tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/reality-tv-6966/articles
Reality TV – The Conversation
2024-03-04T13:41:21Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/224893
2024-03-04T13:41:21Z
2024-03-04T13:41:21Z
I run mock trials to research the legal system. The bias shown in Channel 4’s The Jury: Murder Trial is a very real problem
<p>Channel 4 has billed its new reality show, Jury: Murder Trial, as a <a href="https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-jury-murder-trial">“landmark experiment”</a>. A real-life murder trial is being re-staged in front of two juries of ordinary people to establish whether both groups will reach the same verdict. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/feb/26/the-jury-trial-review-surely-this-is-the-end-of-the-uk-legal-system-as-we-know-it">Some critics</a> have speculated that the show could cause the public to <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2024/02/26/channel-4-jury-murder-trial-you-will-lose-faith-in-justice/">“lose all faith in the British justice system”</a>. That’s because the programme
has highlighted how personal experiences shape, and potentially bias, how jurors view the individual elements of a trial.</p>
<p>I was less surprised than these critics when I tuned into the show. That’s because, when researching jurors and juries, I do a similar thing with participants. I recruit jury-eligible members of the public and show them a mock trial. It’s usually filmed in a courtroom, with actors (and sometimes legal professionals) playing the relevant roles. I then ask the mock jury to reach a verdict. </p>
<p>In these experiments though, I will <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/bsl.2568">manipulate certain factors</a> (for example, I may vary the verdicts which are available to jurors) and investigate how these manipulations influence verdicts. Alternatively, I may measure <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13218719.2021.1904450">certain beliefs</a> (whether the jurors, for example, have a bias towards the prosecution or the defence) and see if we can predict verdicts using these measures.</p>
<p>Based on <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00258024221080655">my research</a>, and that of <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jols.12287">other academics</a> interested in juror and jury decision making, it is clear that the UK’s jury system is far from perfect.</p>
<h2>How jurors use stories</h2>
<p>What was clear to me watching the programme was how jurors used stories to make sense of what was heard to them in court. They used personal experiences of previous altercations or instances of domestic violence in their own life, and there were clear instances of gendered biases against the victim throughout. </p>
<p>Interestingly, one of the key models in my field is the <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=tfeRuhypTs4C&oi=fnd&pg=PA192&dq=story+model&ots=XxhyMXMc8J&sig=WkWN9oF4lCtMoicYJVbq6bznNbs&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=story%20model&f=false">story model</a>. This posits that jurors use the evidence in the trial, their own experiences and beliefs, knowledge of similar crimes and their understanding of what makes a complete story to <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=tfeRuhypTs4C&oi=fnd&pg=PA192&dq=story+model&ots=XxhyMXMc8J&sig=WkWN9oF4lCtMoicYJVbq6bznNbs&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=story%20model&f=false">create narratives</a> surrounding the trial. </p>
<p>Then jurors select the best story (they may have created a number of competing stories) based on <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1992-21907-001">certainty principles</a>, such as how coherent the story is. Also, the more unique the story is, when compared to competing stories, the more confident the juror will be in their story.</p>
<p>Jurors will then learn about <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1992-21907-001">appropriate verdict categories</a> from the judge, although this may also be influenced by <a href="https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/625313/1/JCJ%20Final%20accepted%20maunscript.pdf">their own pre-trial experiences</a> and knowledge. Verdicts that fit or match the chosen story are then the ones that are reached. For example, if a guilty verdict best matches the story, then a guilty verdict will be given. </p>
<p>It is perfectly reasonable for jurors to use stories to make sense of a trial – we are social creatures who use stories to make sense of our everyday lives after all. The problem is, what we do when we discover that sometimes, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13218719.2021.1904450">jurors use problematic beliefs</a> to shape their stories.</p>
<p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00258024221080655">Research has shown</a> that many different types of biases influence juror decision making, including but not limited to racial biases and rape myths. <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1365712720923157">Rape myths</a> are false beliefs relating to the act of rape, and the accused and complainer in said trial types.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jols.12287">research has found</a> that rape myths are mentioned in some mock jury deliberations, potentially influencing the joint jury narrative needed to reach a final verdict. </p>
<p>Another <a href="https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/vuwlr/article/view/7128">study in New Zealand</a> found that in a post-trial interview, real jurors who sat on sexual assault trials commonly mentioned rape myths in their discussions, suggesting that rape myths may inform story construction and verdicts.</p>
<h2>What can be done</h2>
<p>There are several potential alternatives, such as <a href="https://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/news/blog/why-we-support-single-judge-trials/#:%7E:text=There%20is%20no%20right%20to,is%20accountable%20for%20their%20decisions">judge-only trials</a>, or a mixed jury with legal professionals and laypersons. However, these solutions do not get rid of bias, as <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/377775721_Are_legal_experts_better_decision_makers_than_jurors_A_psychological_evaluation_of_the_role_of_juries_in_the_21st_century">experts are as likely</a> to be infected by bias as lay people.</p>
<p>As there are several reliable and validated scales which help to measure biased and problematic beliefs, I believe that juror selection would be the best method to rid the courts of unwanted bias. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9310652/">my own research</a>, I have found that I could measure how strongly jurors favoured the prosecution and defence using the pre-trial attitude questionnaire, and predict which verdict they were most likely to reach. </p>
<p>Those who favoured the prosecution were more likely to favour a guilty verdict and those who favoured the defence were more likely to reach an acquittal verdict. <a href="https://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/34453/">Other researchers</a> have done similar work using rape-myth scales. </p>
<p>If jurors were selected based on validated measures, it would help to filter negative and problematic beliefs out of the system. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lee John Curley receives funding from the British Academy and the Leverhulme Trust. </span></em></p>
As my research into jurors and jury decision making shows, our system is far from perfect.
Lee John Curley, Lecturer in Psychology, The Open University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/220630
2024-01-09T13:42:16Z
2024-01-09T13:42:16Z
The Traitors: why context is key when it comes to uncovering liars
<p><em>Warning: includes spoilers for episode one of The Traitors.</em></p>
<p>The Traitors has returned to BBC One with a second season after the runaway success of the reality show’s debut series. </p>
<p>In the game show, 22 strangers stay at a remote castle and compete in a number of challenges to win a prize fund of £120,000. A small number of players are secretly selected as the “traitors”. </p>
<p>The remaining players, known as the “faithfuls”, have to root out the traitors if they are to take home the cash prize. They must do this before the traitors “murder” them – sending them out of the competition overnight. </p>
<p>Fellow faithfuls do not know who has been “murdered” until the unlucky player does not arrive for breakfast in the castle the next morning. The traitors must lie about their identity and appear as a faithful if they want to win. </p>
<p>The faithfuls seem to find it difficult to uncover the traitors’ true identities, whether that is at the round table, where the players discuss who they think are traitors, or as the traitors enter the breakfast room the morning after a “murder”. The faithful seem unable to tell lies from truth. </p>
<p><a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2008-08177-001">Research has found</a> that people are only marginally more accurate than chance at judging whether someone is lying or telling the truth. </p>
<p>One reason we are such poor lie detectors may be because we tend to believe others are telling the truth more often than we think that others may be lying to us. This is called the “<a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2008-08177-001">truth bias</a>”: that is, a bias towards believing what others say.</p>
<p>People are not always truth biased, though. For example, police officers making judgments of strangers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1406">show a bias</a> to think that suspects are lying. But when they are making judgments of strangers in contexts unrelated to their job, they <a href="https://doi.org/10.7334/psicothema2016.357">become truth biased</a>. </p>
<p>And while those of us who are not police officers are ordinarily truth biased, when we believe we are in a situation where more people have lied than told the truth, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/bdm.1904">we become lie biased too</a>. So, whether we tend towards guessing others are lying or telling the truth depends on the situation.</p>
<h2>The Traitors and the problem of context</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2015.06.002">Adaptive Lie Detector account</a> (Alied), a theory of how people decide who is lying, offers an explanation for these findings. It claims that when people make judgments about a particular statement (such as “I was in Wales last week”), they try to use reliable information about that statement to decide if it’s true or not. </p>
<p>For example, CCTV footage confirming the claim would be reliable information that the person is telling the truth. A witness contradicting the claim would be reliable information that they are lying. </p>
<p>Alied says that when reliable information is not available, people instead use their understanding of the situation to make a judgment. If most people in this situation usually tell the truth, Alied claims that people will usually believe others. If most people in this situation lie, Alied claims people will usually disbelieve others. Research in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/bdm.1904">my own lab</a> and in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000169">other labs</a> has supported Alied’s claims.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The trailer for season two of The Traitors.</span></figcaption>
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<p>In The Traitors, there is very little reliable information available to the faithful. There is no CCTV footage of the traitors meeting. The traitors do not personally deliver the murder note. There are no reliable pieces of information that the faithful could discover. They have little to work from other than their observations of people’s behaviour. </p>
<p>And while some of the players in the new series have mentioned plans to look out for eye contact and watch people’s faces, <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0033-2909.129.1.74">research shows</a> that nonverbal behaviour is not a reliable indicator of deception. </p>
<p>According to Alied, when there is no reliable information, people rely on their understanding of the situation. The situation in The Traitors, known to all the players, is that there are many more faithful players than traitors. And so, while suspicions may run wild, most people are being honest in this situation.</p>
<p>Alied would predict that contestants on The Traitors will believe most others around the round table. And while we are seeing lots of the faithful accusing others, each individual faithful player tends to accuse only a small number of people, often only one person. If Alied is correct, the faithful are continuing to believe most of the others around them.</p>
<p>Spotting liars is a difficult task. But the traitors still run the risk of presenting behaviours that the faithful may interpret as deceptive. To quote Harry, one of the traitors of the new season: “If you can’t be good, be careful”.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536131/original/file-20230706-17-460x2d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>Looking for something good? Cut through the noise with a carefully curated selection of the latest releases, live events and exhibitions, straight to your inbox every fortnight, on Fridays. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/something-good-156">Sign up here</a>.</em></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris N. H. Street does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Research has found that people are only marginally more accurate than chance at judging whether someone is lying or telling the truth.
Chris N. H. Street, Senior lecturer in in Cognitive Psychology, Keele University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/213437
2023-09-21T12:45:25Z
2023-09-21T12:45:25Z
Reality TV show contestants are more like unpaid interns than Hollywood stars
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548929/original/file-20230918-29-jud5nf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C0%2C3584%2C2619&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Country singer Adley Stump, a former contestant on NBC's hit reality show 'The Voice,' performs at an Air Force base in Washington state.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jblmpao/19564078650">Joint Base Lewis McChord/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In December 2018, John Legend <a href="https://twitter.com/johnlegend/status/1070158841499840512?s=20">joined then-newly elected U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez</a> to criticize the exploitation of congressional interns on Capitol Hill, most of whom worked for no pay.</p>
<p>Legend’s timing was ironic. </p>
<p>NBC’s “The Voice” had just announced that Legend would join as a judge. He would go on to <a href="https://talentrecap.com/the-voice-coaches-salary-how-much-do-nick-jonas-kelly-clarkson-john-legend-and-blake-shelton-make/">reportedly earn US$14 million</a> per season by his third year on the show. Meanwhile, all of the participants on “The Voice,” save for the winner, earned $0 for their time, apart from a housing and food stipend – much like those congressional interns.</p>
<p>The fall 2023 TV lineup will be saturated with low-cost reality TV shows like “The Voice”; for networks, it’s <a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/media/how-prime-time-tv-will-look-different-this-fall-63ff818c">an end-around</a> to the ongoing <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/negotiations-set-resume-striking-writers-hollywood-studios-rcna105230">TV writers</a> <a href="https://deadline.com/2023/09/actors-strike-picket-line-netflix-paramount-1235545964/">and actors</a> strikes. </p>
<p>Whether it’s “The Voice,” “House Hunters,” “American Chopper” or “The Bachelorette,” reality shows thrive thanks to a simple business model: They pay millions of dollars for big-name celebrities to serve as judges, coaches and hosts, while participants work for free or for paltry pay under the guise of chasing their dreams or gaining exposure. </p>
<p>These participants are the unpaid interns of the entertainment industry, even though it’s their stories, personalities and talent that draw the viewers. </p>
<h2>Dreams clash with reality</h2>
<p>To conduct research for my book, “<a href="https://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9783030445867">Getting Signed: Record Contracts, Musicians, and Power in Society</a>,” I interviewed musicians around the country. </p>
<p>The book was about the exploitative nature <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3gmjw/bad-deals-are-baked-into-the-way-the-music-industry-operates">of record contracts</a>. But during my research, I kept running into singers who had either auditioned for or participated in “The Voice.” </p>
<p>On “The Voice,” singers compete on teams headed by a celebrity coach. Following a blind audition and various elimination rounds, the <a href="https://www.mlive.com/entertainment/muskegon/2012/10/how_does_the_voice_work_your_c.html">live broadcasts</a> begin with four teams of five members apiece. These 20 contestants spend months working in Los Angeles and are <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/voice-mentors-contestants-money-1370215">provided with only their room and board</a>. Each week, at least one player is eliminated. At the end of each season, the winner receives $100,000 and a record contract. </p>
<p>While some viewers might see reality shows like “The Voice” as launching pads for music careers, many of the musicians I spoke with were disheartened by their experiences on the show.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Contestants audition for ‘The Voice’ ahead of its 24th season.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Unlike “American Idol,” where a number of winners, from Kelly Clarkson to Jordan Sparks, have made it big, no winners of “The Voice” have become stars. The closest person to “making it” from “The Voice” <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/10/08/921574715/snl-nixes-morgan-wallen-appearance-after-singer-violates-covid-19-safety-protoco">is the controversial</a> country singer Morgan Wallen, who was infamously dropped by his <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/country-star-morgan-wallen-caught-video-using-n-word-label-n1256630">label and country radio</a> following the emergence of a video of him using a racial slur. And Wallen didn’t even win “The Voice”; in fact, he <a href="https://thevoice.fandom.com/wiki/Morgan_Wallen">barely made it past</a> the blind audition.</p>
<p>Former contestants repeatedly told me that the television exposure did little to help their careers. </p>
<p>Prior to joining the show, many of the musicians were trying to scratch out a living through touring or performing. They put their developing careers on pause to chase their dreams. </p>
<p>However, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15405702.2020.1733577">the show’s contracts have stipulated</a> that contestants cannot perform, sell their name, image and likeness, or record new music while on “The Voice.” (The Conversation reached out to NBC to see if this remains the case for the current season, but did not receive a comment.) </p>
<p>This leaves the 20 finalists with no means to sell their music, even as they spend up to eight months competing. When the show’s losers return to performing, many of them have little new material to promote. By the time they drop a new single or album and announce a tour, some of them told me that they had lost a good portion of their following. </p>
<p>There is one group of people who receive meaningful exposure from these shows: the coaches and judges. Several singers, such as Gwen Stefani and Pharell Williams, have used “The Voice” to jolt their stagnating music careers. While earning millions as coaches and judges, these stars even use the show to <a href="https://screenrant.com/the-voice-coaches-popstars-successful-music-careers-boost/">promote their music</a> – something the contestants themselves are barred from doing.</p>
<p>Paying these contestants is feasible. If Legend earned $13 million instead of $14 million, that spare million dollars could be dispersed to half of the contestants at $100,000 apiece – an amount that’s currently only reserved for the winner of the show. Cut the salaries of all four coaches by $1 million apiece, and it would free up enough money to pay all 20 contestants $200,000 each. </p>
<h2>A gold mine for networks</h2>
<p>“The Voice” is far from the only reality show to take advantage of the genre’s low overhead costs.</p>
<p>Over the past two decades, shows featuring Americans looking to buy houses or remodel their homes <a href="https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/how-hgtv-became-industry-juggernaut">have exploded in popularity</a>. HGTV cornered this market by creating popular shows such as “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0369117/">House Hunters</a>,” “<a href="https://www.hgtv.com/shows/flip-or-flop">Flip or Flop</a>” and “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1827882/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_property%2520brothers">Property Brothers</a>.” </p>
<p>Viewers might not realize just how profitable these shows are.</p>
<p>Take “House Hunters.” The show follows a prospective homebuyer as they tour three homes. Homebuyers featured on the show have noted that <a href="https://slate.com/human-interest/2019/06/house-hunters-true-story-of-being-on-the-show.html">they earn only</a> <a href="https://www.thelist.com/391705/heres-how-much-people-get-paid-to-be-on-house-hunters/">$500 for their work</a>, and <a href="https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/543696/how-much-do-you-get-paid-for-being-on-house-hunters">the episodes take</a> three to five days and about 30 hours to film. The show’s producers <a href="https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/house-hunters-do-the-realtors-on-the-show-get-paid.html/">don’t pay the realtors</a> to be on it.</p>
<p>The low pay for people on reality TV shows matches the low budget for these shows. A former participant wrote that episodes of “House Hunters” <a href="https://utahvalley360.com/2015/04/01/10-things-learned-filmed-hgtvs-house-hunters/">cost around $50,000</a> to film. Prime-time sitcoms, by comparison, have a $1.5 million to $3 million <a href="https://variety.com/2017/tv/news/tv-series-budgets-costs-rising-peak-tv-1202570158/">per episode budget</a>.</p>
<h2>Sidestepping the unions</h2>
<p>That massive budget gap between reality TV and sitcoms is not simply due to an absence of star actors. </p>
<p>Many scripted television shows are based in Los Angeles, where camera crews, stunt doubles, <a href="https://www.motionpicturecostumers.org/">costume artisans</a>, <a href="https://local706.org/about/">makeup artists and hair stylists</a> are unionized. But shows like “House Hunters,” which are filmed across the country, <a href="https://cmii.gsu.edu/files/2017/09/Beck-USG-FINAL-Film-Report-2014.pdf">will recruit crews from right-to-work states</a>. These are states where employees cannot be compelled to join a union or pay union dues as a condition of employment. For these reasons, unions have far less power in these states than they do in places traditionally associated with film and entertainment, such as California and New York. </p>
<p>That’s one reason why <a href="https://www.stage32.com/blog/acting-in-atlanta-everything-you-need-to-know-2319">TV production</a> started moving to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/20/1189065338/non-union-film-workers-trying-to-break-into-the-atlanta-scene-are-hit-hard-by-st">Atlanta</a> – what’s been dubbed the “<a href="https://time.com/longform/hollywood-in-georgia/">Hollywood of the South</a>” – where shows like “The Walking Dead” and “Stranger Things” have been filmed.</p>
<p>But in my research, I also learned that Knoxville, Tennessee, has become a reality TV mecca. Like Georgia, Tennessee is also a right-to-work state. In Knoxville, many working musicians join the city’s <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1108/9781839827686">low-paying entertainment apparatus</a> by taking gigs working on TV and film production crews in between shows and tours.</p>
<p>At a time when TV writers and actors are on strike, it is important to understand that the entertainment industry will try to exploit labor for profit whenever it can. </p>
<p>Reality TV is a way to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/reruns-reality-fill-out-strike-struck-fall-tv-season-2023-09-07/">undercut the leverage of striking workers</a>, whether it’s through their lack of unionized actors, or their use of nonunionized production crews.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A group of striking workers yell, hold signs and thrust their arms skyward." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548927/original/file-20230918-17-6dymb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/548927/original/file-20230918-17-6dymb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548927/original/file-20230918-17-6dymb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548927/original/file-20230918-17-6dymb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548927/original/file-20230918-17-6dymb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548927/original/file-20230918-17-6dymb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/548927/original/file-20230918-17-6dymb1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">With actors and writers on strike, many networks and streaming services are featuring reality TV-heavy fall lineups.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/members-of-the-hollywood-actors-sag-aftra-union-walk-a-news-photo/1532794702?adppopup=true">David McNew/Getty Image</a></span>
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<p>Contestants, casts and crew members are starting to catch on. Many reality TV participants have said that they <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/08/12/scabs-actors-writers-strike-breakers/">feel like strike scabs</a>, and Bethenny Frankel of “Real Housewives” <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/aug/18/we-wont-take-this-any-more-reality-tv-stars-battle-to-unionise">is reportedly trying to organize</a> her fellow reality performers.</p>
<p>Preying off contestants who are desperate for exposure, reality TV might just be the next labor battle in the entertainment industry. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://twitter.com/johnlegend/status/1070158841499840512?s=20">John Legend</a> put it, “Unpaid internships make it so only kids with means and privilege get the valuable experience.” </p>
<p>Reality TV does the same to aspiring actors, musicians and celebrities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213437/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Arditi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
With the TV writers and actors strikes leaving networks with little scripted content, the fall 2023 lineup will be saturated with low-cost reality TV shows like ‘The Voice.’
