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The Representation of Online Daters in Reality TV an Analysis of 'Catfish: the TV Show'

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The Representation of Online Daters in Reality TV an Analysis of 'Catfish: the TV Show' UNIVERSITEIT GENT FACULTEIT POLITIEKE EN SOCIALE WETENSCHAPPEN The representation of online daters in reality TV An analysis of 'Catfish: The TV Show' Wetenschappelijke verhandeling aantal woorden: 26.152 ELISE VAN NEYGEN MASTERPROEF COMMUNICATIEWETENSCHAPPEN afstudeerrichting FILM- EN TELEVISIESTUDIES PROMOTOR: DR. SANDER DE RIDDER COMMISSARIS: DR. FREDERIK DHAENENS ACADEMIEJAAR 2014 – 2015 2 Inzagerecht in de masterproef (*) Ondergetekende, VAN NEYGEN ELISE geeft hierbij toelating aan derden, niet- behorend tot de examencommissie, om haar proefschrift in te zien. Datum en handtekening 17/08/2015 Deze toelating geeft aan derden tevens het recht om delen uit de scriptie/ masterproef te reproduceren of te citeren, uiteraard mits correcte bronvermelding. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (*) Deze ondertekende toelating wordt in zoveel exemplaren opgemaakt als het aantal exemplaren van de scriptie/masterproef die moet worden ingediend. Het blad moet ingebonden worden samen met de scriptie onmiddellijk na de kaft. 3 Acknowledgements Finishing this thesis was not an easy task. In fact, the hardest part was actually starting it. I know I'm not the most punctual student in the world so I would like to thank my mentor Sander De Ridder for helping me out even though I didn't always show the right amount of motivation. Once I got started and knew in which direction I wanted to work, everything started falling into place. Again, this probably should have happened a little sooner. But I finally did it and I hope this will be the end of my journey at the University of Ghent. I would also like to thank my parents for their unconditional support for everything. Also thanks to my sisters Pauline and Charlotte, my brother Michaël for their interest in my progress, during good and bad days. And thanks to all my friends who kept helping me even when I asked the same questions over and over again. At last I would like to say another thank you to my mother, my sister Charlotte and my friend Liesbeth for reading and correcting my thesis. 4 Abstract This study examines the representation of online daters in reality TV. Previous research has broadened the view on reality TV formats and representation formation. It is known that certain aspects are able to influence representation. A qualitative sequence analysis of the reality series Catfish: The TV Show was performed using 9 episodes. The first and last episode of season 1, 2 and 3 was evaluated together with another randomly selected episode of each season. Some recurring themes and motives were examined to come to conclusions about representation of online daters in the particular reality TV show. Sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, education, media literacy, religion and appearance were the more superficial themes being analyzed. Companionship, comfort after a life crisis, control over presentation and environment, freedom from commitment and stereotypical roles, online dating as adventure or fantasy were more in-depth recurring motives influencing representation. The representation refers to profile construction in online dating together with profile construction of online daters in people's minds. The study found that all these recurring elements are presented in a distinct way to form an entertaining program. Two types of online daters emerge from the study, both types being influenced by different themes and motives in their online presentation. The first type is the person deceiving and lying about various elements caused by contextual factors. The second type is the person being lied to, the more naïve individual not wanting to see the truth. This can also be influenced by contextual factors. Through this whole process it is important to critically examine the truth claims and authenticity produced by the reality TV format. 5 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 4 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 5 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 8 PART 1: Literature Review ................................................................................................................. 11 1. Reality TV ..................................................................................................................................... 12 1.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 12 1.2. Defining reality TV ................................................................................................................. 12 1.3. Documentary tradition and the docusoap ............................................................................... 15 1.4. Authenticity and truth claims in reality TV ............................................................................ 17 2. How are online daters represented in reality TV? .................................................................... 20 2.1. Defining online daters, representation and stereotypes .......................................................... 20 2.1.1. Online dating and dating sites ......................................................................................... 20 2.1.2. Conceptualization and representation ............................................................................. 21 2.1.3. Stereotypes ...................................................................................................................... 23 2.2. Representation in online dating .............................................................................................. 24 2.2.1. Profile construction in online dating ............................................................................... 25 2.2.2. Profile construction of online daters ............................................................................... 27 2.2.2.1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 27 2.2.2.2. Sexual orientation and gender .................................................................................. 28 2.2.2.3. Socioeconomic status ............................................................................................... 28 2.2.2.4. Education ................................................................................................................. 29 2.2.2.5. Media literacy .......................................................................................................... 29 2.2.2.6. Religion / world view ............................................................................................... 29 2.2.2.7. Appearance ............................................................................................................... 29 2.2.2.8. Companionship ........................................................................................................ 30 2.2.2.9. Comfort after a life crisis ......................................................................................... 30 2.2.2.10. Control over presentation and environment ........................................................... 31 2.2.2.11. Freedom from commitment and stereotypical roles .............................................. 31 2.2.2.12. Online dating as an adventure ................................................................................ 32 2.2.2.13. Online dating as a romantic fantasy ....................................................................... 32 2.2.3. Creating trust online ........................................................................................................ 33 3. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 35 PART 2: Analysis of Catfish: The TV Show ...................................................................................... 37 1. Catfish ........................................................................................................................................... 38 6 1.1. Documentary tradition ............................................................................................................ 38 1.2. Structure of the series ............................................................................................................. 40 1.3. Authenticity and truth claims .................................................................................................. 42 1.4. Online deception ..................................................................................................................... 43 2. Method .......................................................................................................................................... 45 2.1. Objective ................................................................................................................................. 45 2.2. Sample .................................................................................................................................... 45 2.3. Procedure ...............................................................................................................................
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