University of Pennsylvania From the SelectedWorks of David Grazian 2010 Neoliberalism and the Realities of Reality Television David Grazian, University of Pennsylvania Available at: https://works.bepress.com/david_grazian/9/ culture REVIEWS neoliberalism and the realities of reality television by david grazian Along with mash-ups and Internet blog- tings in which bikini-clad women devour growth developed in opposition to the ging, the meteoric rise of reality television live crickets for money. Others denigrate Keynesian approaches that shaped U.S. ccame to define the last decade’s pop cul- the genre with a whiff of snobbery, not- monetary and fiscal policy during the tural landscape for millions of Ameri- ing its tastelessness, its prurient lack of mid-twentieth century, from the New cans. In 2000 the commercial success of wholesome content, and its exploitive Deal to the postwar era of economic two new primetime series—Who Wants attempts to capture the lowest-com- expansion. Neoliberal principles are asso- to Be a Millionaire and Survivor—cata- mon-denominator of adolescent-minded ciated with global free trade and the pulted the reality genre into the enter- audiences. Yet shockingly few critics deregulation of industry, the weakening tainment mainstream. (Millionaire have attempted to unpack the socio- of union labor, a decline in welfare assis- earned the highest average Nielsen rat- logical underpinnings of reality pro- tance and social service provision, and ing among all television series for the gramming as a product of its recent the privatization of publicly-owned resources. Although neoliberal ideology The narrative conventions of reality TV echo the has largely dominated the bipartisan consensus that characterizes turn-of-the- most central policymaking paradigm in America in century American public policies from Reaganomics to NAFTA to welfare the last decade: the neoliberal agenda. reform to the recent bailout of the nation’s banking industry, its influence 1999-2000 season, as did Survivor the historical context, the George W. Bush reached its apogee during the years of following season.) In August 2000, the era. In fact, such a reckoning illustrates the Bush Administration (2001-2009), Survivor season finale attracted 51.7 mil- the extent to which the narrative con- an era marked by union-busting, rising lion viewers, making it the 13th most- ventions of reality television echo the corporate subsidies, and the deregula- watched television event of the 2000s, most central policymaking paradigm in tion of markets; the unraveling of the bested only by the decade’s ten Super American politics during the last decade, social safety net; the outsourcing of gov- Bowls, the 2007 NFC Championship the neoliberal agenda. ernmental functions to the private sec- game, and the Friends series finale. In Informed by the free-market theo- tor; and the abdication of responsibility 2001 the Academy of Television Arts and ries of the conservative Chicago School on the part of the U.S. federal govern- Sciences honored the FOX documentary of economics and its acolytes, neoliber- ment to protect New Orleans and other American High with its first ever Prime- alism represents a strategy of economic impoverished areas from the ravages of time Emmy Award for Outstanding Real- ity Program, and in 2003 the Academy gave its first Emmy for Outstanding Real- ity-Competition Program to CBS’s The Amazing Race. Since the 2004-2005 season, FOX’s American Idol has annually boasted the highest average ratings of any other television program on the air, arguably making it the most popular TV show of the decade. Critics and snarky audiences deride reality television for the most obvious of reasons, notably its thoroughly contrived presentation of “reality”—the staged theatricality of Donald Trump’s “board- room,” the insincerity of bachelorette contestants, the highly orchestrated set- Photo by Monty Brinton/CBS photo Archive/Getty Images 68 contexts.org willing to work for free, rather than pro- much in common with reality television fessional actors, producers also avoid actors. On FOX’s Hell’s Kitchen contest- paying industry-standard union wages ants must live on the restaurant/studio to members of the Screen Actors Guild. premises (and are forbidden to leave These strategies represent more than unless chaperoned by a supervisor), work cost-cutting measures. By hiring mostly extremely long hours performing numb- non-unionized workers, the studios and ingly repetitive tasks, and subject them- networks that produce reality television selves to constant video surveillance. shield themselves from the collective Contestants on Survivor live in rain- mobilization of organized labor in the drenched shantytowns and literally entertainment industries. The