David Arditi, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Texas at Arlington
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/212913
2023-09-08T15:58:13Z
2023-09-08T15:58:13Z
How unions could help reality TV cast and crew win better pay and working conditions
<p>“Just because you can exploit young, doe-eyed talent desperate for the platform TV gives them, it doesn’t mean you should.” Original Real Housewives of New York star Bethany Frankel <a href="https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/bethenny-frankel-reality-union-strike-1235674531/">recently issued</a> this rallying call for unionisation of reality TV. She hopes to instigate a “<a href="https://mashable.com/article/reality-tv-reckoning-union-bethenny-frankel">reality reckoning</a>” that will help other unscripted TV performers realise their rights to better pay and working conditions.</p>
<p>And so just as actors and screenwriters are <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-are-hollywood-actors-and-writers-afraid-of-a-cinema-scholar-explains-how-ai-is-upending-the-movie-and-tv-business-210360">going on strike</a> in the US, reality TV stars are asking whether it’s their time to demand better protections and rights as workers. </p>
<p>US union the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists certainly thinks it’s time. It’s <a href="https://www.sagaftra.org/sag-aftra-statement-representation-and-protection-reality-performers">supporting Frankel</a> in her fight for reality TV star unionisation. </p>
<p>Our research has <a href="https://thesociologicalreview.org/magazine/august-2021/film-and-television/grafting-on-love-island/">highlighted the need</a> for a greater focus on the conditions for participants in these shows, who are often filmed in controlled environments (think contestants locked in a house together for weeks without clocks, with meals and free-time restricted) and under contractual arrangements that can involve non-disclosure agreements and tie-ins after the show. </p>
<p>Research into <a href="https://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/sites/default/files/asset/document/BU_State_of_Play_2021%20%281%29.pdf">working conditions for production staff</a> in this sector also suggests that long hours, bullying, harassment, sexism, lack of accommodation for childcare, stress and mental health problems are rampant. </p>
<p>Reality television has often been at the centre of screen labour discussions, particularly after its relatively cheap production costs led to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/reehines/2023/05/17/reality-tv-to-the-rescue-amid-writers-strike-abc-and-fox-lean-on-unscripted-shows/?sh=682b15757916">a production boom</a> during the previous Writers Guild of America strike in 2008-9. It was largely regarded as a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118599594.ch2">scab genre</a> by the wider industry as a result. But this time around, reality show participants are making their own demands that could change the nature of television production.</p>
<p>And this is not only a US issue. UK cast members from The Only Way is Essex reportedly <a href="https://employeebenefits.co.uk/towie-boycott-itv-party-pay-dispute/">went on “strike”</a> in 2019. They boycotted ITV’s summer party in protest at the amount they were being paid and <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/9603820/itv-towie-stars-strike-low-pay/">are thought to have received</a> a bump in pay within 24 hours.</p>
<p>Even more significantly, in 2011 a French court ruled that participants on Temptation Island (a show where couples are sent to an island to try the single life) should be treated as salaried staff, setting a precedent for <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203843567-10/reality-tv-job-fran%C3%A7ois-jost">considering reality television as work</a>. Discussing the kinds of working conditions they endured, their lawyer, Jérémie Assous, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/06/france-reality-tv-contestants-ruling">said at the time</a>: “The principle is universal and simple. You cannot make people work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That is slavery.” </p>
<p>In 2019, an Australian reality TV participant <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/oct/22/house-rules-channel-seven-ordered-to-pay-compensation-to-reality-show-contestant">won her case</a> for compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder against Australian home renovation show House Rules. The broadcaster, Channel 7, had argued contestants were not workers.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-house-rules-landmark-ruling-could-trigger-other-workers-compensation-claims-from-reality-tv-stars-125801">New house rules: landmark ruling could trigger other workers' compensation claims from reality TV stars</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>While these cases could set precedents for better treatment of people on reality TV shows, their rights are in a grey area that depends on local labour laws in a global TV production industry. Reality television participants as a group have long made money and built brands for the sector, with little compensation for their time and toil. </p>
<p>In the UK, Love Island participants reportedly earn <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/tv/11020100/love-island-prize-contestants-paid/">a £250 weekly fee</a> while on the show – although this seems to have <a href="https://www.ok.co.uk/lifestyle/love-island-contestants-weekly-fee-29175531">increased over the years</a>, it’s still well below <a href="https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates">the UK minimum wage</a>. </p>
<p>Of course, the show becomes a platform for <a href="https://www.heart.co.uk/showbiz/celebrities/molly-mae-hague-tommy-fury-net-worth/">the lucky few</a> who launch lucrative (but <a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_dialogue/@actrav/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_161381.pdf">precarious</a> careers such as social media influencing, brand endorsements or other lower-level public appearances. But this kind of unwaged “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1q31skt">hope labour</a>” is prevalent in the digital economy and creative industries.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Blurred image of three couples on a beach on a tv screen, with hand holding remote control in the foreground." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547203/original/file-20230908-29-jdzebm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547203/original/file-20230908-29-jdzebm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547203/original/file-20230908-29-jdzebm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547203/original/file-20230908-29-jdzebm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547203/original/file-20230908-29-jdzebm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547203/original/file-20230908-29-jdzebm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547203/original/file-20230908-29-jdzebm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People often sign up for reality TV shows hoping to develop lucrative social media-based careers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/reality-tv-show-stream-on-television-2029589708">Tero Vesalainen/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>What do reality TV workers need?</h2>
<p>Problems around workers’ rights in reality TV come from two directions. </p>
<p>First, concerns about pay and <a href="https://variety.com/2023/music/global/rebecca-ferguson-x-factor-itv-ofcom-abuse-1235636204/">the contracts that participants might sign</a>. Some hand over their rights “in perpetuity throughout the universe” – a common legal phrase that indicates the unending ownership rights of these production companies over performances. </p>
<p>During our research, we found a report (not available online) from <a href="https://www.equity.org.uk/">UK union Equity</a> to the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-minimum-wage-low-pay-commission-report-2011">Low Pay Commission</a> that said talent show contestants have signed contracts that waive protection over worker time laws via a loophole under the National Minimum Wage Act for competitions.</p>
<p>The second issue is around the treatment of participants during the production process. In the UK this issue was raised as part of <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/work/6345/reality-tv-inquiry/">a 2019 parliamentary inquiry into reality television</a> as a direct result of a number of high-profile suicides linked to reality television. </p>
<p>A subsequent Ofcom consultation led to <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/consultations-and-statements/category-2/protecting-tv-radio-participants">a change in the Broadcasting Code in 2020</a>. Broadcasters must now demonstrate adequate duty of care and a more robust approach to informed consent. This means placing a greater emphasis on welfare support, mental health and analysis of psychological risk. But this change has not led to a conversation about worker rights and pay.</p>
<h2>Joining a union for reality TV workers</h2>
<p>The UK has fewer long-running reality shows with regular fixed cast members than the US. And given the complexity and uncertainty around reality TV work in general, it remains to be seen how unionisation could apply across multiple formats and sub-genres. </p>
<p>But <a href="https://thesociologicalreview.org/magazine/august-2021/film-and-television/grafting-on-love-island/">it’s still important</a> for duty of care issues to be thought about alongside questions of workers rights, pay and contractual obligations.</p>
<p>As part of an Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded project called Re-CARE TV: Reality Television, Working Practices and Duties of Care, we are researching this issue. We are partnering with <a href="https://bectu.org.uk/about/">Bectu</a> (the creative industry workers’ union), to find solutions to improve the <a href="https://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/35897/1/BU_State_of_Play_2021%20%281%29.pdf">working conditions of crew</a>. </p>
<p>We are also working with Equity to examine the benefits of more formalised union representation to better inform reality participants of their contractual rights and expectations of care. </p>
<p>It’s important to take this type of entry into a media career seriously so participants and production staff can lay the foundations for a fruitful career – just like people in any other profession. </p>
<p>Reality television has pioneered precarious, competitive, exploitative and non-unionised models of work that are now endemic across the creative industries. So, while it might be surprising that the “scab genre” is now at the forefront of calls for a more caring industry, it is clear that it is about time for change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212913/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen Wood receives funding from Arts and Humanities Research Council, UKRI and has previously received funding from the ESRC and British Academy. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jack Newsinger receives funding from Arts and Humanities Research Council, UKRI, and has previously received funding from the British Academy and the British Film Institute. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jilly Kay receives funding from Arts and Humanities Research Council, UKRI. </span></em></p>
Reality TV workers may not need their own union but they could benefit from joining existing unions serving the creative industries.
Helen Wood, Professor in Media and Cultural Studies, Aston University
Jack Newsinger, Associate Professor in Cultural Industries and Media, University of Nottingham
Jilly Kay, Lecturer in Media and Communication, University of Leicester
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/212011
2023-08-30T20:35:28Z
2023-08-30T20:35:28Z
Romantic comedies, Japanese reality television and New Zealand true crime: the best of streaming this September
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545456/original/file-20230830-20-oxidl6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C5%2C3994%2C1988&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> </figcaption></figure><p>We have never been more spoilt for choice when it comes to what we can watch on (streaming) television. But the downside of this gluttony of riches is the sheer overwhelm that can come from having to choose your next show. </p>
<p>Have you found yourself reaching to rewatch an old favourite, just to make the choice easier? Us too.</p>
<p>But fear not, The Conversation’s writers are on the case. In this new series, our experts will be bringing you the best new shows, films and seasons to watch every month. </p>
<p>From comedy to reality television to crime drama, we hope you’ll find your next favourite here.</p>
<h2>Glamorous</h2>
<p><em>Netflix</em></p>
<p>Kim Cattrall showed considerable savvy when, rather than rejoin the cast of Sex and the City, she opted to play Madolyn Addison, the dynamic head of beauty brand Glamorous. The series revolves around a young gender-fluid assistant, Marco Mejia (Miss Benny), who inspires the company to break boundaries while exploring his own uncertainties around sexuality and gender.</p>
<p>On the surface this is even frothier than Sex and the City, and some critics have panned it. Angie Han in the Hollywood Reporter (a publication not known for its commitment to high art) <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/glamorous-review-kim-cattrall-netflix-1235517921/">saw it as</a>: </p>
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<p>A workplace comedy that has no grasp of how work works, a rom-com that fails to generate a single convincing spark, a Gen-Z coming-of-age saga with the cultural references of a geriatric Millennial.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>These objections are like complaints that Midsomer Murders gives an unrealistic depiction of police procedure. I know little about the cosmetics industry, but I suspect it is more accurately portrayed here than the cringing improbabilities of the British royal court in <a href="https://theconversation.com/royal-romances-have-always-been-fantasies-of-transformation-how-does-new-generation-teen-fiction-reflect-queer-and-diverse-desires-211196">Red, White and Royal Blue</a>.</p>
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<p>There is a taken-for-granted queerness of the program: here heterosexuals, led by Cattrall and her ever-faithful chauffeur, are in the minority. The series plays with stereotypes, from the A-list gay boys at Provincetown to the drag queens in Marco’s favourite club. And Han must have a heart of stone to have missed the ongoing heartbreak of Marco’s geeky workmate, Ben.</p>
<p>Glamorous is as camp as Barbie, but far cleverer and more subversive: without a spoiler, it’s worth comparing the way the two end.</p>
<p><em>– Dennis Altman</em></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/gay-guys-can-do-missionary-how-red-white-and-royal-blue-brings-queer-intimacy-to-mainstream-audiences-211663">'Gay guys can do missionary?' - how Red, White & Royal Blue brings queer intimacy to mainstream audiences</a>
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<h2>Starstruck season three</h2>
<p><em>ABC iView (Australia) from September 6 and TVNZ+ (New Zealand) from September 2</em></p>
<p>The delightful romantic-comedy Starstruck follows the successes, failures and absurdities of an unexpected romance.</p>
<p>The two charismatic, neurotic non-white leads make this a far-from-standard rom-com: Nikesh Patel’s Tom Kapoor is a world-famous British movie star; Rose Matafeo’s Jessie is far more intense, obnoxious and funny than your average rom-com heroine. </p>
<p>Starstruck’s creator and star Matafeo has crafted a world that feels real with inside jokes that invite you in, an ironic sincerity that is sweet but not saccharine, and neurotic characters written with endearing specificity, warmth and humour. </p>
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<p>Last season ended with a moment that was equal parts romantic and absurd, as Jessie and Tom reconcile and make out in a pond. But the new season opens with a montage tracing the subsequent two years of moving in together and then drifting apart. </p>
<p>Starstruck understands what makes Jessie and Tom interesting to watch: not domestic bliss, but their awkward banter and difficulty overcoming their mismatched quirks, despite their obvious chemistry and attraction. For those who love a smart, sizzling rom-com in the tradition of Hepburn and Tracy this is a must-watch. </p>
<p>The new season continues the excellent form of the first two seasons, as Tom and Jessie attend a very awkward wedding and end up back in each other’s orbit.<br>
<em>– Jessica Ford</em></p>
<h2>Far North</h2>
<p><em>ThreeNow (New Zealand) and Paramount+ (Australia)</em> </p>
<p>The terrific new New Zealand dark comedy Far North dramatises a bizarre meth-smuggling case <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/113356686/ninety-mile-beach-meth-importing-trial-guilty-verdicts-for-both-accused">from 2016</a>, in which a ridiculously inept gang nearly got half a ton of methamphetamine to market, only to be rumbled by the locals. </p>
<p>Veteran actors Temuera Morrison and Robyn Malcolm are excellent as decent Ahipara couple Ed and Heather, who become embroiled in the bungled plot when local criminals try to get their Chinese bosses out to sea off Ninety Mile Beach to intercept a stranded drug shipment. </p>
<p>If things can go wrong, they do – and events swiftly turn into a cascading comedy of errors. </p>
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<p>Creator David White co-wrote <a href="https://aotearoabooks.co.nz/far-north/">a true crime book</a> on the subject, and you can see his eye for detail throughout. The whole thing is run through with a mordant, deadpan sensibility that will have you spitting out your tea with laughter even as you are wincing at some of the more horrific elements of the case. </p>
<p>Impeccably shot, and featuring a wonderfully motley assortment of low-rent crims, desperate drug runners, cartel mobsters and salt-of-the-earth locals, Far North is easily one of the best (and funniest) New Zealand shows in years.</p>
<p><em>–Erin Harrington</em></p>
<h2>Mother and Son</h2>
<p><em>ABC iView</em></p>
<p>Mother and Son has <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-mother-and-son-reboot-has-fresh-things-to-say-about-adult-children-and-their-ageing-parents-211905">long been regarded</a> as one of Australia’s greatest sitcoms. </p>
<p>First airing in 1984, the tale of the ageing Maggie Beare and her hapless son, Arthur, was not only very funny, but revealed the pain, frustration and love that underpinned their relationship.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-mother-and-son-reboot-has-fresh-things-to-say-about-adult-children-and-their-ageing-parents-211905">The Mother and Son reboot has fresh things to say about adult children and their ageing parents</a>
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<p>For anyone who has cared for an ageing parent – or faced the diminution of their autonomy as they have aged – Mother and Son still strikes a nerve.
Where the original series featured a baby boomer looking after his mother, in the revival, it’s a millennial looking after his boomer mum – a story being played out in homes across the nation.</p>
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<p>In the 2023 Mother and Son, Maggie (Denise Scott) is a free-spirited eccentric who almost burned down the family home while cooking dinner for her grandchildren. Childless, unmarried Arthur (Matt Okine), meanwhile, is attempting to start a web business.</p>
<p>The new Mother and Son is likeable, gentle comedy. It has a diverse, multicultural cast and the writing is largely well-observed. Yet in remaking a much-loved classic comedy, the creators have set themselves an impossibly high bar: Scott and Okine, while charming, are no match for Ruth Cracknell and Garry McDonald.</p>
<p><em>– Michelle Arrow</em></p>
<h2>Ai no Sato (Love Village)</h2>
<p><em>Netflix</em></p>
<p>This year we have seen a new wave of interest in reality dating shows with older protagonists. In the US, Gerry Turner, aged 71, has <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/17/entertainment/the-golden-bachelor-gerry-turner-71-years-old-bachelor/index.html?utm_source=twCNN&utm_medium=social&utm_term=link&utm_content=2023-07-17T15%3A59%3A05">just been announced</a> as the first “Golden Bachelor”. In the UK, the upcoming show My Mum, Your Dad (<a href="https://9now.nine.com.au/my-mum-your-dad">an Australian version</a> aired in 2022) is <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65857058">being billed as</a> “middle-aged Love Island”.</p>
<p>Perhaps the best example, though, comes from Japan. <em>Ai no Sato</em>, or Love Village, is a take on the stalwart Japanese reality dating format <em>Ainori</em> (Love Wagon). In <em>Ainori</em>, contestants travel the world in a minibus and fall in love along the way. In <em>Ai no Sato</em>, by contrast, contestants (all aged over 35) renovate a house in rural Japan together … and fall in love along the way.</p>
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<p>I love <em>Ainori</em>, but <em>Ai no Sato</em> takes things to a new level. Because its contestants are older, they have a deep well of life experience and relationship baggage, which makes for very compelling romance narratives – and, in particular, confessions of love that carry incredible emotional weight. </p>
<p>The vast majority of reality romance shows would treat a love triangle with a 60-year-old woman at its apex as jokey or gimmicky, but I defy anyone to watch this show and not be deeply hoping that Minane finds (in the show’s parlance) the last love of her life.</p>
<p>And if the romance aspect doesn’t interest you? There’s always the house renovation. This house is <em>gorgeous.</em></p>
<p><em>– Jodi McAlister</em></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-guilty-pleasure-of-watching-trashy-tv-40214">The guilty pleasure of watching trashy TV</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Unforgotten season five</h2>
<p><em>Binge (Australia) and TVNZ+</em></p>
<p>There are a lot of British crime dramas out there. You only need to look at the back catalogue of BritBox to see just how extensive it is. There are a lot of excellent series out there (Broadchurch, Happy Valley and Karen Pirie are all exceptional). There is also a lot of chaff, where the premise is more formulaic. This is perhaps why it took me so long to give Unforgotten a go. I was, however, quickly hooked and proceeded to binge the series very quickly.</p>
<p>Each season begins with the discovery of a murder that the historical crimes unit must solve, led by DCI Cassie Stuart (the wonderful Nicola Walker) and DI Sunil Khan (Sanjeev Bhaskar). </p>
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<p>Initially, the subplots about miscellaneous suspects all seem unrelated and random. However, the investigation (very well plotted out) slowly pieces all these characters together. As the investigation develops, the suspects’ lives, and everyone close to them, are upended.</p>
<p>Season five sees the departure of Walker and new to the team is DCI Jessica James (Sinéad Keenan). The season’s central tension is around her gruffness and the resentment of her not being DCI Stuart, who everyone loved. DCI James must lead her team to investigate the human remains discovered up a chimney in a newly renovated London stately home, which leaves a diverse array of suspects somehow connected to the crime.</p>
<p>For those that love a gripping British crime drama, I highly recommend this series. </p>
<p><em>– Stuart Richards</em></p>
<h2>Beautiful Disaster</h2>
<p><em>Prime</em></p>
<p>If Beautiful Disaster, the new film from Cruel Intentions director Roger Kumble, had come out 20 years ago, no one would have paid it much attention. It’s an enjoyably formulaic girl-meets-boy rom-com, but it’s aesthetically drab, looking more like a telemovie (which it is) than a made-for-cinemas release. </p>
<p>However, streaming in 2023 – now the rom-com has <a href="https://junkee.com/where-did-all-the-rom-coms-go/332622">disappeared</a> as a mainstay of Hollywood cinema – there’s something refreshingly delightful about it. </p>
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<p>Abby (Virginia Gardner) leaves her father, a hopeless gambler in Las Vegas, to set out for college in Sacramento. On her first night at an underground mixed martial arts fight, she bumps into – literally – beefy brawler Travis (Dylan Sprouse, better known as the teen star of Disney’s The Suite Life of Zack & Cody). </p>
<p>At first he comes off as an arrogant jerk – not to mention Abby is sprayed with blood when he knocks out his opponent – but, as their relationship develops, his sensitivity becomes evident. </p>
<p>After many expected shenanigans, sexual and otherwise, and following run-ins with gangsters back in Vegas (to which Abby has to return to help Daddy out of a bind), the pair finish up happily ever after. </p>
<p>There is nothing unexpected here, but the charming qualities of the leads and the film’s general good humour carry it, along with cameos from TV stars who had their heyday in teen fare in the 90s and 2000s, including Brian Austin Green and Michael Cudlitz from Beverly Hills 90210, Autumn Reeser from The O.C. and Rob Estes from Melrose Place. </p>
<p>At the same time, only sometimes effectively, Beautiful Disaster thinks through questions around erotic power dynamics in a post-#MeToo era, comically centring on the kind of guilt Abby feels regarding her attraction to Travis. </p>
<p><em>– Ari Mattes</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212011/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Arrow receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ari Mattes, Dennis Altman, Erin Harrington, Jessica Ford, Jodi McAlister, and Stuart Richards do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Our experts bring you the best new shows, films and seasons. From comedy to reality television to crime drama, we hope you’ll find your new streaming favourite here.
