency and Impression Management within the Narrative of Survivor: Samoa Carolyn Davis Hedges Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/com_etd Part of the Mass Communication Commons Recommended Citation Hedges, Carolyn Davis, "Performing the Self: Character Agency and Impression Management within the Narrative of Survivor: Samoa" (2011). Mass Communications - Dissertations. 85. https://surface.syr.edu/com_etd/85 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Mass Communications - Dissertations by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Abstract This study used an in-depth textual analysis of the television show Survivor: Samoa to demonstrate that the unscripted characters of the program and shows like it have agency within the narrative. In addition to the 19th season of the Survivor series, the sample also included Jeff Probst’s (host and executive producer of the series) weekly blog for EntertainmentWeekly.com. Unlike most popular television narratives, the unscripted characters of Survivor: Samoa have the opportunity to tell their own story. This doctoral project was an in-depth analysis at how that authorial power was shared between the Producers of the show and the individual characters. The results of indicate there are three types of narrative agents that contributed to the storytelling process: the producers, the characters, and then a unique mix of the two.