union- starve while the world watches yet resistant nature of reality TV was reaf- remains on the couch. Moreover, since firmed during the 2007 Writers Guild reality TV actors are nonunionized work- strike, when reality shows were left vir- ers (like their exploited counterparts in tually unaffected even as media pro- the developing world), they too lack the duction work in more traditional sectors collective-bargaining power that would came to an abrupt halt. otherwise compel their employers to pay Photo by F. Micelotta/American Idol 2010/Getty Images for Fox Consider also where reality televi- them a living wage. In fact, it is rare for Aspiring Idol Jermaine Sellers made it sion creators produce their shows. They reality TV actors or performers to even to 2010’s top 20 before getting the have increasingly taken advantage of the be identified as workers, which is how boot. globalization of markets and flexibility studios evade child labor laws on the sets Hurricane Katrina. of national borders that neoliberal poli- of “family-oriented” reality programs. At first glance, neoliberal dogma cies make possible. It is no accident, for (On the exploitation of child performers and reality television seem worlds example, that many seasons of Survivor on reality TV, see Hilary Levey’s essay fea- apart—that is, until one considers have been shot in Third World countries tured in this issue.) exactly why the entertainment industry undergoing rapid economic develop- developed the genre in the first place. ment, where local authorities regularly While the production of reality television Much ink has been spilled about relax labor laws, child protections, health employs neoliberalism’s economic prin- the emergence of reality-based pro- codes and environmental regulations in ciples, the genre’s narrative conventions gramming as illustrative of the post- the interests of remaining “business reflect its morals. Competitive programs modern blurring of boundaries friendly.” These countries include China, celebrate the radical right-wing values separating fact from fiction. But it bears Thailand, Panama, and Guatemala— championed especially by free market remembering that TV studios and net- some of the same developing nations in Republicans. Both Survivor and The works introduced the first generation of which underpaid and mistreated work- Apprentice require sixteen or more par- reality television shows—notably the law ers manufacture and export plastic toys, ticipants to fiercely compete against one enforcement shows COPS and America’s branded sneakers, and other pop cul- another in winner-take-all contests guar- Most Wanted—in response to the 1988 tural ephemera for the international anteed to produce extreme levels of Writers Guild of America strike. Their market, all in the name of free trade and social inequality. Although team mem- goal was to create a form of program- laissez-faire capitalism. Similarly, recent bers are initially expected to work coop- ming that would be largely immune seasons of The Amazing Race have been eratively on Survivor, they eventually vote from union tactics from sit downs to filmed in China, Cambodia, Vietnam, their collaborators out of the game in picket lines. Since reality television shows Thailand, and Malaysia. naked displays of individualism and self- do not rely on traditional scripts, pro- Sweatshop laborers who work and interest—it’s like the last days of Enron, ducers avoid the risks and expensive live in crowded factory and dormitory only with war paint and coconuts. costs associated with hiring unionized spaces in offshore export processing Meanwhile, programs like The writers. By casting amateur participants zones in Asia and Latin America share Apprentice emphasize the prestige of Contexts, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 68-71. ISSN 1536-5042, electronic ISSN 1537-6052. (c) 2010 American Sociological Association. All rights reserved. For permission to photocopy or reproduce, see http://www.ucpressjournals.com/reprintinfo.asp. DOI: spring 2010 contexts 69 10.1525/ctx.2010.9.2.68. culture REVIEWS celebrity CEOs and the entrepreneurial acumen of wealthy businesspeople— much like the Bush cabinet, which fea- tured former senior executives and board chairmen from Alcoa, CSX, Goldman Sachs, Halliburton, and yes, Enron. Like any flexible corporation undergoing a period of restructuring (especially in an era of increasing unemployment and poverty), audiences expect layoffs at the conclusion of every episode. Participants are encouraged to place their desire to win above personal loyalties, but not their slavish (if rarely reciprocated) devo- tion to the boss, of course. Most notably, on shows like The Apprentice the mis- Photo by David McNew/Getty Images deeds of elite business institutions