Dennis Altman, VC Fellow LaTrobe University, La Trobe University
Ari Mattes, Lecturer in Communications and Media, University of Notre Dame Australia
Erin Harrington, Senior Lecturer in English and Cultural Studies, University of Canterbury
Jessica Ford, Lecturer in Media, University of Adelaide
Jodi McAlister, Senior Lecturer in Writing, Literature and Culture, Deakin University
Michelle Arrow, Professor of History, Macquarie University
Stuart Richards, Lecturer in Screen Studies, University of South Australia
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/211334
2023-08-16T04:59:37Z
2023-08-16T04:59:37Z
Even in a housing crisis, Australians can’t get enough of renovation stories on TV. Why?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542543/original/file-20230814-19-bxxy9p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1497%2C993&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://9now.nine.com.au/the-block">The Block/Nine</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Block has begun its 19th season this month, <a href="https://9now.nine.com.au/the-block/2023-season-block-confirmed-location-details-scott-cam-season-19-explainer/b4d5fa4e-690f-4755-90da-caba77925836">billed as</a> “a Block that’s entirely relatable to people right around Australia”. This year, contestants renovate five “authentic ’50s dream homes” in “the perfectly named Charming Street, in Melbourne’s Hampton East”. </p>
<p>But if the median price for a four-bedroom house in Hampton East is <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/suburb-profile/hampton-east-vic-3188">around A$1.6 million</a> and the nation’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/03/more-than-1600-australians-pushed-into-homelessness-each-month-as-housing-crisis-deepens-report-finds">housing crisis</a> shows no signs of easing, who is The Block relatable to? And why do audiences keep coming back to renovation stories? </p>
<p>Home ownership is becoming <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BriefingBook46p/HomeOwnership">less accessible</a> and more people than ever are renting, but stories about renovation on TV, in film and in literature continue to have a powerful effect on us. Why?</p>
<p>One reason they can be so captivating is that they invoke the idea of the dream home. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Season 19 of The Block promises to ‘transform these little time capsules into two-storey mansions’.</span></figcaption>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/building-costs-have-soared-is-it-time-to-abandon-my-home-renovation-plans-188298">Building costs have soared. Is it time to abandon my home renovation plans?</a>
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<hr>
<h2>Home makeovers are ultimately about us too</h2>
<p>Ask anyone you know about their dream home – something I did regularly when I was <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/122955/">writing my PhD</a> on renovation stories – and you’ll get an incredible array of different styles, sizes, locations. Maybe it overlooks the ocean, maybe it has the newest appliances, maybe it has a pool, maybe it’s just a house without a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/apr/29/this-isnt-safe-nsw-renters-fight-twin-battles-against-mould-and-landlords">mould problem</a>. </p>
<p>The idea of the dream home is deeply rooted in our shared imagination. The philosopher Gaston Bachelard wrote in <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13269.The_Poetics_of_Space">The Poetics of Space</a> (1958) that our houses – both the ones we live in and the ones we dream of – “move in both directions: they are in us as much as we are in them”. Bachelard suggests that in even “the humblest dwelling” our memories, desires and dreams are gathered, and this is why houses are so central to who we are. </p>
<p>If houses can be expressions of self, our dream houses say a lot about our desires. While it might no longer look like a <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/is-the-aussie-dream-of-a-quarter-acre-block-dead-1221913/">house on a quarter-acre block</a>, the dream still exists. Renovation stories are so compelling because in them, as <a href="https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/ordinary-television/book205099#contents">researchers</a> have noted, home improvement often represents self-improvement – a dream life, not just a dream house.</p>
<p>This is especially important in programs like <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0388595/">Extreme Makeover: Home Edition</a> (2003–20) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0243688/">Backyard Blitz</a> (2000–), which often focus on people presented as hard-done-by whose lives are changed by renovations that solve their day-to-day problems.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1688486136740466688"}"></div></p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/future-home-havens-australians-likely-to-use-more-energy-to-stay-in-and-save-money-199672">Future home havens: Australians likely to use more energy to stay in and save money</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Better house, better life</h2>
<p>Reality TV isn’t the only place we find this type of story about transformation and self-improvement. In Frances Mayes’ bestselling memoir Under the Tuscan Sun (1996), Mayes travels to Italy and buys an abandoned villa, Bramasole, which she renovates. In the process, she gains a new outlook on life. </p>
<p>There’s a similar story in Peter Mayle’s A Year in Provence (1989). Mayle, a UK advertising executive, buys a 200-year-old farmhouse in France and renovates it. </p>
<p>Both books were exceptionally successful, inspiring an entire genre of renovation memoirs about wealthy middle-class people able to travel abroad, buy charmingly rundown properties in beautiful locations, and renovate them while enjoying the local lifestyle. In them, renovation is a clear symbol of self-transformation, if only for people rich enough to afford it: renovating houses leads to a greater appreciation of life’s pleasures and a new way of seeing the world. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/it-seemed-like-a-good-idea-in-lockdown-but-is-moving-to-the-country-right-for-you-148807">It seemed like a good idea in lockdown, but is moving to the country right for you?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>This idea of the renovated life can be especially compelling in a world that increasingly feels <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-doomsday-clock-is-now-at-90-seconds-to-midnight-the-closest-we-have-ever-been-to-global-catastrophe-198457">frightening and overwhelming</a>. Researchers like <a href="https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/4273551">Fiona Allon</a> argue that renovation stories allow us to turn away from the alarming outside world – with its violence, looming recessions, pandemics, climate crises – and focus on the smaller, more controllable world of the home.</p>
<p>Maggie Smith’s viral poem <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/89897/good-bones">Good Bones</a> (2016) plays with this idea. The poem is about a mother trying to convince her children (and herself) that despite being a scary place, the world can be improved. To do this, she uses the analogy of a real estate agent selling a fixer-upper. The poem ends with lines that present renovation as an opportunity for change:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This place could be beautiful,<br>
Right? You could make this place beautiful.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This optimism is what makes renovation excellent fodder for love stories. In the Nancy Meyers rom-com It’s Complicated (2009), Meryl Streep plays a divorcee looking for a fresh start, who renovates her home and falls in love with her architect, Adam. In The Notebook (2004), Ryan Gosling’s Noah transforms an old plantation estate into his lover Allie’s dream home, a gesture that reveals his enduring love. </p>
<p>Renovation stories are always about change (although in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5109784/">some</a> the change doesn’t last). Even if, as may be the case for the increasing number of people who are renting, having a house of our own is itself a fantasy.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542550/original/file-20230814-16-nwyn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542550/original/file-20230814-16-nwyn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542550/original/file-20230814-16-nwyn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542550/original/file-20230814-16-nwyn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542550/original/file-20230814-16-nwyn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542550/original/file-20230814-16-nwyn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542550/original/file-20230814-16-nwyn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In It’s Complicated, a home renovation leads to love between architect Adam (Steve Martin) and client Jane (Meryl Streep).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Universal Pictures</span></span>
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<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/off-the-plan-shelter-the-future-and-the-problems-in-between-75839">Off the plan: shelter, the future and the problems in between</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Renovate? In this economy?</h2>
<p>Many renovation stories can be seen as escapist media that trade on the image of the dream home to sell ideas about wealth, taste and style to audiences unable to afford such things. The Block may involve contestants from a range of backgrounds, but few people can afford the multimillion-dollar houses they build. </p>
<p>The Block’s viewership has had ups and downs in its two-decade history, but the show (and many others) continues because, despite being about <a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/entertainment/2023/03/29/the-block-controversy-grand-designs/">profiting from the housing market</a>, it sells the idea of transformation and change, not just in our houses but in our lives. </p>
<p>Renovation stories invite audiences to indulge in a fantasy where we become our best selves living in dream homes that protect us from a volatile and threatening world. The dream home might remain a dream, but in renovation stories we escape reality and envision life in a Tuscan villa, or having a butler’s pantry or plunge pool, or simply owning a house of our own.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211334/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ella Jeffery does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
How does the average viewer relate to homes being turned into mansions? Well, most of us have a dream home, with home makeovers often also offering the promise of self-improvement.
Ella Jeffery, Lecturer in Creative Writing, Griffith University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/206494
2023-05-31T23:00:02Z
2023-05-31T23:00:02Z
Did ‘wokeness’ cancel Police Ten 7? New research suggests racial stereotyping was the real culprit
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529191/original/file-20230530-21-j9826h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C3%2C2266%2C1234&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When TVNZ cancelled reality TV show Police Ten 7 earlier this year, it certainly rattled some law-and-order cages. </p>
<p>The show’s former host Graham Bell, who described suspects variously as “<a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/stuff-to-watch/300868852/everybody-remembers-what-they-loved-and-hated-about-police-ten-7-except-tvnz">creeps, halfwits, low-lifes, mongrels and lunatics</a>”, <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/wokeness-political-correctness-killed-police-10-7-graham-bell-speaks-out-5-million-quest-for-new-news-outlet-pr-director-stepping-down/Y6BTLOJ4YFFS3MCQ6RM74VUITE/">claimed</a> “wokeness killed Police Ten 7”. New Zealand First leader <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/police-ten-7-cancelled-winston-peter-blasts-sociological-loonies-blames-decision-on-woke-cancel-culture/JNHEKJLW3FHFHEPHY3QIJH5OHU/">Winston Peters blamed</a> “cancel culture”. One <a href="https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/heather-du-plessis-allan-drive/opinion/heather-du-plessis-allan-the-whingers-have-won-police-ten-7-is-over/">radio host said</a> “the whingers have won”. </p>
<p>But Police Ten 7 – TVNZ’s longest-running reality series – was already controversial for its depiction of criminal behaviour as popular entertainment, and for an alleged over-representation of Māori and Pacific offenders or suspects. </p>
<p>In 2021, Auckland Councillor Efeso Collins was <a href="https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/25-07-2021/god-not-my-girls-auckland-councillor-receives-bomb-threat-following-tv-show-criticism">threatened</a> after <a href="https://twitter.com/efesocollins/status/1373364800797822978?lang=en">tweeting</a> that the show should be scrapped because it “<a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/438838/police-ten-7-show-feeds-racial-stereotypes-auckland-councillor">feeds on racial stereotypes</a>”. TVNZ subsequently commissioned an <a href="https://corporate.tvnz.co.nz/assets/Uploads/Police+Ten+7+Review+FINAL.pdf">independent review</a> of the show and renamed it Ten 7 Aotearoa, but eventually decided to end its run.</p>
<p>The controversy inspired us to analyse Police Ten 7 more closely and measure its treatment of Māori, Pasifika and European suspects – as well as police officers. Our <a href="https://www.journalofglobalindigeneity.com/article/77757-young-brown-men-being-brutish-how-police-ten-7-portrays-maori-and-pacifica-people-as-violent-and-criminal-in-aotearoa-new-zealand">recently published findings</a> support claims the show was not evenhanded in its depiction of these groups. </p>
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<h2>Framing the ‘bad guys’</h2>
<p>We focused on the calendar year previous to Collins’ criticism of Police Ten 7, and critically analysed 12 episodes that aired between September and December 2020. Among other data, we recorded the range of alleged offences and the airtime spent on each suspect. </p>
<p>Because people tend to recognise faces more readily when they belong to the same racial group (so-called “cross-race bias”), one of the two Māori members on the research team recorded the racial identity of suspects and officers. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/racist-cop-shows-and-biased-news-fuel-public-fears-of-crime-and-love-for-the-police-141108">Racist cop shows and biased news fuel public fears of crime and love for the police</a>
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<p>He identified “brown people” based on information provided directly in the show (“our offender tonight is of Polynesian descent”) or by making a holistic assessment of people’s looks, names, culturally significant tattoos, accents and so on. </p>
<p>We then compared our data with 2020 <a href="https://www.police.govt.nz/about-us/publications-statistics/data-and-statistics/policedatanz/proceedings-offender-demographics">police data</a> on types of crime and ethnicity (including ethnicity of officers). Our findings confirm <a href="https://www.internetjournalofcriminology.com/_files/ugd/b93dd4_46164302ccd345f0bf1ef82783a0ae28.pdf">US research</a> on reality TV police shows, which has found a tendency to portray non-white people as the “bad guys”. </p>
<p>While TVNZ’s independent review found Police Ten 7 was “reflective of the reality of patterns of crime and offending in Aotearoa”, our analysis found otherwise.</p>
<iframe src="https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/13945559/embed" title="Interactive or visual content" class="flourish-embed-iframe" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="width:100%;height:600px;" sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-scripts allow-downloads allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<div style="width:100%!;margin-top:4px!important;text-align:right!important;"><a class="flourish-credit" href="https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/13945559/?utm_source=embed&utm_campaign=visualisation/13945559" target="_top"><img alt="Made with Flourish" src="https://public.flourish.studio/resources/made_with_flourish.svg"> </a></div>
<h2>Suspect airtime</h2>
<p>Of all actual New Zealand police suspects in 2020, 53% were Polynesian. However, Māori and Pasifika made up 71% of suspects featured in the episodes of Police Ten 7 we sampled. </p>
<p>In comparison, Europeans made up 36% of actual police proceedings, and 29% of suspects on the show. (The remaining 11% in police statistics covers other ethnicities.)</p>
<p>We also looked at the airtime Police Ten 7 gave different suspects, compared to how often police dealt with them according to the data. Of the total airtime spent on suspects, 62% was spent on Māori or Pasifika, compared to 53% of total police proceedings in 2020. </p>
<p>In comparison, the portion of airtime spent on European suspects (38%) more closely reflected how often police proceeded against Europeans in 2020 (36%).</p>
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<h2>Types of crime</h2>
<p>Police Ten 7 also portrayed Māori and Pasifika as more violent than police statistics show. Over the 12 episodes sampled, 100% of those suspected of violent crime (homicide, sexual assault, endangering persons, property damage) were Polynesian. This compares to 40% in police statistics. </p>
<p>By contrast, police statistics show Māori and Pasifika made up 43% of traffic offence suspects, compared to only 6% on Police Ten 7.</p>
<p>Police data show Europeans made up 34% of suspects for violent crime. Yet Police Ten 7 tended to disproportionately portray Europeans as lower-level offenders or suspects. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-us-alliance-research-project-announced-195">Australia - US alliance research project announced</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<p>According to police statistics, Europeans made up 26% of traffic offence suspects compared to 41% on the show. Europeans constituted 35% of public order offenders, compared to 67% on Police Ten 7. </p>
<p>We argue that over-representing Europeans in less serious offence categories suggests to TV audiences that any harm Europeans cause is somewhat unintended or easily explained.</p>
<p>Finally, we found the same disparities applied to the police officers featured in the sampled episodes. While Māori and Pasifika officers constitute nearly <a href="https://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/publications/annual-report-2019-2020.pdf">20% of the NZ police force</a>, they made up only 6% of the officers on Police Ten 7. </p>
<iframe src="https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/13945558/embed" title="Interactive or visual content" class="flourish-embed-iframe" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="width:100%;height:600px;" sandbox="allow-same-origin allow-forms allow-scripts allow-downloads allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<div style="width:100%!;margin-top:4px!important;text-align:right!important;"><a class="flourish-credit" href="https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/13945558/?utm_source=embed&utm_campaign=visualisation/13945558" target="_top"><img alt="Made with Flourish" src="https://public.flourish.studio/resources/made_with_flourish.svg"> </a></div>
<h2>Others and ourselves</h2>
<p>Most people have <a href="https://teara.govt.nz/en/crime-and-the-media/print">little first-hand experience</a> of crime and rely on media for information. Consequently, news and entertainment programmes help shape views of the criminal justice system and those involved in it. </p>
<p>Based on our sampled episodes, a case can be made that Police Ten 7 did reinforce racial stereotypes of Māori and Pasifika as more criminal and violent. We argue this stereotyping was exacerbated by the under-representation of violent European suspects.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-cop-shows-serve-to-reinforce-the-racism-at-the-heart-of-our-culture-142506">How cop shows serve to reinforce the racism at the heart of our culture</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>We also suggest the under-represention of Māori and Pasifika police officers would not have helped <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/128981158/police-launch-first-recruitment-campaign-targeting-whine-mori">police recruitment efforts</a>, given the police themselves later acknowledged the need to remove barriers to wahine Māori in particular.</p>
<p>After all, the media shape not only how we see others, but also how we see ourselves. Any future New Zealand reality TV crime or police show would need to be mindful of these pitfalls and effects.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The authors acknowledge the assistance of postgraduate student Wairua Busby-Pukeiti in gathering the data for this article.</em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206494/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
A new study finds sample episodes of the recently cancelled Police Ten 7 TV show disproportionately featured Māori and Pasifika suspects or offenders. It also under-represented Polynesian officers.
Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology
Juan Marcellus Tauri, Adjunct Associate Professor, Indigenous Studies, Macquarie University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/204720
2023-05-09T12:23:17Z
2023-05-09T12:23:17Z
The unbearable allure of cringe
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524928/original/file-20230508-170642-f3uhnn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=429%2C23%2C4125%2C2914&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">When someone humiliates themselves on TV, you want to look away, but you can't.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/hard-to-look-royalty-free-image/80467171?phrase=cringing+watching+TV&adppopup=true">Designpics/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Why can’t you stop watching TV shows, movies or viral videos that make you cringe?</p>
<p>Cringe is the feeling you get when your boss cracks a joke in a meeting and no one laughs. It’s when your kid shoots a soccer ball and it misses the net by … a lot. It’s when you watch Kendall Roy from “Succession” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z4jteTnPqI">awkwardly rap on stage</a> at a celebration honoring his dad’s 50 years at the helm of the family company.</p>
<p>This secondhand embarrassment you feel for other people, real or fictional, is physical and emotional. It’s the gut punch of a gasped “oh no!” paired with a side of “I’m glad that wasn’t me” relief.</p>
<p>Research usually sees cringe in a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476418777838">negative light</a> – as a voyeuristic emotion that allows people to gawk at the misfortune of others.</p>
<p>However, in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/14705931231154944">a recent study</a>, we show that cringe-filled entertainment can actually help people better understand themselves and one another. This may be a big reason why people are so drawn to cringeworthy content in the first place.</p>
<h2>Studying cringe</h2>
<p>Cringe is everywhere, but it’s especially ubiquitous in movies and on TV, where it elicits winces, laughs and embarrassment in viewers.</p>
<p>Scripted cringe comedy shows such as “The Office” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” have been widely successful. These shows often feature characters encountering uncomfortable social situations and handling them with little or no grace – like when Toby, in “The Office,” awkwardly touches the knee of his crush, Pam.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/s_EHezMKD7Q?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Much of the humor in ‘The Office’ is tied to cringe-inducing situations.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Cringe is also a notable hallmark of reality TV, where cast members or contestants expose themselves to <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-au/2023/01/11251738/the-bachelors-cringe">public heartbreak</a>, <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/could-fastest-fail-ninja-warrior-045517308.html">fail spectacularly at physical challenges</a> or <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/katy-perry-traumatized-american-idol-contestant-harsh-critique-nightmares">endure humiliating critiques from judges</a>.</p>
<p>In our study, we examined the first season of Netflix’s “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12580168/">Indian Matchmaking</a>,” a show that follows matchmaker Sima Taparia as she guides her clients in India and the U.S. through the arranged marriage process.</p>
<p>Now in its third season, the show has received an <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/indian-matchmaking-netflix-emmy-arranged-marriage-b1884482.html">Emmy nomination</a> and inspired a spinoff called “<a href="https://www.insider.com/jewish-matchmaking-netflix-aleeza-ben-shalom-orthodox-intentional-dating-2023-5">Jewish Matchmaking</a>.”</p>
<p>In our research, we used our own experiences as data through a process called <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/08989575.2017.1288892">collaborative autoethnography</a>. Specifically, we wrote and analyzed our reactions to each episode in the first season of “Indian Matchmaking.” </p>
<p>Our diary entries were full of moments of secondhand embarrassment – whether it was witnessing a first date filled with uncomfortable silences, or watching a participant show us his closet with doorknobs that have his face on them. </p>
<p>By analyzing these entries, we generated in-depth insights into what it means to cringe.</p>
<h2>Everyone bumbles through life</h2>
<p>What was surprising was that the cringeworthy scenes weren’t always accompanied by a sense of voyeurism or feelings of <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-does-it-feel-good-to-see-someone-fail-107349">schadenfreude</a>. </p>
<p>Instead, we found that binge-watching a show with a lot of cringeworthy moments can be, dare we say, therapeutic.</p>
<p>Cringe made us recognize the parts of ourselves that we saw as undesirable.</p>
<p>Watching “Indian Matchmaking,” we were reminded that, like the people on the show, we haven’t always performed well in the dating market. One participant who brought this form of cringe to life for us was Aparna. A successful lawyer living in Houston, she could come off <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31pGZerv6UE&t=70s&pp=ygUZaW5kaWFuIG1hdGNobWFraW5nIGFwYXJuYQ%3D%3D">as abrupt or rude</a> – “Oh, do we have to see our husbands all the time?”</p>
<p>Throughout the show, Taparia tries to make Aparna “compromise” – in other words, settle for men she doesn’t see as worthy of her. Taparia, as well as fans of the show, have called Aparna an <a href="https://www.theringer.com/tv/2020/7/27/21340225/aparna-indian-matchmaking-villain-antihero.">unrealistic perfectionist</a>.</p>
<p>Aparna’s interactions with Taparia are fraught, and various tensions play out – modern values versus traditional ones, and what makes a woman desirable versus undesirable. There’s a sheen of sexism to this dynamic: Aparna is chastised for behavior that men on the show are excused for.</p>
<p>Having navigated similarly perfectionist tendencies in our dating lives, we saw ourselves represented in Aparna’s journey. We even would often refer to each other as “Aparna” while emailing about this study. </p>
<p>Our affinity for Aparna reminded us of watching Michael Scott from “The Office.” </p>
<p>We’ve seen him make a grand gesture to declare his love for someone too early in a relationship – and not get an “I love you” back – or argue with his partner in front of friends at a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap0ae1Z8qGg&ab_channel=TheOffice">dinner party</a> and thought, “I’ve been there” or “I’ve seen that.”</p>
<p>While <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Reacting-to-Reality-Television-Performance-Audience-and-Value/Skeggs-Wood/p/book/9780415693714">previous research</a> shows that audiences distance themselves from television personalities like Aparna or Michael Scott, we couldn’t help but embrace cringeworthy representations of the less-than-desirable aspects of our personalities.</p>
<p>It was, in a strange way, freeing to see other people bumble through life, and made us think about being less hard on ourselves.</p>
<h2>A way to confront our biases</h2>
<p>When we watched “Indian Matchmaking” and cringed, we sometimes wondered why, exactly, we were cringing in the first place.</p>
<p>In “Indian Matchmaking,” first dates often include discussions about personal finances and the number of kids each person wants to have. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Smiling woman sitting at a restaurant with a date." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524958/original/file-20230508-30782-8d4pq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524958/original/file-20230508-30782-8d4pq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524958/original/file-20230508-30782-8d4pq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524958/original/file-20230508-30782-8d4pq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524958/original/file-20230508-30782-8d4pq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524958/original/file-20230508-30782-8d4pq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524958/original/file-20230508-30782-8d4pq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">On ‘Indian Matchmaking,’ first dates often include topics of conversation that Westerners would avoid.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pyxis.nymag.com/v1/imgs/74c/dc6/8bbc68d5aaca62cbbd96795f323fe35b60-indian-matchmaking.jpg">Netflix</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If you grew up in a Western country, you might feel your stomach clench while watching these conversations. </p>
<p>But in other parts of the world, this is actually perfectly normal and expected. In India, <a href="https://eprints.ncl.ac.uk/file_store/production/215652/83FC1820-3CC7-49AD-B712-CD866A5713EC.pdf">marriage is often about more than just romantic love</a>; it is a union between two families, and this entails hashing out logistics early on. There is no playing it cool. </p>
<p>So in this way, cringe can alert viewers to their values and judgments and lead to reflections about cultural differences.</p>
<h2>Cringing at exploitation and mockery</h2>
<p>Then there’s the sort of cringe that arose when, midseason, we started to question why a show like “Indian Matchmaking” was made in the first place. </p>
<p>It’s like when you see videos of white people volunteering in low-income countries with their <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/the-white-savior-industrial-complex/254843/">white savior complex</a> on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haFdtgUr52s&ab_channel=TEDxTalks">full display</a>.</p>
<p>Our reaction diary entries are riddled with questions about the way the showrunners edited – or even manipulated – the characters’ stories. </p>
<p>Some diary entries talk about cringing when a scene appears clearly staged, or when the showrunners appear to be mocking the characters, like when the show plays silly music when showing first dates.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9RrLQUN8UJg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">‘American Idol’ has showcased its fair share of cringe over the years – but William Hung’s performance in 2004 might win the honor of most cringeworthy.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What sort of responsibility do the showrunners have toward the audience, Indian and otherwise? While the show highlights social issues such as sexism, does it ever really challenge or confront them? </p>
<p>The show has also been criticized for <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2020/08/netflix-indian-matchmaking-and-the-shadow-of-caste/614863/">propagating casteism</a> and portraying India as a <a href="https://www.vogue.in/content/indian-matchmakings-third-world-montages-highlight-whats-wrong-with-representation-today">backward country</a>.</p>
<p>We cringed when we realized we were complicit in these undercurrents of discrimination because we watched, laughed and professionally benefited from this show.</p>
<p>However, we ultimately felt that our allegiance is not with the showrunners, or with those in the arranged marriage process <a href="https://feminisminindia.com/2021/03/29/patriarch-arranged-marriage-india/">who perpetuate the patriarchy</a>. It was with the people in the show who remind us of ourselves.</p>
<p>Cringe is more than a fleeting feeling or fodder for yet another reality TV franchise, and maybe it’s a good thing that so many people are drawn to this sort of content. In our case, pushing past secondhand embarrassment and reflecting a bit helped us better understand ourselves and each other.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204720/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
What does secondhand embarrassment say about your own anxieties and biases?
