Cultural Values, Narratives, and Myth in Reality Television" (2007)
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The University of Southern Mississippi The Aquila Digital Community Dissertations Summer 8-2007 CULTURAL ALV UES, NARRATIVES, AND MYTH IN REALITY TELEVISION Alison Rebecca Foster Miller University of Southern Mississippi Follow this and additional works at: https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations Part of the Broadcast and Video Studies Commons, and the Mass Communication Commons Recommended Citation Miller, Alison Rebecca Foster, "CULTURAL VALUES, NARRATIVES, AND MYTH IN REALITY TELEVISION" (2007). Dissertations. 1268. https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/1268 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by The Aquila Digital Community. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of The Aquila Digital Community. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The University of Southern Mississippi CULTURAL VALUES, NARRATIVES AND MYTH IN REALITY TELEVISION by Alison Rebecca Foster Miller A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Studies Office of The University of Southern Mississippi in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Approved: August 2007 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The University of Southern Mississippi CULTURAL VALUES, NARRATIVES AND MYTH IN REALITY TELEVISION by Alison Rebecca Foster Miller Abstract of a Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Studies Office of The University of Southern Mississippi in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2007 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT CULTURAL VALUES, NARRATIVES AND MYTH IN REALITY TELEVISION by Alison Rebecca Foster Miller August 2007 Television programming today consists of many unique genres, many of which have existed since the birth of television in 1948. Although reality television is considered a relatively new genre of television programming, this genre has proven a vital, contributing type of programming since the development of early programs such as Candid Camera, Queen For a Day and I ’d Like to See. Scholarly research has demonstrated the importance of television programming as a form of cultural transmission within society. Further, scholarly research on reality television programming has investigated the implications of the genre of reality television programming on the broadcasting industry as a whole. This critical analysis recognizes the contribution of research on reality television as a genre, but questions the thoroughness and the limited amount of research to determine the viability of this genre of programming. Additionally, there is limited, if any, research on the values, narratives and myths, which exist within this genre. Thus, this study illustrates how reality television may create, nurture and perpetuate certain ideological positions and value systems within society. u Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This critical analysis examined a range of reality television programs to reveal values, narratives and myths within the texts and also revealed prevalent ideologies by interpreting the ideological, narrative and mythic structures, which are a part of the television production process. Although many instances are revealed to demonstrate the viability and power of reality television as reflective of dominant positions within society, reality television narratives themselves are not judged to be completely unique as a cultural agent. The study concludes reality television, through elements embedded in the narratives of these programs, depicts preferred positions of the dominant ideology, as well as cultural values and myths, and analysis of the medium of television helps members of society understand how reality television content embodies modem culture. Further, this study found reality television programming to be representative of the dominant ideology, and through realistic depictions of culture and society, reality television was found to be a viable and powerful genre within television programming. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. To the Memory of My Grandparents, Daniel Andrew Johnston, Sr. and Ellen Rebecca Cox Johnston To the Honor of My Children, Austin Wesley Miller and Andrew Vance Miller Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The writer would like to thank the dissertation director, Dr. Mazharul Haque, and other members of the committee, Drs. Gene Wiggins, Arthur Kaul, Marilyn Ellzey, and Keith Johnson for their support and encouragement during the preparation for and writing of this project. Special acknowledgement is given to Dr. Haque for his brilliant scholarship and insightful critiques in the early shaping of this project. Also, special acknowledgement to Dr. Marilyn Ellzey for combining leadership with true friendship, Dr. Kaul for his enthusiasm for the discipline, Dr. Wiggins for his guidance and ability to answer all questions, and Dr. Johnson for teaching me the word “that” can be overly used, particularly by me. Special thanks is also given to my parents and brother, Danny, Andrea, and Matt for their unconditional love and support through my entire college years; to Amber, friend and research confidante, who helped this project come together; to Dr. Tim Hudson, who logged videotape of reality programs; to Lindsey, whose countless hours of babysitting allowed time to write; to David, for love, support and cooking dinner while I worked; and to Austin and Drew, the loves of my life, for support, laughter, and keeping me grounded through the dissertation process. v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................................ii DEDICATION........................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...................................................................................................... v CHAPTER I. REALITY TELEVISION EXPOSED...........................................................1 What is Reality Television? Definitions Methodology II. REVIEW OF IDEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS............................................... 31 Ideological Values and Culture Culture and Narrative Culture and Myth III. CRITICAL ANALYSIS..................................................... 45 Ideologies in Reality Programming Value Systems Narrative Analysis Myth and Reality Television Summary of the Critical Analysis IV. CONCLUSIONS.........................................................................................200 Summary of Findings Issues for Future Research Implications and Limitations APPENDIX A .....................................................................................................................211 REFERENCES............................. 213 vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTERI REALITY TELEVISION EXPOSED Before television was introduced as a full-scale commercial enterprise in 1948, Arnheim (1935) speculated television had the potential to become a substitute for life itself, to provide experiences through which audiences would be dazzled and beguiled. Though this prediction might seem grim, even humorous, today, the American audience is frequently bombarded by images via television serve as a socializing factor in our culture. Reality television, though not a new phenomenon in American television or popular culture, is one such genre of programming that serves as a form of cultural transmission. Today, there are as many as 200 reality programs available for viewing on network and cable channels. Criticism of reality television grows at a rate almost proportional to the growth of reality programming, as scholars question the role of reality television in the decline of so-called quality television. However, Rieder (2000) notes that “when an entire nation is riveted by such a spectacle” asSurvivor, we can learn something about our society (p. 6). One of the central questions arising around reality television is how well this genre of programming mirrors societal values, narratives and myths. There has been little, if any, research on reality television that deals specifically with these questions. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to fill a void in the literature by examining the cultural values, narratives and myths, which may exist within reality television programming. What is reality television? Jagodozinki (2003) defines reality television as the careful video construction displaying “the ‘lives’ of ordinary people engaged in sometimes extraordinary events” (p. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 2 320). Ouellette and Murray (2004) explain reality television as “an unabashedly commercial genre united less by aesthetic rules or certainties than by the fusion of popular entertainment with a self-conscious claim to the discourse of the real” (p. 2). Pecora (2002) explains reality programming as “largely unscripted, though heavily edited, programs” filled with nonprofessional actors, which focus on some