Carly Drake, Assistant Professor of Marketing, North Central College
Anuja Anil Pradhan, Assistant Professor of Consumption, Culture and Commerce, University of Southern Denmark
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/204264
2023-05-03T03:36:40Z
2023-05-03T03:36:40Z
Alone Australia contestants are grappling with isolation and setbacks. Here’s what makes a winner
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523957/original/file-20230503-26-dytqdu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3600%2C2401&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Will it be Gina?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">SBS TV</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The winner of the reality TV show <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-series/alone-australia">Alone Australia</a>
will need more than “survival skills” to succeed. They will also need to draw on a host of psychological strengths.</p>
<p>Will the winner be the one who shows the most mental toughness or “grit”? Will it be the one who copes with being socially isolated in the Tasmanian wilderness for weeks? How about the contestant who takes a moment to feel awe watching a sunset?</p>
<p>I’m a social psychology researcher, specialising in the dynamics between social interactions and emotions. Here’s what happens when you take away those social interactions, and some thoughts on who’s most likely to thrive.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-alone-australia-tells-us-about-fear-and-why-we-need-it-203399">What Alone Australia tells us about fear, and why we need it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Remind me, what’s Alone Australia?</h2>
<p>Alone Australia on SBS TV involves ten contestants who are dropped into the wilds of a Tasmanian winter. Each has ten chosen items (from an approved list) and kilos of recording equipment. </p>
<p>Aside from medical check-ins, they have no social contact. Over the coming days and weeks, they film themselves building a shelter, making fire, and finding food and water. Some thrive, some clearly struggle.</p>
<p>Contestants can choose to “tap out” or can be removed for medical reasons. The contestant who lasts the longest wins A$250,000.</p>
<p>Contestants were selected on the basis of having survival skills and a personality likely to be engaging on camera. </p>
<p>But success on the show will likely also stem from a range of psychological capacities – and perhaps a bit of good luck.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/woman-spends-500-days-alone-in-a-cave-how-extreme-isolation-can-alter-your-sense-of-time-204166">Woman spends 500 days alone in a cave – how extreme isolation can alter your sense of time</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Mental toughness is key</h2>
<p>Contestants face a gruelling environment. They are repeatedly challenged by the terrain and weather, as well as by hunger and setbacks.</p>
<p>Here, “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1612197X.2007.9671836">mental toughness</a>”, which is related to the popular idea of “<a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.545526/full">grit</a>”, plays a role. </p>
<p>Mental toughness is a group of personality characteristics originally identified in elite and successful athletes. It relates to coping with the pressures of competition, as well as setting and following through on training and performance goals. </p>
<p>Athletes higher in mental toughness tend to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S144024401400632X">perform better</a>. Mentally tough military recruits are more likely to be <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Robin-Lines-2/publication/339962608_Mental_toughness_as_a_psychological_determinant_of_behavioral_perseverance_in_special_forces_selection/links/5e858551a6fdcca789e8e6bf/Mental-toughness-as-a-psychological-determinant-of-behavioral-perseverance-in-special-forces-selection.pdf">selected</a> to join special forces.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523967/original/file-20230503-26-6m3cre.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Mike, contestant on Alone Australia, in Tasmanian wilderness" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523967/original/file-20230503-26-6m3cre.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523967/original/file-20230503-26-6m3cre.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523967/original/file-20230503-26-6m3cre.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523967/original/file-20230503-26-6m3cre.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523967/original/file-20230503-26-6m3cre.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523967/original/file-20230503-26-6m3cre.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523967/original/file-20230503-26-6m3cre.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Will it be Mike?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">SBS TV</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Can mental toughness be cultivated in the moment? It appears so. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20445911.2014.995104">Thinking back</a> to past failures tends to spur people to stick to current tough goals. Future thinking also plays a role. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10413200.2011.605422">Imagining a future</a> in which you are confident and in control builds self-reported toughness.</p>
<p>We know mentally tough people use a few “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17461390903049972">performance strategies</a>”. These include talking positively to themselves (either out loud or in their mind), controlling their emotions, and intentionally staying relaxed. People can practise and draw on these strategies in the face of adversity. Mentally tough people also avoid negative thinking such as leaning into thoughts of failure or engaging in self-blame.</p>
<p>But mental toughness has limits. When <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1440244017317498">fatigued</a>, mental toughness no longer predicts perseverance towards a difficult physical goal. Instead, underlying fitness levels appear to be critical.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/grit-or-quit-how-to-help-your-child-develop-resilience-195195">Grit or quit? How to help your child develop resilience</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Combating loneliness is crucial</h2>
<p>The main premise of the show – and its namesake – is total social isolation.</p>
<p>Research highlights the <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/social-isolation-and-loneliness-covid-pandemic">difference</a> between <em>social isolation</em> (lack of opportunity for social interaction) and <em>loneliness</em> (the distressing feeling that one’s social needs aren’t being met). A person can be socially isolated but not feel lonely or feel lonely even in the presence of others.</p>
<p>Not everyone has the same needs for social interaction. Indeed, some people place high value on solitude and generally need less interaction to <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1068609/full">avoid loneliness</a>. </p>
<p>But there’s a caveat. “<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2010.00702.x">Social anhedonia</a>” (markedly low interest in and reward from interpersonal connection) is associated with poor functioning.</p>
<p>Even people who don’t prefer solitude can get creative about fulfilling social needs when people aren’t around.</p>
<p>Humans tend to <a href="https://guilfordjournals.com/doi/10.1521/soco.2008.26.2.143">anthropomorphise</a> (or perceive as human) non-human objects and animals when feeling lonely. </p>
<p>You might remember <a href="https://www.wilson.com/en-us/blog/volleyball/behind-scenes/true-story-wilson-volleyball">Wilson the volleyball</a> from the movie Cast Away. Wilson kept the lead character company during his years being stranded on an island.</p>
<p>People can also remember past, or anticipate future, social interactions. This “<a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00013/full">social daydreaming</a>” may help people cope when their friends and family are not around.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-politics-of-the-castaway-story-200827">The politics of the castaway story</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How about awe and pride?</h2>
<p>Emotional experiences also likely have a role in pushing some contestants to endure longer. Others have written about the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-alone-australia-tells-us-about-fear-and-why-we-need-it-203399">role of fear</a> on the show (in a nutshell, fear has its place and isn’t to be avoided). </p>
<p>But research also points to the potential benefits of positive emotions in this situation, such as awe and pride.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523969/original/file-20230503-28-i6veb9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Kate, contestant in Alone Australia, in Tasmanian wilderness" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523969/original/file-20230503-28-i6veb9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/523969/original/file-20230503-28-i6veb9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=636&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523969/original/file-20230503-28-i6veb9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=636&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523969/original/file-20230503-28-i6veb9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=636&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523969/original/file-20230503-28-i6veb9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523969/original/file-20230503-28-i6veb9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/523969/original/file-20230503-28-i6veb9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=799&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Will it be Kate?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">SBS TV</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Natural environments are in no short supply for contestants on the show. In fact, nature is nearly all they see. And nature is a prime trigger of
<a href="https://www.templeton.org/discoveries/the-science-of-awe">awe</a> – the positive emotional experience when witnessing extraordinary things that are vast and complex.</p>
<p>Awe is linked to a variety of <a href="https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/eight_reasons_why_awe_makes_your_life_better">beneficial outcomes</a>, including higher self-reported wellbeing, physical health, critical thinking and humility.</p>
<p>Most of us are familiar with pride – the emotional experience associated with achievement. Pride isn’t just felt upon attaining a goal, but also when making <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1469029217307446">progress</a> along the way. </p>
<p>Despite pride’s bad rap (for instance, as a deadly sin), my own research links the experience of pride to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18505314/">pursuing goals</a>. People work harder at a goal when they’re feeling proud of earlier accomplishments. </p>
<p>One key to unlocking the benefits of positive emotions such as pride and awe is to mindfully find the opportunities to experience them. Specifically, <a href="https://internationaljournalofwellbeing.org/index.php/ijow/article/view/18">savouring the moment</a> is a documented strategy for intentionally increasing the experience of positive emotions such as awe and pride.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/personalities-that-thrive-in-isolation-and-what-we-can-all-learn-from-time-alone-135307">Personalities that thrive in isolation and what we can all learn from time alone</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Are you a future Alone Australia winner?</h2>
<p>If you’re thinking of applying for future seasons of Alone Australia, you might be wondering if you have what it takes.</p>
<p>Given time, you can build both your survival and psychological skills.</p>
<p>You can develop mental toughness, your capacity to combat loneliness while socially isolated, and your ability to savour positive emotions such as awe and pride.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-hedonism-and-how-does-it-affect-your-health-78040">What is hedonism and how does it affect your health?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204264/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa A. Williams receives funding from the Australian government (Australian Research Council; Department of Industry, Science, and Resources).</span></em></p>
Is winning about mental toughness? How about coping with social isolation? Or will it be the one who’s in awe of a sunset?
Lisa A Williams, Associate Professor, School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/199921
2023-03-03T12:52:36Z
2023-03-03T12:52:36Z
The ‘milf’: a brief cultural history, from Mrs Robinson to Stifler’s mom
<p>The release of reality television series <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt25375242/">Milf Manor</a> in January 2023 has added to the pantheon of milfs (“Mothers I’d Like to Fuck”) on screen. But from Stacy’s mum to Stifler’s mum: why is our cultural fascination with and fetishisation of the milf so enduring? </p>
<p>The milf is an older mother who is considered sexually attractive. Not to be confused with the “cougar”, a middle-aged woman who seeks relationships with significantly younger men.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dZLfasMPOU4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The music video for Stacy’s Mom by Fountains of Wayne.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Before the milf, there was Mrs Robinson. Anne Bancroft’s character in The Graduate (1967) has been described as one of popular culture’s original <a href="https://www.insidehook.com/article/arts-entertainment/literary-history-milf-mrs-robinson-stiflers-mom-wife-bath">“hot moms”</a>. Back to the Future (1985), too, featured an entertaining – if <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/dvdextras/2010/11/back_to_your_mom.html">uncomfortably close to incestuous</a> – story line where a time-travelling Marty McFly becomes the object of his young mother’s affection.</p>
<p>Years later, the term “milf” was coined by teenage comedy American Pie (1999), when one of the core characters has sex with their friend <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfraJuuI-ts">Stifler’s mother</a> (played by Jennifer Coolidge). This moniker becomes her character’s defining feature. </p>
<p>In 2003, American rock band Fountains of Wayne released Stacy’s Mom, a comedic coming-of-age song which centres on the narrator’s attraction to his classmate’s mother. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bsUWK-fixiA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The music video for Milf $ by Fergie.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Singer Fergie released <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsUWK-fixiA">Milf $</a> in 2016, which redefined the term in its music video as “Moms I’d Like to Follow”. The video featured celebrity mums in provocative scenes, including Kim Kardashian showering in milk and Devon Aoki bending over to put her child in a baby seat.</p>
<p>This attempt to reclaim the term was complicated by the video’s very specific imagery. These celebrity mums can afford the best healthcare as well as beauty treatments to slow the visible ageing process. These depictions reinforce the message that older women can only be deemed milfs (and by extension, sexually desirable) if their bodies conform to ideals of thinness and youth.</p>
<h2>Unpacking the milf</h2>
<p>In <a href="https://www.academia.edu/15492701/Unpacking_MILF_Exploring_motherhood_sexuality_and_feminism">Beyond Milf</a> – an analysis of the role of the milf in pornography and popular culture – author May Friedman claims <a href="https://journals.msvu.ca/index.php/atlantis/article/view/1378/pdf_7">the term</a> “denies sexual agency, positioning mothers as the recipients of sexual attention and as sexual objects, rather than as active participants”. </p>
<p>What “milfs” have in common, she says, is that they are: “almost always white, usually middle to upper class and are universally presented in heterosexual contexts”.</p>
<p>This can be said of Stacy’s mum and Stifler’s mum. These milfs are positioned explicitly in relation to adolescent boys or young men – denied a name and defined by their status as “mothers”.</p>
<p>It is the awkwardness of teen perspectives that make these pop culture products humorous. And yet, Stacy’s Mom and American Pie were not created by prepubescent boys, but by adult men. For some modern audiences the infantile comedy prevalent in the late 1990s and early 2000s is antiquated and offensive.</p>
<p>Enter: Milf Manor, a reality TV series that has caused outrage for what some viewers deem <a href="https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/milf-manor-trailer-guide">sexist</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/jan/18/milf-manor-dating-show-tlc">vaguely incestuous</a> content. </p>
<p>The series follows eight “hot moms” aged 40 to 60, trying to find love with younger men in a lavish mansion. As with most reality shows, a twist is revealed in the first 15 minutes – they will be dating each other’s sons.</p>
<p>This series differs from previous portrayals of the milf, but still sits uncomfortably with the television industry’s recent concerns with <a href="https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/mij/15031809.0002.205?view=text;rgn=main">equality</a>, <a href="https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/jbctv.2020.0504">inclusion</a> and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-011-0107-1">female agency</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/l88M7qMkyjA?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A scene from the first episode of Milf Manor (2023).</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Unlike the milfs portrayed by Stacy’s mom, Stifler’s mom and Mrs Robinson, several Milf Manor cast members are women of colour. This diversity showcases a shift in the aforementioned perception that milfs are <a href="https://journals.msvu.ca/index.php/atlantis/article/view/1378/pdf_7">“almost always white”</a>.</p>
<p>The most significant change comes from the rise of “<a href="https://read.dukeupress.edu/books/book/2520/EmpoweredPopular-Feminism-and-Popular-Misogyny">popular feminism</a>”, in which the mere presence of women is deemed sufficient enough to call a show “feminist”. The creators of Milf Manor use language of “empowerment” to justify the show. Executive producer <a href="https://tbivision.com/2022/12/16/tlc-discovery-enter-milf-manor-with-spun-gold-tv/">Daniela Neumann</a> asserts:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Older men have been dating younger women for generations and no one bats an eye. Now it’s women’s turn to feel empowered. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>The evolution of the milf</h2>
<p>The world’s <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2011-19558-000">largest experiment about human desire</a>, conducted in 2011, suggested that the milfs’ appeal lies in their sexual confidence, agency and knowledge. These qualities are particularly attractive to young men stuck between childhood independence and adult autonomy.</p>
<p>In The Graduate, for instance, Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) returns home from university with no aim in life and experiencing profound alienation. It is Mrs Robinson who fills the void brought about by his disconnection from his parents.</p>
<p>When the term milf began gaining currency in the 1990s, the US was experiencing a <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=xAohjBQUmxQC&printsec=copyright&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false">rise in young single mothers</a> and the <a href="https://www.proquest.com/docview/202681792?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true">postponement of marriage and parenthood</a>. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237669982_Failure_to_Launch_Cross-National_Trends_in_the_Transition_to_Economic_Independence">Research also found</a> that young adults were staying in the parental home for longer than ever before. </p>
<p>This affected images of the family and suburbia on screen. Both Stifler’s and Stacy’s mothers are single parents.</p>
<p>Concerns about the “arrested development” of young men have increased <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10834-017-9554-3">post-recession</a> and the COVID pandemic has exacerbated the declining mental health of teens <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/21676968211000494?journalCode=eaxa">forced to stay at home</a>. Milf Manor draws on the familial proximity brought about by the pandemic, uncomfortably exploring the tensions of this dynamic.</p>
<p>Depictions of the milf respond to cultural shifts and anxieties around growing up. In the 1990s and early 2000s, she was the white, middle-class image of suburbia. Since the late 2000s, she has become more diverse – but shows such as Milf Manor make it clear that uncertain social and economic conditions are still affecting the ways familial relationships are depicted on screen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199921/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Minor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The milf’s appeal lies in their sexual confidence, agency and knowledge – qualities particularly attractive to young men stuck between childhood independence and adult autonomy.
Laura Minor, Lecturer in Television Studies, University of Salford
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/200409
2023-02-23T14:03:59Z
2023-02-23T14:03:59Z
Jake Paul v Tommy Fury: whoever reigns in the ring, it’s no contest when it comes to social media
<p>Jake Paul, an American social media celebrity turned professional boxer, has made a name for himself in the ring. After defeating former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva by unanimous decision in October 2022, he now turns his attention to the UK’s Tommy Fury, brother of world champion <a href="https://theconversation.com/tyson-fury-defeated-deontay-wilder-in-the-social-media-fight-as-well-as-in-the-ring-132548">Tyson Fury</a>. </p>
<p>The twist is that Tommy Fury is Paul’s opposite – a professional boxer turned reality TV star (he rose to fame on ITV’s dating show, <a href="https://theconversation.com/love-island-2019-why-bromance-matters-as-much-as-romance-to-viewers-117626">Love Island</a>), which sets up a hotly disputed showdown between the two in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, February 26. Tyson Fury took to social media to tell his brother to “<a href="https://www.manchesterworld.uk/people/tyson-fury-tommy-fury-saudi-arabia-jake-paul-3999647">stay in Saudi Arabia</a>” if he loses the fight, so the prestige of the Fury name is also at stake. </p>
<p>Paul has not only been victorious in his first six fights in the ring, but he has also won the support of social media followers worldwide. In the battle of the personal brands, Paul knocks Fury out. </p>
<p>We examined the pre-match fight on social media to compare how each fighter’s profile brand performed worldwide. The table below provides a head-to-head social media comparison of the two fighters. </p>
<p>With over 70 million followers across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and Twitter, Paul is a big hitter on social media. Despite Fury’s celebrity status and social media influencer girlfriend <a href="https://theconversation.com/love-island-molly-mae-hague-and-the-working-life-of-a-social-influencer-118407">Molly-Mae Hague</a>, he is a relative rookie in the social media stakes. </p>
<p>Paul punches around ten times his weight in the social media battle, cementing himself as a <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Digital-and-Social-Media-Marketing-A-Results-Driven-Approach/Heinze-Fletcher-Cruz/p/book/9780367236021">mega influencer</a> (over 100,000 followers) on every channel. Meanwhile, Fury can be classified as a macro-influencer (between 10,000 - 100,000 followers) on most channels <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tommyfury/?hl=en">besides Instagram</a>, where he has mega status.</p>
<p>In a straight fight between boxers or other sports personalities, success in their sport often leads to more followers on social media through the <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1977-10287-001">“basking in reflected glory” effect</a>, where fans want to be associated with successful sports stars and teams. </p>
<h2>Are social media stars diluting the sport?</h2>
<p>This new phenomenon of influencers turned sportspeople and vice versa, however, puts a twist on using social media followers to gauge the level of sporting prowess. Paul gained this massive following before becoming a professional boxer, so he now faces the fight of his life in the ring. </p>
<p>There have been criticisms towards social media influencers <a href="https://thebookofman.com/body/sport/youtuber-boxers/">from traditional boxing enthusiasts</a> for entering the sport and calling out established professional fighters, as they perceive it to be damaging to the sport of boxing. However, because social media influencers attract such a high following and are mega influencers, there is always the potential to bring in new fans and the associated money to be made. </p>
<p>Paul has thousands of users retweeting and commenting on his posts. The network of users is so vast it is similar to that of a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/22779752211017275">high-engagement sports team</a>. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@georgegrovesboxingclub/video/7200813244758461701">recent interview</a> with The George Groves Boxing Club, boxing promoter Frank Warren notes how Tommy Fury and Jake Paul are capitalising on their following and eclipsing traditional professional boxing events at this level. </p>
<p>As our data shows, the two top locations interested in the fight are the US and UK. However, the event also has a global interest, with users actively engaging from South America, Africa, Europe, Australia and Asia. With this level of international interest, more people are exposed to boxing than might not otherwise have engaged with the sport. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1626543422919135233"}"></div></p>
<p>In the lead up to the fight, one of the top pre-fight social media posts came from Paul. In the above tweet, which reached 1.4 million people, he uses his social media status to provide pre-fight updates. </p>
<p>The fight has already been cancelled twice, once due to injuries and once due to a visa issue. In his tweet, Jake Paul assures fans that Fury is on his way to Saudi Arabia and that the fight will probably go ahead. </p>
<p>In terms of quantity of followers, macro social media influencer Paul wins the contest, hands down. In the bravado stakes of showing off and appearing confident and relaxed through social media posts, Paul outshines Fury’s more modest status. In terms of the betting world, too, Paul is also currently <a href="https://talksport.com/sport/betting-tips/1339642/tommy-fury-jake-paul-boxing-free-bets-betfair/">odds on to beat Fury</a>. </p>
<p>Fans will find out on Saturday what the fight’s outcome will be and the impact of millions of fans viewing pre- and post-match updates through various social media channels. </p>
<p>Despite criticism from purists, these mega sporting events have added <a href="https://talksport.com/sport/boxing/1235120/jake-paul-fight-anderson-silva-result-pay-per-view-buys-upsetting/">a new lease of life</a> to boxing, potentially attracting casual fans to the sport. Despite the detractors, as social media audiences continue to tune in, boxing matches between influencers are set to remain popular.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200409/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
We examined the pre-match fight on social media to compare how each fighter’s profile brand performed worldwide.
Wasim Ahmed, Senior Lecturer in Digital Business, University of Stirling
Alex Fenton, Head of Centre for Professional and Economic Development, University of Chester
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/197414
2023-01-12T19:16:22Z
2023-01-12T19:16:22Z
From Bachelor to The Bachelors – why Australia’s longest running dating show has updated the old formula
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504143/original/file-20230112-52660-mub602.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1078%2C606&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">10 Play</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>This week marks the beginning of the tenth season of The Bachelor Australia, Australia’s longest running reality romance franchise. </p>
<p>Often, anniversaries like this provoke nostalgia, a desire to look back at what’s gone before, and to return to a format’s roots. But despite a montage of Bachelor history at the beginning of Monday’s premiere, this is not the approach this new season has taken. </p>
<p>Rather, as it is at pains to remind us repeatedly, it has thrown most of its conventional structures and trappings away. The French-chateau-inspired Sydney mansion is out, replaced by a modern one on the Gold Coast. The fairy lights and candles are conspicuously absent. </p>
<p>And in the most obvious change, instead of having only one man at its centre, there are three: Jed McIntosh, Felix Van Hofe, and Thomas Malucelli. The Bachelor has become The Bachelors.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504142/original/file-20230112-32622-gdowx7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504142/original/file-20230112-32622-gdowx7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504142/original/file-20230112-32622-gdowx7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504142/original/file-20230112-32622-gdowx7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504142/original/file-20230112-32622-gdowx7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504142/original/file-20230112-32622-gdowx7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504142/original/file-20230112-32622-gdowx7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504142/original/file-20230112-32622-gdowx7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The three bachelors of The Bachelors: Jed McIntosh, Thomas Malucelli, and Felix Van Hofe.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">10 Play</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Commitment and choice: innovating with the format</h2>
<p>While the parent Bachelor franchise in the US has remained relatively consistent over the 20 years it has been running, the Australian franchise has been far more open to experimentation. (One might even speculate that it is used to trial innovations that might then be adopted in the extremely popular American version.)</p>
<p>Brooke Blurton’s groundbreaking 2021 season of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-first-bisexual-bachelorette-and-the-messy-history-of-bisexual-representation-on-reality-tv-170362">The Bachelorette Australia</a>, which featured both male and female contestants, was an excellent example of this. Blurton was both the first First Nations and the first openly queer person to ever lead a Bachelor/ette season anywhere in the world. </p>
<p>In Blurton’s season, innovation was based on inclusion. This is not the case in The Bachelors Australia, in which the vast majority of the cast appear to be heterosexual and white (a step backwards, in a franchise which has enormous problems around diversity, nationally and internationally). </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-first-bisexual-bachelorette-and-the-messy-history-of-bisexual-representation-on-reality-tv-170362">The first bisexual Bachelorette and the messy history of bisexual representation on reality TV</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In the latest season, the innovation is with the underlying structures and mechanics of the franchise, creating new opportunities for the people participating in the show – and new storytelling possibilities for the people making it. </p>
<p>Rather than meeting their contestants upon their entrance to the Bachelor mansion like usual, the three Bachelors travelled around Australia, going on short blind dates with numerous women and inviting only the ten they liked best onto the show. While each of the thirty women is nominally dating the Bachelor who brought them, they are openly encouraged to explore the possibility of a relationship with any of the three men: as host Osher Günsberg tells them, they should “go on all the rides at the theme park before they find the one they’re going to stay on all day”.</p>
<p>This ties into a new rhetoric of choice. While contestants have always been able to refuse a Bachelor’s rose, the multiple-Bachelor format allows them options beyond leaving, giving them more power within the show’s structure.</p>
<p>The other major shift is in the show’s new approach to its endgame. While season-ending proposals are de rigueur in the American franchise, they have historically been rare in the Australian one (with the exception of Blake Garvey’s proposal to Sam Frost in 2014, which ultimately led to one of the franchise’s shortest-lived relationships). </p>
<p>In The Bachelors, this is not the case. All three Bachelors have been given engagement rings – with the expectation, one imagines, that they will use them. </p>
<p>Within the show, the rings are used as a visible symbol of the Bachelors’ commitment <em>to</em> commitment. The world of modern dating is presented as an environment where it is impossible to find a partner who will commit it to you. The show, then, becomes the solution.</p>
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<h2>A naked ratings grab?</h2>
<p>These changes have clearly been made in response to viewer fatigue, and in an attempt to revive the <a href="https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/reality-tv/the-bachelor/the-bachelors-premiere-struggles-in-the-ratings-after-format-reboot/news-story/f6198a11830a632e792f2110c3e7c0da">show’s ratings</a>, which have been in decline for some years (although it is worth noting that this has perhaps been overstated: overnight Nielsen ratings do not include streaming, where, for example, Blurton’s season performed quite well, especially for a younger demographic).</p>
<p>The Bachelor is a remarkably long-running reality romance format, both in Australia (where it has run since 2013) and overseas (the US version has run since 2002). For a long time, it was the only format to run for more than a few consecutive years.</p>
<p>However, in the 2010s, this began to change, with the local and global rise of formats like Love Island and Married at First Sight. </p>
<p>The influence of both is plain to see in this new iteration. The emphasis on contestant choice is reminiscent of Love Island, where participants are frequently encouraged to “recouple”. So too, arguably, is the new fluorescent lighting and bright colour palette.</p>
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<p>And the emphasis on commitment, and on the show as the supposed solution to the toils of modern dating, is clearly drawn from <a href="https://theconversation.com/married-at-first-sight-a-social-experiment-all-but-guaranteeing-relationship-failure-114070">Married at First Sight</a>, in which the titular “expert”-arranged marriages are positioned as a way to guarantee a dedicated and compatible partner willing to work on a relationship, rather than one who will simply ghost or give up.</p>
<p>Similarly, this new iteration seems designed to encourage conflict – something in which Married at First Sight notoriously specialises.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/married-at-first-sight-a-social-experiment-all-but-guaranteeing-relationship-failure-114070">Married at First Sight - a 'social experiment' all but guaranteeing relationship failure</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Whether or not this new version of The Bachelor Australia saves it from cancellation remains to be seen. The fact that it is being aired in January over a much shorter period than normal seems to suggest that the network does not have much faith in it. </p>
<p>However, it offers something new for old viewers who might have been experiencing fatigue; and something familiar for new viewers, who might be better acquainted with some of these other reality romance formats. </p>
<p>While The Bachelors has its flaws, its first week of episodes certainly did not lack entertainment value.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197414/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jodi is the author of Here For The Right Reasons and Can I Steal You For A Second?, two novels set on a reality romance show. </span></em></p>
The new season of the Bachelor franchise has changed the formula, in a bid to combat audience fatigue and dropping ratings.
Jodi McAlister, Senior Lecturer in Writing, Literature and Culture, Deakin University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/194115
2022-11-10T15:41:59Z
2022-11-10T15:41:59Z
I’m a Celebrity: Matt Hancock and the show’s producers are hoping for a revival
<p>The moment of truth has arrived. Former Conservative health secretary Matt Hancock has been dropped into the jungle to compete in ITV’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!</p>
<p>The show is a feat of mental resolve, stamina and bravery. Celebrities are plunged into the Australian jungle, forced to subsist on a diet of rice and beans and then are voted off one by one in a merciless public vote. </p>
<p>The producers know that the public wants to see the celebrities suffer. They haven’t wasted any time subjecting Hancock to a “bushtucker trial” involving slime, insects, darkness and enclosed spaces. </p>
<p>Much <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2022/11/02/can-matt-hancock-have-a-political-career-after-im-a-celeb-17685985/">has been made</a> of Hancock’s appearance has an attempt to rehabilitate his public image. He was criticised for his performance as health secretary during the early stages of the pandemic, when the UK had one of the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/6b4c784e-c259-4ca4-9a82-648ffde71bf0">highest death rates worldwide</a>. He eventually <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57625508">resigned after breaking social distancing rules</a>, being caught in a romantic tussle with an aide. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/nov/08/the-real-me-matt-hancock-promises-to-show-human-side-on-reality-tv-show">He has said</a> he hopes the show will give him a chance to show “the human side of the guy behind the podium”. But the show’s producers will also be hoping Hancock’s signing will boost flagging numbers and bring some much-needed drama to the 2022 season.</p>
<p>First hitting the airwaves in 2002, the competitive reality show <a href="https://www.itv.com/imacelebrity">I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!</a> has now been a popular staple of British television’s winter schedule for 20 years. But, as with any long-running series, staying fresh and relevant is essential to survive in a highly competitive marketplace.</p>
<p>The series struggled through the pandemic like everyone else. Unable to film abroad, the show made a temporary home in Wales. However, the winter 2020 lockdown provided an immediate bounce as people were forced to stay home and ratings went up to <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/im-a-celebrity-2020/im-a-celebrity-2020-ratings-b1724178.html">12 million viewers</a>. But things took a dive in 2021 with a significant rating slump, down to <a href="https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/entertainment/reality-tv/im-a-celebrity-2021-ratings-newsupdate/">just over 7 million.</a> </p>
<h2>Keeping it real</h2>
<p>The most memorable aspect of the 2021 show was the decision to inject some gentle political satire into the framing segments hosted by Ant and Dec. The pair’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/dec/10/ant-and-dec-party-jokes-should-be-a-warning-to-johnson-say-experts">trolling of Boris Johnson</a> in the period when the Partygate scandal was exposed (referring to parties held in Downing Street during the lockdown period) seemed to capture the public mood.</p>
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<p>The gentle ribbing of Johnson appeared to anticipate the end of his tenure as prime minister. The show became reactive and fresh with viewers tuning in for these jokes, many shared as clips on social media or turned into memes. This commentary made the show appear instep with British society rather than just a carbon copy of the previous seasons.</p>
<p>Of course, many would take issue with the very idea that Hancock is a celebrity. He is a controversial public figure. The decision to cast him has already led to increased media interest in the show. Much of the reporting has been scathing with many outlets condemning Hancock’s decision to compete. Many commentators have noted that the events of the past two years are just too recent and raw to overlook what appears to be a shameless act of self-promotion. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/bbc-question-time-matt-hancoc-celebrity-no-talent_uk_636489f4e4b08f849aa989dd">Question Time</a>, the BBC’s flagship political discussion programme, devoted a considerable amount of airtime to the controversy. The consensus of the panel and the studio audience was that Hancock’s decision to appear on a reality TV show not only appeared to trivialise his role in the pandemic but was also a dereliction of duty. </p>
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<p>He is taking a break from the important job of representing his constituents and punishment from the party has been swift as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/nov/01/matt-hancock-loses-tory-whip-after-agreeing-to-appear-on-im-a-celebrity">he lost the whip</a>.</p>
<p>The reaction of the camp in many ways echoes that of the public and the media in the UK – shock and confusion and disapproval. Singer Boy George told Hancock he is “really going to get it”. The comedian Babatunde Aleshe said, “You can’t help having strong views [about Hancock].” And, radio presenter Chris Moyles expressed unease about the impact this might have on his constituents with the pointed criticism, “He should be at work.” </p>
<h2>Odd couple</h2>
<p>Hancock is doing everything to be personable and plucky. On entering, he immediately started singing his favourite Ed Sheeran song to comedian and fellow contestant Seann Walsh, who also joined the show late. This is the kind of sequence the show revels in: kitsch, cringe-inducing exchanges that confound audience expectations. This is light entertainment after all. </p>
<p>Both Walsh and Hancock have experienced a considerable amount of bad press for romantic misadventures and are possibly hoping the show will redeem their reputations. Walsh appeared on BBC’s dance show <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006m8dq">Strictly Come Dancing</a> and was caught cheating with his dance <a href="https://closeronline.co.uk/entertainment/tv-movies/strictly-come-dancing-curse-biggest-love-affairs/">partner</a>. </p>
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<p>This pairing is significant and producers could be gearing for them to become figures the public will love to hate. However, if the rapport continues to grow and they appear as a kind of jungle “odd couple” it is just as likely they will be redeemed in the public eye. </p>
<p>More recent series have seen heartwarming group bonding and friendships win over audiences. Recent winners like author Giovanna Fletcher (2020) and actor Danny Miller (2021) were rewarded for their supportive and kind team spirit.</p>
<p>However, audiences do like conflict and with such a controversial figure as Hancock, producers will be hoping for some drama. Personality clashes generate chatter on social media and headlines in the press, which could transform into viewing figures. </p>
<p>So far it certainly feels like a welcome return to form for the show. The jungle setting is spectacular, the early trials were gut-wrenching and gruesome and the mix of celebrities is entertaining. It remains to be seen if Hancock’s appearance is enough to save the show from further decline.</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, he has already been voted by the public to participate in the next bushtucker trial: “tentacles of terror”. If he takes this punishment on the chin, it could be the making of him.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194115/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gill Jamieson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
There are hopes the controversial MP will create a lot of drama and increase viewing figures.
Gill Jamieson, Senior Lecturer in Film, Television & Cultural Studies, University of the West of Scotland
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/188071
2022-08-14T20:03:40Z
2022-08-14T20:03:40Z
Nathan Fielder’s new comedy The Rehearsal will be familiar to anyone with autism
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477092/original/file-20220802-18-1gv2xy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1917%2C1276&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">HBO</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>While we all like to be prepared for what might happen in the future, like those difficult conversations and life choices, some go to extraordinary lengths to try and ensure a happy outcome. </p>
<p>Comedian Nathan Fielder explores this in his new reality TV series, The Rehearsal, where he goes to great lengths to help people rehearse future events. </p>
<p>The people Fielder works with are confessing to a lie they have been keeping for years, or exploring whether to make a life choice like having a child. </p>
<p>Using complex flow charts and scripting conversations and actions, Fielder goes to extremes to recreate future situations and plan for all possible outcomes. </p>
<p>In the first episode, Fielder builds a replica bar and hires actors to play the role of patrons and staff to mirror the environment where Brooklyn teacher Kor will tell his friend he has been lying to her about having a masters degree. </p>
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<p>Fielder documents scripts for conversations in advance, including for making telephone calls to alert actors to a change in circumstances to their agreements. </p>
<p>The future situations are practised, repeatedly, until the person feels comfortable and ready to do the real thing.</p>
<p>Interestingly, for many people with autism, The Rehearsal won’t be that different to everyday life, where rehearsing and practising future scenarios is a way to cope with the anxiety of unpredictable social interactions and life events.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/most-adults-with-autism-can-recognise-facial-emotions-almost-as-well-as-those-without-the-condition-187995">Most adults with autism can recognise facial emotions, almost as well as those without the condition</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Everyone rehearses</h2>
<p>We all, to some extent, rehearse future events or interactions in our lives. </p>
<p>We might talk it through with our friends and family to work out what to say and how, or imagine in our minds the way future situations will play out.</p>
<p>Rehearsing future situations and conversations is also a common activity in therapy. It might include role-playing being assertive in a relationship, asserting needs in a friendship or asking for a pay increase at work. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477096/original/file-20220802-25-vbchwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Nathan Fielder looks over security footage." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477096/original/file-20220802-25-vbchwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477096/original/file-20220802-25-vbchwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477096/original/file-20220802-25-vbchwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477096/original/file-20220802-25-vbchwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477096/original/file-20220802-25-vbchwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477096/original/file-20220802-25-vbchwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477096/original/file-20220802-25-vbchwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Everyone rehearses – but it’s not normally this high tech.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">HBO</span></span>
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<p>Elite athletes mentally rehearse a future performance <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1750984X.2020.1780627">in the sporting domain</a>, like how they will launch out of the blocks and run the 100 metres to ensure an optimum performance. </p>
<p>Some rehearsals, such as <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.4997/jrcpe.2019.112">medical simulation</a>, are rather similar to Fielder’s recreated world, and ensure medical professionals can practise and rehearse complex medical procedures. </p>
<p>You can even <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272735812000918">rehearse your dreams</a> to change recurring nightmares to have a happier ending.</p>
<h2>Social stories</h2>
<p>Most of us don’t go to the level of detail of Fielder in The Rehearsal. That is, unless you have autism or perhaps have a child with autism.</p>
<p>One of the core symptoms of autism is being resistant to change and becoming distressed and upset when things don’t go to plan. </p>
<p>Another core symptom is not knowing how to act and what to say in social situations.</p>
<p>These characteristics can result in experiencing negative social interactions or being upset by unexpected events, resulting in anxiety about future similar situations. </p>
<p>To try and prevent this anxiety and possible poor outcomes, people with autism can engage in meticulous planning for future situations. </p>
<p>For children with autism, <a href="https://raisingchildren.net.au/autism/therapies-guide/social-stories">social stories</a> have been a mainstay intervention, where a future activity is put into story book form with pictures and scripts. This can help children to understand what will happen and what to do and say, so they can imagine and practise the situation and cope with any emotions that might arise.</p>
<h2>The freedom to be yourself</h2>
<p>Over time, to try and fit in with the world, people with autism can learn to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10803-017-3166-5">mask</a>, where they hide their real feelings and natural responses, and instead behave in ways considered “socially acceptable”. </p>
<p>They might practise masking in a social situation, similar to Fielder’s rehearsals.</p>
<p>We all mask to some extent, but for a person with autism masking can be an invalidating and exhausting experience where they can lose their sense of self with <a href="https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/aut.2020.0043">negative impacts</a> on their mental health.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477526/original/file-20220803-15-mpfh50.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Nathan Fielder sits in a rocking chair on a porch." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477526/original/file-20220803-15-mpfh50.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477526/original/file-20220803-15-mpfh50.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477526/original/file-20220803-15-mpfh50.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477526/original/file-20220803-15-mpfh50.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477526/original/file-20220803-15-mpfh50.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477526/original/file-20220803-15-mpfh50.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477526/original/file-20220803-15-mpfh50.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Having space to fully be yourself, in any situation, is important for everyone.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">HBO</span></span>
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<p>There is a growing <a href="https://www.autismawareness.com.au/aupdate/in-conversation-with-judy-singer">neurodiversity movement</a> that sees autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions as different, not disordered, and challenges the notion that neurodiverse people have to change to fit in with the world. </p>
<p>This means creating environments where people can feel safe to unmask and be themselves. </p>
<p>This space to unmask and be your full, authentic self is important. As Fielder shows in The Rehearsal, things don’t always go to plan. In the third episode, Patrick leaves the show midway through his rehearsal, finding the simulation resolved his feelings and he no longer needed to confront his brother.</p>
<p>Rehearsals can be helpful and prepare us. Fielder takes them to extremes, taking up time that perhaps could be better used living one’s life, rather than playing out scenarios that may never occur. </p>
<p>None of us can ever be fully prepared for what might happen. That’s what makes life interesting and scary at the same time.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/autism-is-still-underdiagnosed-in-girls-and-women-that-can-compound-the-challenges-they-face-176036">Autism is still underdiagnosed in girls and women. That can compound the challenges they face</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188071/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tamara May does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
In this new reality TV series, Nathan Fielder goes to great lengths to help people rehearse future events.
Tamara May, Psychologist and Research Associate in the Department of Paediatrics, Monash University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/188313
2022-08-09T17:17:29Z
2022-08-09T17:17:29Z
Big Brother is coming back – the reality TV landscape today will demand a more caring show
<p>ITV2 has announced <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-62389219">the return of Big Brother</a> to the UK with a promo trailer during this year’s Love Island final. Big Brother’s successful format of putting a group of housemates together in a controlled environment as an “experiment” to observe their behaviour has proved entertainment gold with international iterations, spin-offs and many imitations across the world. </p>
<p>To many, the show’s return, after its 18-year stint on Channel 4 and then Channel 5 will come as something of a surprise, given the way the viewing figures had <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/big-brother-ends-18-years-reality-tv-channel-4-start-end-best-bits-davina-video-a8537741.html">gradually fallen</a>. For others, however, it remained <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/jun/25/big-brother-best-shows-ever-channel-5-years">a cult hit</a> at the centre of contemporary British popular culture.</p>
<p>But reality television is not the same as it was when Big Brother launched in 2000. The show will return to a changed set of circumstances and expectations. For instance, Big Brother’s explosive drama was roundly criticised for sometimes being fuelled by alcohol, a practice which is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/jul/18/alcohol-hand-grenade-reality-tv-boozy-big-brother-nosecco-love-island">no longer condoned</a>. </p>
<h2>Reality television and social media</h2>
<p>Love Island has clearly taken inspiration from Big Brother as it also relies on observing the behaviour of participants in a house (known in Love Island as the villa) over eight weeks. The difference is they’re supposed to “couple up”. The show has developed a successful branding strategy with intricate social media tie-ins – for instance, numerous sponsorship deals with clothing and music brands, as well as gaming apps, merchandising and multiple branded social media accounts. All of this has upped the stakes of the amount of publicity and extra commercial value generated around a show – dwarfing the frenzy the tabloids made of Big Brother. </p>
<p>This year’s Love Island winner, Ekin-Su, came out of the villa with more than a million Instagram followers and poised for numerous <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/love-islands-ekin-su-make-27627992">lucrative branding deals</a>.)</p>
<p>But also since that initial “psychological experiment”, the nature of reality contestants has changed. They are now media-savvy people who’ve grown up online and in a world saturated with reality TV. They see shows such as Love Island as part of a social media landscape, in which performing and branding their personalities is a normal way of life that might just lead to a lucrative career. </p>
<p>While of course not all reality shows offer such a platform, Big Brother and Love Island have been some of the most successful for offering a springboard into other media careers – sometimes for those who might have had no other way in, given the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09548963.2016.1170943">lack of diversity in the media industry</a>.</p>
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<p>There is therefore no shortage of people queuing up to get a spot, despite the escalating <a href="https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/tv/love-island-releases-message-contestants-24515209">risks of trolling and social media bile</a> that seems to be the price paid for quickly-won fame. </p>
<p>How audiences interact with a show has also changed. They can now participate in the experience, not only through voting, but in the sharing of opinions, often in real time and directly with participants, as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook extend the shows’ visibility. </p>
<p>Looking back to older series of Big Brother, I wonder what kind of death-threats “<a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/news/nasty-nick-evicted-by-big-brother-1.1259694">Nasty Nick</a>” would have received for breaking the rules of the show after he was caught writing down housemates names to influence the nominations for eviction. He left the house to a booing crowd and a baying press like a pantomime villain, but that would have been multiplied and magnified across social media and into his DMs (direct messages) today. </p>
<h2>Duty of care</h2>
<p>For more than 20 years, largely unpaid contestants have provided content for television without much oversight or concern for their wellbeing. Think of <a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/big-brother-7-exploitation-controversy-22202099">Shahbaz Chauhdry</a> who in series seven of Big Brother showed obvious signs of worsening mental health and ended up leaving on day six after threatening to commit suicide. </p>
<p>Now producers need to think more closely about their duty of care to contestants in a landscape that is much more sensitive to the risks of taking part in reality television, particularly those associated with mental health. </p>
<p>Caring for contestants has become a growing issue as several <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/may/27/why-suicide-is-still-the-shadow-that-hangs-over-reality-tv-hana-kimura-terrace-house">reality stars have committed suicide</a> post filming. A <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/378/digital-culture-media-and-sport-committee/news/103566/committee-announces-inquiry-into-reality-tv/">2019 government public inquiry</a> and a period of <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/consultations-and-statements/category-2/protecting-tv-radio-participants">consultation by Ofcom</a>, the UK broadcasting regulator, have led to <a href="https://www.ofcom.org.uk/consultations-and-statements/category-2/protecting-tv-radio-participants#:%7E:text=to%20make%20sure%20the%20welfare,might%20not%20have%20been%20protected.">changes in the broadcasting code</a>, which came into effect in April 2021. </p>
<p>Now broadcasters must protect the welfare of participants and ensure that audiences don’t watch harmful or offensive things happening on screen. However, as Ofcom is a post-broadcast regulator it cannot interfere with the direction of creative content. It can only intervene once something has already aired. </p>
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<p>There might be a feeling that the changes to the code and the more serious intent of the broadcasters are enough. However, before the end of Love Island 2022 Ofcom received more than <a href="https://metro.co.uk/2022/07/29/how-many-ofcom-complaints-has-love-island-2022-had-17090102/">5,000 complaints</a> about issues ranging from misogyny to bullying. It remains to be seen whether any of these complaints can be upheld under the new duty of care regulations. </p>
<p>The code also struggles to take account of the complexity of caring for such contestants. How long after a show should after-care go on and what should it look like? This is a difficult question, especially considering that many reality TV contributors sign over the rights to their performances “in perpetuity”. You may not feel the same about something you did at 19 being replayed as TV gold or re-circulating as a meme when you are 45, for instance.</p>
<p>I presume that ITV has taken this leap because of the success of Love Island and the continued audience appetite for shows that manipulate the experience of contestants in confined conditions. For a TV show that thrived on chaos and emotion, what would a caring revision of Big Brother even look like? I guess we will see when it airs next year.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188313/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen Wood has previously received research council funding from the ESRC, AHRC and British Academy. </span></em></p>
Reality shows now have a duty of care to their contestants
Helen Wood, Chair professor in Media and Cultural Studies, Lancaster University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/187948
2022-08-02T10:36:09Z
2022-08-02T10:36:09Z
Love Island: the psychological challenges contestants – and viewers – could face after the show is over
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477120/original/file-20220802-24-ufavuu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=126%2C14%2C1790%2C1060&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Love Island winners Ekin-Su and Davide will leave the villa £50,000 richer.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.itv.com/presscentre/itvpictures/galleries/love-island-ep57-week-31-2022-sat-30-jul-fri-05-aug">ITV Plc</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The finale of ITV’s Love Island was watched by millions of fans, many commenting live on social media as Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu and Davide Sanclimenti were <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/aug/01/ekin-su-culculoglu-and-davide-sanclimenti-voted-love-island-winners">awarded the £50,000 prize</a>. The four couples who made the final will now leave the Majorca villa where they’ve kissed, cried and cracked on for the past eight weeks. When they enter the outside world, they will be met with massive amounts of attention. </p>
<p>Some of this is positive – lucrative business opportunities, partnerships with popular brands and thousands of new followers on social media. Other attention will be in the form of online abuse and trolling from viewers. </p>
<p>Love Island (and indeed, all reality television) is an interesting case study in psychology, from the social experiment of isolating people in one house for a period of time, to the relationship between audience and contestant. The blurred line between reality and fiction creates a strong fan attachment to the show, but also contributes to mental health issues for contestants themselves.</p>
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-your-spanish-holiday-could-be-quite-different-this-year-and-why-that-matters-186073?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">How your Spanish holiday could be quite different this year – and why that matters</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/five-dating-tips-from-the-georgian-era-186847?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Five dating tips from the Georgian era</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/three-ways-to-tackle-the-sunday-scaries-the-anxiety-and-dread-many-people-feel-at-the-end-of-the-weekend-187313?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Three ways to tackle the ‘Sunday scaries’, the anxiety and dread many people feel at the end of the weekend</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>Like soap operas, reality shows are made up of storylines that follow characters (though they may be real people). Viewers watching hours of these programmes can develop attachments to the characters, where they feel they are “one” with the people on screen. </p>
<p>Psychologists describe this as a parasocial relationship, a one-sided, unreciprocated friendship or connection to a person they only know through a screen. <a href="https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S2352250X22000082?token=3767850506D9AC64E15AB5191E2D26520C40804612BFC33289C69D2CE5549CCEE2D198DBA31467619B1E49B83F79C047&originRegion=eu-west-1&originCreation=20220729141227">Research has found</a> that following celebrities and media figures on social media platforms may blur the lines between social and parasocial relationships. Our interaction and engagement with social media posts no longer significantly differs between close friends or famous people.</p>
<p>Viewers’ previous experiences reflect what they think of a character, creating either empathy or disdain. In a parasocial relationship, a viewer may feel a closeness and connection in their lives with a person who does not know that they exist, and based solely on the storyline of the television show.</p>
<p>Soap actors have <a href="https://www.pressreader.com/uk/daily-star-sunday/20190825/283175790156683">discussed</a> being shouted at in the street by “fans”, because of their characters’ behaviour on a scripted, fictional show. Eastenders star Louisa Lytton said the abuse is <a href="https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/eastenders/a34542557/eastenders-louisa-lytton-fan-abuse-ruby-stacey-storyline/">a daily occurence</a>.</p>
<p>Love Island contestants enter the villa a relatively unknown person in society, and come out to a barrage of messages from viewers, all responses to the show’s editing, of which the contestants themselves may not know the full extent. This exponential rise in awareness of them as a person, a character and a celebrity creates a dramatic and fundamental shift in their lives. Psychological support is paramount to successfully navigating their newfound fame.</p>
<p>ITV <a href="https://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/love-island-confirms-duty-care-protocols">provides mental health support</a> and other resources to contestants during the filming process. As of 2022, this includes giving islanders training on “the impacts of social media and handling potential negativity”. </p>
<h2>The psychology of trolls</h2>
<p>Love Island has had a long history of mental health challenges, including the <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2022/06/how-love-island-became-a-tv-reality-of-sex-fame-and-sometimes-tragedy">deaths of two former contestants</a> and former host Caroline Flack by suicide. Alex George, an ex-islander, has become the government’s first <a href="https://www.varsity.co.uk/interviews/23850">youth mental health ambassador</a>.</p>
<p>Many of the psychological challenges that have been associated with Love Island have been linked with the social media barrage directed at contestants. Former islanders Kem Cetinay and Amber Gill now host a <a href="https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/love-island-2021-mental-health-social-media-kem-cetinay-amber-gill-interview-the-full-treatment-itv-1088557">mental health series</a>, The Full Treatment, where they discuss the experience of abuse that comes from tweets and forums during and after the show airs. </p>
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<p>Psychologists <a href="https://www.themckeownclinic.co.uk/the-psychology-of-an-online-troll/">define</a> so-called keyboard warriors or trolls as individuals with a sense of emotional inner turmoil, using their perceived power to invisibly belittle others as a way to self-satisfy their internal crisis. Recent <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Delroy-Paulhus/publication/260105036_Trolls_just_want_to_have_fun/links/59e3389b0f7e9b97fbeacaf1/Trolls-just-want-to-have-fun.pdf">research</a> found keyboard warriors have personality traits associated with the dark triad of personality: narcissism, machiavellianism and psychopathy.</p>
<p>The apparent safety behind the keyboard allows people to say what they feel without the repercussions of the negative emotional and verbal abuse that would be socially unacceptable face-to-face. </p>
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<p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/love-islands-tasha-is-the-shows-first-deaf-contestant-heres-what-you-should-know-about-deaf-accents-187109">Love Island's Tasha is the show's first deaf contestant – here's what you should know about deaf accents</a>
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<p>Love Island is about contestants looking for love, but it is also about looking for public approval in the form of votes to ultimately win the £50,000 prize. This thrusts contestants straight into the path of viewers’ unfiltered thoughts and comments, filled with envy, admiration and vitriol. This need for public attention makes <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5gb5b/you-cant-fix-online-troll-culture-until-you-fix-reality-tv">reality shows and their aftermath</a> a psychological minefield for participants.</p>
<h2>Responsible viewing</h2>
<p>Love Island is on six nights a week for eight weeks straight. This might also cause mental health issues for regular viewers. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7908146/">Research</a> suggests that people who binge-watch shows become so invested in the characters’ lives and storylines that when it’s over, they can face feelings of depression, emptiness, anxiety and even loneliness. </p>
<p>But due to the 24/7 world of social media, Love Island never truly ends. Fans have ample opportunity to comment on the show and its contestants on social media. The show itself encourages this, sponsoring a forum on Reddit. </p>
<p>The contestants’ social profiles are also kept up to date by friends and family while they are in the villa, further blurring the lines between the contestants’ lives before, during and after the show. </p>
<p>It’s perfectly fine to watch the show and discuss it with friends (and strangers) online. But viewers of Love Island (or any reality programme) must remember when commenting that islanders are human too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187948/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachael Molitor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Reality shows can be a psychological minefield for both participants and fans.
Rachael Molitor, Behavioural Psychologist, Coventry University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/185459
2022-06-21T13:38:53Z
2022-06-21T13:38:53Z
Love Island – what the show can teach young people about commitment
<p>It’s summer in the UK, which means that millions of viewers are piling onto their sofas every night to watch how the gaggle of “hot young tings” from the four corners of the UK (and Ireland) are getting on – or who they’re getting with…</p>
<p>It is easy to dismiss Love Island as just another frivolous reality TV show featuring horny, conventionally attractive young adults looking for fame and some fun along the way. But beneath the fake tans, and cringey banter, Love Island can actually help us understand the forces that push people together and help maintain commitment in long-term (off-camera) relationships.</p>
<p>In fact, Love Island is a perfect illustration of <a href="https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1025&context=psychpubs">the investment model of relationships</a>. This model helps explain whether people are going to “stick or twist” in their relationship (i.e. stay committed or move on to greener pastures). </p>
<p>According to investment model of relationships, our commitment and desire to persist in our relationships is influenced by three distinct pieces of information:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Our quality of alternatives (aka whether anyone’s head is turning)</p></li>
<li><p>Our investments in the relationship (aka how many eggs you’re putting into one basket)</p></li>
<li><p>Our satisfaction with the relationship (aka whether you are happy cracking on)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>According to this model, we are more likely to be committed to our current partner when our investments and satisfaction are high and our quality of alternatives are low.</p>
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<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/online-dating-fatigue-why-some-people-are-turning-to-face-to-face-apps-first-184910?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Online dating fatigue – why some people are turning to face-to-face apps first</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/love-island-ditches-fast-fashion-how-reality-celebrities-influence-young-shoppers-habits-183771?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Love Island ditches fast fashion: how reality celebrities influence young shoppers’ habits</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/sally-rooneys-conversations-with-friends-how-weve-become-tougher-on-adultery-183843?notice=Article+has+been+updated.?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Sally Rooney’s Conversations with Friends – how we’ve become tougher on adultery</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>The day-to-day toss-ups and surprises on the show allow us to watch in real-time how each of these three predictors of commitment can fluctuate and interact with each other to decide who couples up, recouples and ultimately, who gets dumped from the island. It’s the experiment no psychologist will ever get permission to run. So, let’s break it down with some examples courteously of the 2022 Islanders.</p>
<h2>Is your head turning?</h2>
<p>A lack of quality alternatives is sometimes referred to as the “having no option but for the relationship to persist.”</p>
<p>Quality alternatives are anything that can help us satisfy our needs outside of our relationship with our partner. This could include time spent with the family and friends who support us, hobbies that make us feel accomplished and happy, and romantic alternatives. </p>
<p>As quality alternatives go up, commitment starts to go down. It is the last type of alternative – alternative romantic partners — that most people in monogamous relationships (or who want to be in a monogamous relationship) are often most worried about and which take centre stage in Love Island. From new “bombshells” to strange challenges, Love Island constantly tries to increase the availability of alternatives, often to shake things up and undermine any attachments people might be forming. </p>
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<p>On this series, the love triangle between Ekin-Su, Davide and Jay is a great example of how attractive alternatives can shake things up. Before Jay arrived in the villa, Ekin-Su and Davide seemed to have a really intense connection. As soon as Jay enters the villa, however, Ekin-Su’s head starts turning leading to a total breakdown in her and Davide’s connection. She quickly gives into temptation.</p>
<p>We might meet alternatives in unsuspecting places in our real lives: at work, at the gym, at school, at the pub. And these people pose just as much of a threat to our relationships in real life as they do on Love Island.</p>
<p>But luckily, commitment isn’t determined by quality alternatives alone. </p>
<h2>Putting your eggs in one basket</h2>
<p>The size of the investments we make in our relationships is often referred to as the “need for the relationship to persist” because of what is lost when that relationship ends. These investments include mutual friends, blended families, family pets, shared living spaces, and even just the time spent on that one person.</p>
<p>The more investments we put into a relationship, the more losses we incur by breaking up with that partner. This can help explain both why people might be hesitant to put too much time and energy into one potential partner to avoid investing resources that could get lost. </p>
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<p>For example, Davide claims that he didn’t want to put too much time and energy into Ekin-Su right away because he was afraid of getting hurt. On the flip side, investments can help explain why some people might stay despite a lack of fireworks. Another contestant, Indyah, recently saved Ikenna over Remi. Indyah had invested time and energy into getting to know Ikenna. By contrast, she invested very little time and energy into her connection with Remi, and sending him home didn’t risk her upsetting the mutual friends she shared with Ikenna.</p>
<p>So even when our quality of alternatives are high, our invested resources can help us understand why we might choose to stay even when we’re maybe not getting as much out of the relationship as we could.</p>
<h2>Happy cracking on and seeing where it goes</h2>
<p>Satisfaction is one of the <a href="http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/984219/13434258/1311966710690/Le_Agnew_2003_PR.pdf?token=aRvXtCTSIP%2FBgdaPdSHWDHDlcgQ%3D">strongest predictors</a> of commitment and captures how happy we are in our relationship. We are satisfied with a partner when we experience more positive than negative interactions with them, and our connection meets or exceeds our expectations. </p>
<p>Satisfaction is important because it can also help us to discount or play down the availability of quality of alternatives. For example, Luca recently demonstrated this protective power when he told Gemma he didn’t enjoy talking to Danica as much as he enjoys talking to her, and has no desire to see where that relationship might go despite Danica being interested enough in Luca to break up a coupling.</p>
<p>Once again, even when quality of alternatives are high, or our investments are low (like a two-week-old relationship), our satisfaction with our current partner can help us keep us focused on them and see the positives rather than the appeal of others.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185459/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Veronica Lamarche does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
To stick or twist? Love Island is a perfect illustration of the investment model of relationships.
Veronica Lamarche, Senior Lecturer of Psychology, University of Essex
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/185242
2022-06-21T13:32:09Z
2022-06-21T13:32:09Z
Love Island and eBay: how the reality show could model a radically sustainable future for its young viewers
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469796/original/file-20220620-24-vt8on1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6687%2C4194&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Love Island has faced past criticism for not promoting sustainable lifestyles.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A <a href="https://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/ebay-becomes-love-islands-first-ever-pre-loved-fashion-partner">recently announced</a> partnership between ITV reality show Love Island and secondhand e-commerce giant eBay sends a strong positive signal about prioritising sustainability over fast fashion. </p>
<p>After receiving a strong backlash against Love Island’s promotion of fast fashion brands such as <a href="https://www.isawitfirst.com/">I Saw It First</a> and <a href="https://www.missguided.co.uk/">Missguided</a>, the show’s executive producer, Mike Spencer, has announced it’ll be working with eBay in 2022 to clothe participants in its current series with “preloved” garments.</p>
<p>Love Island boasts huge audience ratings among young people. Some <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/topics/entertainment/articles-reports/2019/07/29/what-kind-person-watches-love-island">43%</a> of Love Island viewers are under 30, and 16-34 year-olds made up <a href="https://www.itvmedia.co.uk/making-an-impact/love-island-launch-peaks-with-30-million-viewers-tv-overnights">one-third of viewers</a> of the series premiere on June 6. So the show has the power to influence young people’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/love-island-ditches-fast-fashion-how-reality-celebrities-influence-young-shoppers-habits-183771">shopping habits</a>, largely through the official Love Island app where viewers can “shop the show” to find beauty and fashion items promoted by contestants. Producers hope that by linking viewers to eBay – where they’ll find a curated selection of “<a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/Love-Island-Official-Looks/bn_7118520194">Islander-inspired</a>” outfits – they’ll be encouraged to buy secondhand instead.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A close up image of the Love Island app icon alongside other apps on a smartphone" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469783/original/file-20220620-18-694crv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469783/original/file-20220620-18-694crv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469783/original/file-20220620-18-694crv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469783/original/file-20220620-18-694crv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469783/original/file-20220620-18-694crv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469783/original/file-20220620-18-694crv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469783/original/file-20220620-18-694crv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">App partnerships allow viewers to buy styles similar to those seen on screen.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/stone-staffordshire-united-kingdom-july-2-1440369578">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>This is a <a href="https://theconversation.com/love-island-ditches-fast-fashion-how-reality-celebrities-influence-young-shoppers-habits-183771">small step</a> in the right direction towards making sustainable lifestyles more accessible and fun. But more needs to be done in order to shift the pervasive association between popular culture and consumerism.</p>
<h2>Attracting sustainable consumers</h2>
<p>Love Island and its <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/molly-mae-hague-pretty-little-thing-love-island-b1909069.html">influential contestants</a>, including PrettyLittleThing creative director <a href="https://graziadaily.co.uk/celebrity/news/molly-mae-pretty-little-thing-fashion-week/">Molly-Mae Hague</a>, are known to <a href="https://theconversation.com/love-island-ditches-fast-fashion-how-reality-celebrities-influence-young-shoppers-habits-183771">drive fashion trends</a>. In previous years, online fashion sales have grown by <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-entertainment-climate-fashion-idUSL8N2Y13F7">more than one-tenth</a> during the eight-week summer period when the show airs. Early insights suggest this year will be no different, with eBay searches for dresses similar to those seen on contestants up by as much as <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/fashion-beauty/womens-clothing/love-island-2022-ebay-partnership-contestants-b2098165.html">200%</a>. </p>
<p>Sustainability advocates, including former Love Island contestant, model and fashion influencer <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-entertainment-climate-fashion-idUSL8N2Y13F7">Brett Staniland</a>, have argued that the show endorses a throwaway attitude to fashion. For many, this was epitomised by the show’s promotion of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/jun/22/one-pound-bikini-missguided-fast-fashion-leaves-high-street-behind">Missguided’s £1 bikini</a>, priced low enough to be considered disposable. In contrast, the show’s decision to partner with eBay should attract a new audience for the reuse culture message compared to the people sustainability messaging usually targets.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/love-island-ditches-fast-fashion-how-reality-celebrities-influence-young-shoppers-habits-183771">Love Island ditches fast fashion: how reality celebrities influence young shoppers' habits</a>
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<p><a href="https://www.unep.org/explore-topics/resource-efficiency/what-we-do/sustainable-consumption-and-production-policies">Sustainable consumption</a> involves recognising the environmental impact of our lifestyles and resolving to consume less. Moving away from disposability and towards reuse across all sectors of society – not just fashion – relies on cooperation between governments, businesses and citizens. </p>
<p>But motivating people to take environmental concerns into account when it comes to shopping is <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Sustainable-Consumption-Key-Issues/Middlemiss/p/book/9781138645660">challenging</a>, not least because we are bombarded with images that equate success or “<a href="https://sustainableearth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s42055-020-00033-2">the good life</a>” with high levels of material consumption. Advertisers work hard to convince us that we need the latest car, gadget or fashion item to live a fulfilling life. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Rows of workers use sewing machines inside a factory hall" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469791/original/file-20220620-14-kbbew1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469791/original/file-20220620-14-kbbew1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469791/original/file-20220620-14-kbbew1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469791/original/file-20220620-14-kbbew1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469791/original/file-20220620-14-kbbew1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469791/original/file-20220620-14-kbbew1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469791/original/file-20220620-14-kbbew1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The fast fashion industry has been criticised for exploiting workers and damaging the environment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/iloasiapacific/10987405545">Flickr/ILO Asia-Pacific</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
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<p>Another challenge is to make sustainable lifestyles appealing to the mainstream, rather than just to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0731121419836966?casa_token=ULG0ULUFgrUAAAAA%3AZ9iPdI05nccjXL4jNpsh9tQBVAjOVWV0QxBUWp6Kd599wcI4dzX-p5gUio4d-eXZI5zRBIS5Mjzb">affluent middle-class consumers</a>, who are already <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315165509-9/participates-community-based-sustainable-consumption-projects-matter-constructively-critical-approach-manisha-anantharaman-emily-huddart-kennedy-lucie-middlemiss-sarah-bradbury">most receptive</a> to sustainable consumption campaigns.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/5-ways-to-shift-consumers-towards-sustainable-behaviour-120883">5 ways to shift consumers towards sustainable behaviour</a>
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<p>Living sustainably is often taken to mean giving up the things that we like (including cars, meat or holidays) and allowing our individual freedoms to be curtailed for the <a href="https://donellameadows.org/archives/a-synopsis-limits-to-growth-the-30-year-update/">common good</a>. And <a href="https://www.umasspress.com/9781558495043/the-anxieties-of-affluence/">critiques</a> of consumerism have linked good citizenship with restrained spending and denial of material pleasures. </p>
<p>Collaborations like that between Love Island and eBay – along with other popular campaigns such as <a href="https://wearme30times.com/">wearme30times</a>, which encourages us to only buy items of clothing if we’ll wear them at least 30 times – can play a big role in shifting these ideas. Importantly, they’re often successful because they work <em>with</em> <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921344913001353">consumer culture</a> in recognising that we buy clothes to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2489287">communicate our identities</a>, display our social status and <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-gb/A+Theory+of+Shopping-p-9780745667911">maintain social relationships</a> (as well as for fun). </p>
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<img alt="Two people look at a pink sweater in a store" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469801/original/file-20220620-22-hcrp12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469801/original/file-20220620-22-hcrp12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469801/original/file-20220620-22-hcrp12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469801/original/file-20220620-22-hcrp12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469801/original/file-20220620-22-hcrp12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469801/original/file-20220620-22-hcrp12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469801/original/file-20220620-22-hcrp12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Sustainability is often targeted at more affluent people.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-female-customer-shopping-clothing-store-2053746332">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>They also tap into our existing anxieties about fast fashion by introducing other options. Philosopher Kate Soper’s concept of “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1469540507077681?casa_token=3z_x321RxEAAAAAA:Y7DCzuBixwaDLKATY8-sMXjVlxEUzIgD6MrOdNKYonaHrPrYjkkvRrHhnpRjvcNRpOTZzAU2Rc64">alternative hedonism</a>” recognises how, when faced with the negative effects of consumption, it can be deeply satisfying to reduce your impact to benefit the world around you. That sense of satisfaction helps challenge enduring <a href="http://ecite.utas.edu.au/65295">social stigma</a> surrounding secondhand clothes, as well as promote sustainability among those unable to afford high-end eco-friendly fashion. </p>
<h2>Taking it further</h2>
<p>But the impact of this partnership should not be overestimated. Those who watch the show – but perhaps not the news – would be forgiven for missing it altogether, given there’s not yet been any mention of secondhand clothing on Love Island itself. In fact, what’s more likely to stand out is the appeal of a luxurious foreign holiday and the multiple beauty and fashion items pictured in dressing room scenes.</p>
<p>And <a href="https://theconversation.com/reducing-peak-demand-lowering-prices-but-what-about-emissions-11564">reducing consumption</a> is definitely not the message underpinning the show’s economy: with big brands advertising during breaks, in-app purchasing enabled across multiple social media platforms and contestants likely to become <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/17d9dd5c-90c3-11e8-bb8f-a6a2f7bca546">brand influencers</a> once the show ends. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-addiction-to-stuff-how-walmart-enables-us-to-destroy-the-planet-129066">Our addiction to stuff: How Walmart enables us to destroy the planet</a>
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<p>But if it was to <a href="https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/interventions-in-practice-reframing-policy-approaches-to-consumer-behaviour(f41b5679-f201-47df-ba48-12254e497074).html">lead by example</a>, Love Island could ditch conspicuous consumption altogether. Since many unsustainable behaviours are <a href="https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/interventions-in-practice-reframing-policy-approaches-to-consumer-behaviour(f41b5679-f201-47df-ba48-12254e497074).html">driven</a> by convenience, comfort and social norms, the show could promote <a href="https://www.ribabooks.com/whats-mine-is-yours-how-collaborative-consumption-is-changing-the-way-we-live_9780007395910">collaborative consumption</a> instead. </p>
<p>That could mean group cooking, which cuts <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/food-waste-9780857852342/">food waste</a> and appliance <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/aof/7691">energy consumption</a>, or a “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xq7ub4z7YLQ&ab_channel=MyGreenCloset">fashion library</a>” encouraging increased use of each clothing item. There’d certainly be entertainment value in watching contestants swap clothes or harvest local produce: or even slog through the British mud in a glamping-style scenario. Love Island already shows the good and the bad of dating – it’s time for it to get real about sustainability too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185242/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katy Wheeler does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Sustainable fashion collaborations show that living an eco-friendly life can be fun - here’s how popular shows can help dismantle consumerism altogether.
Katy Wheeler, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of Essex
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/181020
2022-04-28T19:10:26Z
2022-04-28T19:10:26Z
Selling voyeurism: How companies create value from the taboo
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458021/original/file-20220413-24-ffc2bx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C0%2C5841%2C3645&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A growing number of businesses across a wide range of industries are successfully selling voyeurism to their audiences. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/selling-voyeurism--how-companies-create-value-from-the-taboo" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>What do reality television, slum tourism, erotic webcam and mixed-martial arts have in common? They all rely on voyeurism to entertain their audiences. Voyeurism provides a glimpse into the private life of another person to give audiences a revealing and entertaining experience. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.mmafighting.com/">mixed martial arts</a> (MMA), for example, it provides a close-up look at the violence of a no-holds-barred fight. On reality television shows, like <a href="https://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/"><em>Survivor</em></a> and <a href="https://www.bigbrothercanada.ca/"><em>Big Brother</em></a>, voyeurism creates the excitement, thrills and shock that entertainment-hungry consumers crave.</p>
<p>In most societies, voyeurism is taboo. Yet a growing number of businesses across a wide range of industries are successfully selling voyeurism to a growing audience. </p>
<p>As management researchers, we study the intersection of organizations and society. In our <a href="https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2019.0210">recently published research</a>, we explain how businesses use two key dimensions — authenticity and transgression — to create a commercial opportunities from voyeurism. </p>
<h2>Authenticity and transgression</h2>
<p>Authenticity emerges from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1479758042000797015">seeing the “real life” of another person</a> and transgression appears from <a href="https://books.google.ca/books/about/Voyeur_Nation.html?id=4MloAAAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y">viewing something forbidden</a>. What differentiates erotic webcam from most pornography is the perception that the audience is getting a live and interactive glimpse into the private bedroom of the cam model. </p>
<p>Authenticity and transgression work together to generate entertaining experiences for the audience. In doing so, businesses that commodify authenticity develop devoted and returning customers. </p>
<p>Delivering value to customers based on something taboo is no easy task. The mixed emotions that draw us into the voyeuristic experience can easily overwhelm us — there is a very fine line between creating entertainment value and creating too many negative emotions (such as anxiety and guilt) that push customers away. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two blindfolded people kissing while cameras film them" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458028/original/file-20220413-16-g4rox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458028/original/file-20220413-16-g4rox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458028/original/file-20220413-16-g4rox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458028/original/file-20220413-16-g4rox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458028/original/file-20220413-16-g4rox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458028/original/file-20220413-16-g4rox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458028/original/file-20220413-16-g4rox.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Reality television shows, like E! Entertainment’s ‘Kiss Bang Love’ rely on the use of voyeurism to deliver entertainment value to audiences.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Berenice Bautista)</span></span>
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<p>It doesn’t take much to turn reality shows from a guilty pleasure to something that makes the audience feel too guilty to watch. In this way, the authenticity and transgression draw audiences in and create value, but can also push audiences away and destroy value. </p>
<p>For these businesses to be successful, they have to walk a fine line. How do they do it?</p>
<h2>Emotional optimization</h2>
<p>To successfully commercialize voyeurism, businesses engage in numerous tactics to turn down undesirable emotions, while retaining or turning up the desirable emotions for the customers. The ones that are successful know their audiences well and keep them coming back for more.</p>
<p>Businesses like MMA, reality television, slum tourism and erotic webcams use a variety of approaches to manage audiences’ emotional responses. Strategies, such as shielding audiences, de-personalizing performers and creating the impression that performers are willing participants, help balance customers’ mixed emotions.</p>
<p>For example, the use of cages in MMA — as opposed to less constraining barriers in boxing or the lack of barriers in traditional martial arts — prevents fear from overwhelming the audience. The cage acts like a protective barrier between the audience and the violence unfolding in front of them. But it also reinforces the idea that this is a no-holds-barred fight. In this way, the sense of violence and danger decreases, while desirable emotions, like excitement, are maintained.</p>
<p>However, there is no exact amount of authenticity and transgression that elicit desirable emotional responses from consumers. Because each audience member is different, the larger and more diverse an audience gets, the harder it is to find the sweet spot. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Behind a chain-link cage, an MMA fighter punches another in the stomach" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458027/original/file-20220413-22-xkzgr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458027/original/file-20220413-22-xkzgr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458027/original/file-20220413-22-xkzgr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458027/original/file-20220413-22-xkzgr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458027/original/file-20220413-22-xkzgr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458027/original/file-20220413-22-xkzgr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/458027/original/file-20220413-22-xkzgr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The use of cages in MMA prevents fear from overwhelming audience members by acting like a protective barrier between the audience and the violence unfolding in front of them.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Chase Stevens)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>When MMA was a “backstreet” activity, the smaller audience was more comfortable with higher levels of transgression and authenticity. But now, <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1614213-a-timeline-of-ufc-rules-from-no-holds-barred-to-highly-regulated">since MMA has gone mainstream, there are more restrictions to the fighting</a>. They still advertise as “no-holds-barred,” because that’s where the value is created, but they have <a href="https://www.ufc.com/unified-rules-mixed-martial-arts">implemented many rules</a> to ensure it’s not too real or too violent to watch.</p>
<h2>What can voyeurism teach us?</h2>
<p>The successful commercialization of voyeurism challenges how we think of both authenticity and transgression. Authenticity is assumed to be beneficial for value creation. In fact, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2019/06/20/why-brands-should-make-authenticity-a-business-imperative/?sh=541c6dd121fd">authenticity is used in an exponential number of industries to create value.</a> Transgression, on the other hand, is <a href="https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2008.27752775">assumed to be detrimental for value creation</a>, since audiences risk social disapproval for participating. </p>
<p>In the practice of voyeurism, however, the extreme authenticity can repel audiences if the experience feels “too real,” while the transgressiveness may appeal to audiences seeking a taboo experience.</p>
<p>In erotic webcam, for example, viewers look into the bedrooms of cam models as they perform sexual acts, while their personal lives are kept private. This strategy depersonalizes models so that audience members do not feel too much empathy for them, which can interrupt the “entertainment value.” </p>
<p>Our research shows that authenticity and transgression are not inherently good or bad, it’s the emotions that matters for value creation. From a business perspective, effectively managing the emotional responses is the core task that facilitates value creation. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1524&context=faculty_scholarship">ethics of voyeurism are widely debated</a> for good reason. However, understanding how voyeurism creates value is an issue that cannot be ignored, regardless of one’s views on the ethics. We need to understand how and why it creates value if we are to have conversations about what should and should not be allowed.</p>
<p>Instead of arguments exclusively about <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/53026">whether voyeurism is ethical or not</a>, we should explore <em>why</em> we are drawn to voyeurism in the first place and where the limits should be for this taboo, yet incredibly prevalent practice.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181020/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Madeline Toubiana has received funding from SSHRC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Maxim Voronov, Sean Buchanan, and Trish Ruebottom do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Voyeurism provides a glimpse into the private life of another person to give audiences a revealing and entertaining experience.
Trish Ruebottom, Associate Professor of HR and Management, McMaster University
Madeline Toubiana, Associate Professor, Entrepreneurship and Organization, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
Maxim Voronov, Professor of Organization Studies and Sustainability, York University, Canada
Sean Buchanan, Assistant Professor of Business Administration, University of Manitoba
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/179284
2022-03-17T19:04:20Z
2022-03-17T19:04:20Z
From cringe to binge: the ingredients that make Byron Baes compelling reality television
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452627/original/file-20220316-13520-165cjtr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C10%2C3594%2C2382&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ben Symons/Netflix © 2022</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Netflix’s first ever Australian reality docu-soap series Byron Baes follows a bunch of young, beautiful Instagram influencers in NSW beachside town Byron Bay. </p>
<p>As a reality series it ticks all the boxes for compelling content: picturesque trendy location, young conventionally-attractive (and slightly self-absorbed) cast, and a revolving schedule of fancy parties, fashion shows, product launches and competing love interests that let emotions spill over. </p>
<p>Throw in a side of alternative health and wellness, crystals, and performative caring about the environment that comes with Byron and you have a cringe-filled but binge-worthy watch.</p>
<p>But while the show might be an easy watch, it’s worth thinking about what exactly goes into that Instagram-perfect “reality” television.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h0aDL2QkGtg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>The ordinary celebrity</h2>
<p>Discovering the “ordinary” person behind the big movie star has always driven narratives of fame. This is why magazines run exclusive in-depth <a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a37580066/nicole-kidman-interview-october-2021/">interviews with Nicole Kidman</a> and ask about her marriage, kids and cake recipes - to give us the behind-the-scenes look at who she “really” is. </p>
<p>This has been happening since the Golden Age of Hollywood. During the first half of the 20th century, <a href="https://slate.com/human-interest/2011/04/celebrity-journalism-has-been-running-the-same-cliches-for-100-years.html">fan magazines worked</a> with studios to provide upbeat coverage of Hollywood stars’ “ordinary” lifestyles, hairstyles and love lives. </p>
<p>In recent years, social media has encouraged everyday people to engage in celebrity practices online. Everyone who posts on Instagram is consciously aware of an audience, and curates their content for their followers in the same way a celebrity would for their fans. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452626/original/file-20220316-7982-8xskos.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3594%2C2398&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two beautiful women hold crystals and take a selfie" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452626/original/file-20220316-7982-8xskos.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3594%2C2398&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452626/original/file-20220316-7982-8xskos.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452626/original/file-20220316-7982-8xskos.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452626/original/file-20220316-7982-8xskos.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452626/original/file-20220316-7982-8xskos.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452626/original/file-20220316-7982-8xskos.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452626/original/file-20220316-7982-8xskos.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Influencers’ create their own celebrity, and turn this into a business model.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Courtesy of Netflix © 2022</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Instagram influencers – like most of the cast of Byron Baes – have turned this into a business model. Influencers build a brand and a following (much is made of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jadekevinfoster/?hl=en">Jade’s 1.2 million Instagram followers</a>) then get paid by companies for sponsored posts or collaborations.</p>
<p>Byron Bay is host to big movie stars like the Hemsworth brothers but is also now believed to have more social influencers per capita than <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/apr/08/byron-baes-netflixs-first-australian-reality-tv-show-sets-its-sights-on-the-influencer-enclave">any other town in Australia</a>.</p>
<p>The fact that many Australian viewers will have visited Byron Bay (or at least know of it) and definitely know someone who can be a bit “extra” on Instagram adds another layer of familiarity. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-why-theres-still-something-about-byron-beyond-insta-influencers-and-beige-linen-159055">Friday essay: why there's still something about Byron, beyond Insta influencers and beige linen</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Crafting the narrative</h2>
<p>Reality television is, as the name suggests, sold on the basis of being a representation of “reality”. </p>
<p>New forms of stardom and celebrity created in reality television and on social media rely on the performance of “authenticity”: the idea that somehow we are seeing “real” people and accessing their true authentic self. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452629/original/file-20220316-8391-1kbd731.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Three beautiful people walking arm in arm." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452629/original/file-20220316-8391-1kbd731.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452629/original/file-20220316-8391-1kbd731.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452629/original/file-20220316-8391-1kbd731.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452629/original/file-20220316-8391-1kbd731.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452629/original/file-20220316-8391-1kbd731.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452629/original/file-20220316-8391-1kbd731.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452629/original/file-20220316-8391-1kbd731.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Are we seeing their true, authentic self?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul A. Broben/Netflix © 2022</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Byron Baes, this is helped along by the fact that a lot of these influencers are into wellness and spirituality – spheres where authenticity and being true to oneself are highly valued. </p>
<p>The fact is, of course, that Instagram and reality shows are just as manipulated, scripted and filtered as any fictional series or doctored photographic image. </p>
<p>Reality television constructs the illusion of authenticity through the idea it offers immediacy, intimacy and closeness. We often see reality television stars in extreme displays of emotion: losing their cool, rolling their eyes, bitching behind someone’s back, or confessing their secret love. </p>
<p>We are invited into their homes and businesses. We see photos of them as children, meet their parents and hear their struggles with bullying, loneliness and self-doubt.</p>
<p>The low-fi, offhand nature of the handheld camera footage and the direct one-on-one interviews where the cast speak directly to the camera calls on notions of the “real” associated with documentary genres. These one-on-ones are the show’s attempt to convince the audience these are genuine moments of real emotion behind the scenes – not staged for the camera.</p>
<p>But even the casting is an act of manipulation. There are types producers tend to cast: ones that cause drama and stir the pot (Alex, Jade); ones that bring energy, keep the story moving and are natural on camera (Jess, Nathan, Saskia); ones who are a little bit kooky and add flavour (Cai, Heather, Simba); villians (Elle) and heroes (Sarah) – and models (Elias) who just look really really good on camera.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452631/original/file-20220316-7982-123jxq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A male model" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452631/original/file-20220316-7982-123jxq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452631/original/file-20220316-7982-123jxq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452631/original/file-20220316-7982-123jxq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452631/original/file-20220316-7982-123jxq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452631/original/file-20220316-7982-123jxq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452631/original/file-20220316-7982-123jxq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452631/original/file-20220316-7982-123jxq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of the reality television tropes: the model who just looks really really good on camera.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul A. Broben/Netflix © 2022</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Manipulating our perceptions</h2>
<p>The beauty of reality television is that everything anyone says is captured on camera. When Elle denies calling Sarah fake, the series can conveniently cut back to the moment it happened. </p>
<p>Of course, this never happens in real life, so viewers delight in the delicious justice of a “real life” person being caught in a lie. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452669/original/file-20220317-13520-13p1ucm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452669/original/file-20220317-13520-13p1ucm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452669/original/file-20220317-13520-13p1ucm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452669/original/file-20220317-13520-13p1ucm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452669/original/file-20220317-13520-13p1ucm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452669/original/file-20220317-13520-13p1ucm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452669/original/file-20220317-13520-13p1ucm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/452669/original/file-20220317-13520-13p1ucm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">On reality TV, the tales we tell can be fact-checked against.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul A. Broben/Netflix © 2022</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The producers can also manipulate our own perceptions of Elle by showing us one-on-one interviews where she describes herself as “one of the most generous, loving, open-hearted people that I know,” then follows up with “if someone dishonours me, I certainly wouldn’t want to be them.”</p>
<p>For viewers, while these manufactured conflict storylines make for dramatic content (there’s also a handy feud between Nathan and Elias over Sarah, and Jade and Alex over Instagram followers), the real appeal is in the illusion that these people are “just like us”.</p>
<p>Despite the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/they-ve-got-a-big-fight-on-their-hands-us-giant-netflix-gets-dose-of-reality-in-byron-bay-20210418-p57k65.html">community backlash</a> during filming and <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/culture/tv-and-radio/byron-baes-review-you-can-t-tear-your-eyeballs-away-even-as-they-melt-20220308-p5a2rc.html">mixed reviews</a>, Netflix’s gamble on a Byron reality show paid off. </p>
<p>But while getting swept up in this “reality” it is worth remembering that, much like an Instagram filter, just because something is presented as real, it doesn’t mean it is “authentic” – a notion which is itself, just as constructed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179284/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Phoebe Macrossan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
What exactly goes into that perfect “reality” television?
Phoebe Macrossan, Lecturer in Screen Media, University of the Sunshine Coast
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/175140
2022-01-23T13:46:11Z
2022-01-23T13:46:11Z
Sunwing saga: Why do influencers have so much sway?
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441748/original/file-20220120-8326-2bhnrj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5850%2C3291&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Sunwing saga highlighted the role of influencers, which in this case was negative, but they are still considered role models followers identify with, or whose example they want to follow. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash/Mateus Campo Felipe)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The story of a group of Québec influencers enjoying the “party of the year” on board a Sunwing flight in complete defiance of health restrictions made headlines at the beginning of January, <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/canada/canada-asks-regulator-to-probe-maskless-party-on-airline-as-covid-cases-soar">not just in Québec</a> and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/sunwing-quebec-prosecutor-1.6307634">in Canada</a>, but also <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/06/canada-charter-passengers-flouted-covid-rules-stranded-mexico">internationally</a> and, of course, in social media. Even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the partiers “<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59917300">idiots</a>.”</p>
<p>I was particularly intrigued by this case, as my doctoral dissertation focuses on the engagement relationship between followers and influencers on social media. How do we explain how the phenomenon became so widespread?</p>
<h2>Social media: The home of influencers</h2>
<p>With over 4.2 billion users, using social media is the most popular online activity and the most frequently used search tool. </p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.ca/scholar?hl=fr&as_sdt=0%2C5&as_vis=1&q=Covid-19%2C+Loneliness+and+Technological+Addiction%3A+Longitudinal+Data&btnG=">According to a 2021 study by researcher Guyonne Rogier</a> and her colleagues at the faculty of medicine and psychology of Sapienza University in Italy, isolation brought about by the pandemic is increasing people’s dependence on social media.</p>
<p>Mirroring social interactions and personal identity, social media fulfils emotional and information needs, such as obtaining advice or recommendations. <a href="https://isarta.com/infos/la-montee-du-marketing-dinfluence-dans-les-medias-sociaux/">Ninty per cent</a> of consumers trust the opinion of a person they consider to be reliable over that of an official media source. Hence the popularity of influencers.</p>
<p>According to my research, an influencer is an opinion leader who is very active on social media, where they share their interests and details about their daily lives with members of their community. An influencer is perceived to be a role model that followers identify with or aspire to be.</p>
<p>The influencer uses their personal brand, their human brand, to relay information, sometimes directing the attitude and behaviour of their community, which explains why companies use them to represent their brands. In fact, according to <a href="https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-benchmark-report-2021/">Influencer Marketing Hub</a>, the value of influencer marketing is expected to reach US$13.8 billion this year.</p>
<h2>The engagement relationship between followers and influencers</h2>
<p>Influencers tend to present themselves as ordinary people. Publishing daily details about their lives makes them seem authentic and credible to their followers. </p>
<p>When someone follows an influencer, it creates a para-social relationship, which boosts the influencer’s follower engagement and influence. For example, the <a href="https://www.counterhate.com/disinformationdozen">Center for Countering Digital Hate</a> found that 12 influencers were responsible for spreading 65 per cent of the anti-vaccine content shared on social media between Feb. 1 and March 16, 2021.</p>
<p>The scientific literature on relationship marketing classifies influencers based on their audience reach and engagement rate. Generally, the fewer followers an influencer has, the more accessible they are and the higher their engagement rate. Followers’ engagement unfolds in three dimensions: cognitive, affective and behavioural. </p>
<p>They can, for example, like or re-share an influencer’s post. However, at its peak, the follower becomes a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=fr&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=evangelist+marketing&oq=e">follower-evangelist — an emerging concept in relationship marketing</a>. This individual believes in an influencer with such fervour that he promotes them to those around him. He becomes an influencer of an influencer by endorsing their gestures, adhering to their ideas and consuming the brands put forward.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441831/original/file-20220120-9469-9sqzh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/441831/original/file-20220120-9469-9sqzh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441831/original/file-20220120-9469-9sqzh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441831/original/file-20220120-9469-9sqzh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=464&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441831/original/file-20220120-9469-9sqzh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441831/original/file-20220120-9469-9sqzh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/441831/original/file-20220120-9469-9sqzh8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=583&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Categorization of influencers (Levesque & Pons, 2022)</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Propelled by reality shows</h2>
<p>Many influencers obtained their status after joining a reality show, and being bombarded by offers to represent brands.</p>
<p>Some former participants of reality shows such as <a href="https://cultmtl.com/2021/04/a-quebec-version-of-love-island-is-on-the-way-lile-de-lamour/"><em>Love Island</em></a> and <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/everyone-in-quebec-is-obsessed-with-occupation-double-heres-everything-you-need-to-know"><em>Occupation Double</em></a> were identified on the Sunwing plane.</p>
<p>These types of shows produce stars based on a notoriety acquired in only a few weeks and not based on any particular talent, except for personality. What comes after a reality show is tempting for many, but not all are ready to become an idol or the <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/positively-media/202002/why-are-celebrities-targets-haters">target of haters</a>, manage their brand image and those of the brands they represent. </p>
<h2>Influencers, but not all on the same plane</h2>
<p>Out of 130 passengers, there were possibly 15 influencers on the Sunwing flight.</p>
<p>In this case, the media played up the term “influencer” to promote the story. It’s a shame, because putting all influencers on the same plane ruins the reputation of those who work to share relevant and responsible content.</p>
<p>For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Québec government used a brigade of influencers to educate youth about wearing masks and social distancing. I interviewed some of these influencers as part of one of my studies. They said they felt their role took on meaning by educating their followers for the collective good. By joining their voices to causes, influencers can become ideal standard bearers.</p>
<h2>Seizing the opportunity of a marketing coup</h2>
<p>The Sunwing saga inspired many to exploit the ridiculousness of the situation. The stand-up comic <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CYX10fLJlrD/">Arnaud Soly</a> produced an epic live feed on Instagram. Soly plays Devin, one of the influencers on vacation in Tulum, Mexico, who refers to the three V’s of the headline: vodka, Vaseline and vape. Quewbec companies such as <a href="https://ici.radio-canada.ca/ohdio/premiere/emissions/tout-un-matin/segments/entrevue/386226/publicite-clan-panneton-demenagement-sombrero-party-sunwing">Clan Panneton</a>, <a href="https://www.mtlblog.com/la-belle-et-la-boeuf-is-advertising-a-joke-influencer-burger-it-looks-like-regret">La Belle et la Boeuf</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/tameloboutique/">TAMÉLO</a> also made humorous references to the Sunwing story.</p>
<p>In the meantime, the now-famous organizer of the event, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/senior/">Senior</a>, whose real name is James (Kevin) William Awad, made a live feed to poll his followers about the idea of making a Netflix movie about the saga. The excessive media coverage has raised questions <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8492951/sunwing-party-flight-organizer-accusation/s">about the source of his wealth and practices</a> .</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440914/original/file-20220114-27-qiw6lg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440914/original/file-20220114-27-qiw6lg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/440914/original/file-20220114-27-qiw6lg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440914/original/file-20220114-27-qiw6lg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440914/original/file-20220114-27-qiw6lg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440914/original/file-20220114-27-qiw6lg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=742&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440914/original/file-20220114-27-qiw6lg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=742&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/440914/original/file-20220114-27-qiw6lg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=742&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Available exclusively on your airline’s flights to Cancun or Tulum. No really, it’s a joke, don’t bother your flight attendant and have some class when you fly.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Beauty and the Beef Facebook page</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But the Sunwing case has brought up important social issues. The pandemic and its many restrictions have amplified our need for entertainment, and the party fanned the flames of our own feelings of social deprivation. There’s no doubt the influencers on the Sunwing flight took a risk by posting to their social media feeds, <a href="https://www.narcity.com/several-quebec-influencers-from-the-sunwing-party-flight-have-responded-to-the-chaos">actions that could affect their future careers</a>. Some might also lose lucrative brand contracts.</p>
<p>With the rise of <a href="https://nypost.com/article/what-is-cancel-culture-breaking-down-the-toxic-online-trend/">cancel culture</a> in our society, influencers like this become easy to targets for exclusion. However, by giving them too much attention, we also contribute to their excessive media coverage, as well as public exasperation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175140/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nataly Levesque has received funding from SSHRS and FRQSC.</span></em></p>
Influencers fill emotional and information needs. They are perceived as role models followers identify with, or whose example they want to follow.
Nataly Levesque, Candidate au doctorat en administration des affaires, concentration marketing, spécialisation marque humaine, Université Laval
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/170362
2021-10-26T19:15:02Z
2021-10-26T19:15:02Z
The first bisexual Bachelorette and the messy history of bisexual representation on reality TV
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428364/original/file-20211025-13-1llnaj9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=45%2C61%2C740%2C375&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Network 10</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Reality TV staple The Bachelor, and its various franchises, has been described as a “primetime harem fantasy” even though it ultimately presents a fairly conservative portrait of romance. </p>
<p>In its latest iteration, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-20/brooke-blurton-becomes-first-indigenous-bisexual-bachelorette/100151510">The Bachelorette Australia</a> (Network 10 2021) is attempting to offer something refreshingly different through <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/oct/21/bachelorette-australias-first-brooke-blurton-episode-is-a-triumph-i-finally-have-my-church-back">the casting of Brooke Blurton</a>, a First Nations bisexual woman. Such casting necessitates a first for the franchise — casting both male and female contestants to vie for Blurton’s affections.</p>
<p>Having both male and female suitors was sold as a groundbreaking moment of representation. One contestant even says “we’re doing so much for our community” in the second episode. Is this indeed the case? The volume and quality of representation we have seen of LGBTIQ+ individuals, characters and communities has undoubtedly improved, though it is still rare enough for each one to be notable. </p>
<p>Of course, the stereotypes and issues surrounding representing bisexuality are different from, say, those surrounding gay men. And it is well established by decades of research that<a href="https://scholars.org/contribution/how-media-has-helped-change-public-views-about-lesbian-and-gay-people"> television representation plays a role in informing attitudes towards LGBTIQ+ individuals</a>. </p>
<h2>The long and reductive history of bisexual representation on television</h2>
<p>The Bachelorette is not the first series to present a bisexual individual on the small screen. 1990s bisexual representation on television was largely made up of ratings boosting kisses between a major female character and a non-recurring female character. In these cases, the major character’s interest in women was generally never mentioned again (think <a href="https://www.out.com/entertainment/2017/9/05/20-years-later-ally-mcbeals-queer-legalese-doesnt-always-go-down-easy">Ally McBeal</a>, Picket Fences and even <a href="https://ew.com/article/2001/04/27/why-friends-lesbian-kiss-was-lame-stunt/">Friends</a>). It was generally seen as a titillating or scandalous storyline, but not one that took representation or sexuality seriously.</p>
<p>Later on, series like Queer as Folk or The L Word, <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/shannonkeating/l-word-generation-q-showtime-tales-of-the-city-lesbian">tended to characterise male bisexuality as simply a stopover on the way to gayness</a>, with male bisexuals depicted as closeted or lying to themselves.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CVZGO5NK9HY","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>Neither of these positions take bisexuality particularly seriously as an identity. In the last few years we have seen two really positive representations emerge in the form of <a href="https://www.vulture.com/2018/05/stephanie-beatriz-bisexual-awakening-on-screen-and-off.html">Rosa Diaz on Brooklyn 99</a> and <a href="https://fashionmagazine.com/flare/dan-levy-on-playing-pansexual-on-schitts-creek/">David Schitt on Schitt’s Creek</a>. Both of these characters built meaningful relationships with both men and women over the course of their seasons. And neither of them were defined purely by their sexuality.</p>
<p>In terms of reality dating television, as could perhaps be expected, representation of bisexuality has tended to emphasise sex. The casting of bisexual contestants can be seen to add an extra set of dimensions and complications. A recent example can be found in season 8 of MTV reality dating show Are You The One? (MTV 2019), which cast 16 male and female contestants who all identified as sexually fluid. </p>
<p>Perhaps the earliest reality dating series to feature both male and female contestants vying for a bisexual (female) lead was <a href="https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2020/05/29/43778180/a-shot-at-love-with-tila-tequila-is-unstreamable">A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila</a> (2007) and its 2008 sequel. In these series both male and female contestants were placed onto teams to compete for Tequila, who rose to fame as the <a href="https://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/how-social-media-created-and-destroyed-tila-tequila/">most popular person on MySpace</a>. The game structure even leveraged one woman and one man into the finale for Tequila to pick between. This emphasises the unfortunately common perception that bisexuals need to “pick a team”, and furthermore, that audiences should feel personally invested in what “team” that might be.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428378/original/file-20211025-25-1ufiuka.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428378/original/file-20211025-25-1ufiuka.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428378/original/file-20211025-25-1ufiuka.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428378/original/file-20211025-25-1ufiuka.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428378/original/file-20211025-25-1ufiuka.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428378/original/file-20211025-25-1ufiuka.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428378/original/file-20211025-25-1ufiuka.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/428378/original/file-20211025-25-1ufiuka.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Shot At Love With Tila Tequila used bisexuality as a reality TV device.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">IMDb</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The structure of reality dating shows with their emphasis on contest and conflict, tend to result in narratives that attempt to grab ratings with (often sexually charged) interactions between contestants. The issue with this is that it falls into a context of associating bisexuality with hypersexuality.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-the-bachelor-anti-feminist-or-is-conventional-heterosexual-romance-the-real-problem-81748">Is The Bachelor anti-feminist, or is conventional heterosexual romance the real problem?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Brooke Blurton and bisexuality in 2021</h2>
<p>The charming Brooke Blurton on The Bachelorette is characterised very differently from Tila Tequila. A statement from her, edited near the beginning of the premiere, asserts that she is interested in connections with individuals, rather than their gender. Thus eliminating the idea of there being a “team” for her to choose.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CVPwkTVrnUs","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>There are signs, however, that the series is setting up a men vs women narrative regardless of this. The first episode sees the male and female contestants grouped in separate gazebos, and multiple comments are edited in that highlight the various insecurities about having more than one gender in the mix. Blurton herself is also presented on multiple occasions making comparisons between the “boys” and the “girls”. </p>
<p>Certainly conventional perceptions around gender are still held by contestants and casting, such as surprise about the women being romantically “bold”, and the casting of only very stereotypically feminine women as suitors (in contrast, a fan favourite and finalist in Tila Tequila’s show was a relatively butch lesbian firefighter).</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-you-are-the-one-and-the-bachelor-know-how-to-get-to-us-we-all-fear-dying-alone-49053">If You Are The One and The Bachelor know how to get to us: we all fear dying alone</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Osher Günsberg, The Bachelorette Australia’s host, is certainly self-congratulatory in his opening dialogue, asserting that Blurton’s presence on the show is a groundbreaking moment of representation. It is, however, hard not to see all this as a strategic move to attract younger viewers on the part of a franchise with rapidly dwindling ratings, that is struggling to compete with more contemporary series. The 2021 The Bachelor Australia, for example, <a href="https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/reality-tv/the-bachelor/the-bachelor-2021-winner-announcement-airs-to-lowest-finale-ratings-ever/news-story/5727cc4965ad8c0b9a2381cba7c702c4">was its lowest rating season</a>, with the finale only attracting half the viewers of previous seasons. </p>
<p>Casting diversity appears to be a key part of this strategy. In the US in 2020 this has meant the 25th bachelor was the <a href="https://time.com/5926330/the-bachelor-diversity-matt-james/">first ever Black bachelor</a>. In Australia, Blurton is not only the first bisexual woman in the Bachelorette role, but also the first First Nations woman to appear on a major reality dating franchise. It is her sexuality, however, that offers the most change in terms of the actual “gameplay” of the series.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CVPs7lhNg1K","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>While scripted series have managed to create complex portraits of bisexual desire, the broad brush strokes of reality dating series are probably still a way off being able to imagine a world where gender is not an “issue” of dating.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170362/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Beirne does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The new season of The Bachelorette Australia is making some historic firsts in the franchise when it comes to on-screen bisexual representation.
Rebecca Beirne, Senior Lecturer in Film, Media and Cultural Studies, University of Newcastle
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/168025
2021-09-28T11:56:03Z
2021-09-28T11:56:03Z
‘The Activist’ reality TV show sparked furor, but treating causes as commodities with help from celebrities happens all the time
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423009/original/file-20210923-13-58i90o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5251%2C3350&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Usher, shown speaking in 2019 at an event hosted by the nonprofit he started, and two other celebrities shot five episodes of the canceled series.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/recording-artist-usher-onstage-during-usher-new-look-news-photo/1164061876?adppopup=true">Paras Griffin/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>CBS quickly backpedaled after an announcement about “<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210909212100/https://www.cbs.com/shows/the-activist/about/">The Activist</a>,” a new reality TV series it planned to broadcast, drew widespread backlash.</p>
<p>The show was going to pit teams made up of <a href="https://nonprofitaf.com/2021/09/10-shows-about-nonprofit-and-philanthropy-that-would-be-way-better-than-the-activist/">activists and celebrities against one another</a>. They would be competing to see who could raise the most awareness for a cause connected to health, education or the environment. Winning teams were to advance to the <a href="https://www.g20.org/rome-summit.html">G20 Summit in Rome</a> to get world leaders on board.</p>
<p>Critics panned the show without seeing any footage. Many said the premise embodied <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/what-did-we-do-to-deserve-a-celebrity-activist-competition-show">performative activism</a>, <a href="https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/wx59v5/the-activist-tv-show">devalued grassroots activism</a> and was <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanschocket2/usher-priyanka-julianne-the-activist-show-backlash">cringeworthy</a>. </p>
<p>On Sept. 15, 2021, less than a week after announcing the five-part series, the network and its two co-producers admitted that the concept was flawed. They said they had canceled it and would <a href="https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/activist-series-reconfigured-apology-cbs-global-citizen-live-nation-1235065908/">turn the show into a documentary</a>.</p>
<p>It isn’t clear yet what role the celebrity hosts – <a href="https://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/usher">Usher</a>, who founded <a href="https://ushersnewlook.org/">a nonprofit</a> that supports under-resourced teens in 1999; <a href="https://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/priyanka-chopra">Priyanka Chopra</a>, a <a href="https://www.unicef.org/india/our-partners/celebrities/priyanka-chopra">UNICEF ambassador</a>; and <a href="https://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/julianne-hough">Julianne Hough</a>, who has helped <a href="https://www.looktothestars.org/news/16475-julianne-hough-empowers-women-to-get-in-the-know-about-endometriosis">raise awareness about endometriosis</a> – will play in the documentary.</p>
<p>Chopra and Hough immediately felt the need to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-58587699">apologize to their fans</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CT0SRywB-5-/">voice their concerns</a>. Usher has not spoken out.</p>
<p>That a major broadcaster would expect a show linking celebrities and activism to garner viewers and that the concept would implode didn’t surprise us. We <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=9Qf8BVUAAAAJ&hl=en">research</a> what happens when <a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/batman-saves-the-congo">celebrities get involved in activism</a> in tandem with corporations. <a href="https://www.cbs.dk/en/research/departments-and-centres/department-of-management-society-and-communication/staff/lrimsc">Quite often we find</a> that while celebrities may be well-intentioned in their efforts, the machinery behind their activism may undermine the causes it purports to support.</p>
<h2>Enticing the public</h2>
<p>Starbucks, TOMS shoes and other companies often try to turn compassion for suffering strangers, from Congolese farmers to Peruvian kids, into a commodity. Celebrities are brought in as spokespeople to <a href="https://www.fashionroundtable.co.uk/news/2021/4/20/greenwashing-how-brands-use-influencers-and-celebrities-to-market-sustainable-initiativesnbsp">widen the appeal</a> of <a href="https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/strategy/corporate-responsibility/factsheet#gref">corporate responsibility</a> efforts and sell more products. </p>
<p>To be sure, we find that some celebrities, including <a href="https://gardencollage.com/change/climate-change/celebrities-care-environment-want-know/">Meryl Streep</a> and <a href="https://borgenproject.org/tag/angelina-jolie/">Angelina Jolie</a>, are more serious about leveraging their influence burnished through their professions. However, we often see that many celebrities don’t invest enough time and energy to gain the <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315619835-28/world-stage-trevor-thrall-dominik-stecula">credibility and expertise</a> required to make a difference. </p>
<p>Celebrities have engaged in this high-profile advocacy for decades. Movie stars like <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14791420.2011.637055">Audrey Hepburn</a> were performing public roles in the mid-20th century as good Samaritans. Because of their fame, celebrities can entice regular people, along with politicians, wealthy philanthropists and corporations, to embrace a cause.</p>
<p>Fans eagerly lap up news about celebrity accomplishments as well as about their private lives and charitable inclinations. Because familiar faces can shine the spotlight on their pet causes, <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Celebrity-Advocacy-and-International-Development/Brockington/p/book/9780415707213">humanitarian agencies and nongovernmental organizations often tap celebrities</a> to draw attention to advocacy campaigns.</p>
<p>For example, the United Nations enlists hundreds of celebrities as <a href="https://www.un.org/en/messengers-peace/page/about-messengers-peace">messengers of peace, goodwill ambassadors and advocates</a> to communicate with the public. The ENOUGH Project promotes <a href="https://enoughproject.org/upstanders/celebrity/luol-deng">NBA star Luol Deng</a>, the model <a href="https://enoughproject.org/upstanders/celebrity/iman">Iman</a> and other famous people as what it calls “<a href="https://enoughproject.org/upstanders/celebrity">celebrity upstanders</a>” to raise awareness of crises in Africa and support efforts to quell conflicts there. </p>
<p>Likewise, corporations get celebrities to promote <a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/brand-aid">cause-related product lines</a>, such as <a href="https://www.red.org/">(Red)</a>, a project which has worked with Elton John, Scarlett Johansson and Gisele Bündchen to raise money, initially to fight HIV/AIDS and now also to deal with COVID-19 in <a href="https://www.red.org/how-red-works">African countries</a>. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The Enough Project relies on star power from celebrities like George Clooney.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The risks of celebrity activism</h2>
<p>Whether the goal is slowing climate change, fighting bigotry or improving access to health care, when celebrities engage in activism, excitement over the celebrities can overwhelm the activism.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2017/10/why-couldnt-the-save-darfur-movement-stop-the-killing-in-sudan.html">Save Darfur campaign</a>, which at its height brought together more than 190 religious, political and human rights organizations, is a good example.</p>
<p>The campaign eventually collapsed. And yet the <a href="https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/horn-africa/sudan">people of Darfur today are still in crisis</a>.</p>
<p>Despite research showing that celebrities <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Celebrity-Advocacy-and-International-Development/Brockington/p/book/9780415707213">catch but fail to hold our attention</a>, humanitarian agencies and nonprofits like UNICEF and Oxfam International compete to secure celebrity ambassadors.</p>
<p>When we interviewed aid workers in the field, we learned that visits to crisis zones and refugee camps by celebrities can be extremely disruptive to humanitarian operations. Without the stage management of celebrity ambassadors and control over their media appearances, it’s hard to avoid <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/jun/30/secret-aid-worker-celebrities-angelina-jolie">gaffes that risk becoming debacles</a>. One example: actress <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/19/downton-abbey-elizabeth-mcgovern-celebrity-disaster-relief">Elizabeth McGovern</a> mixed up Dakar, the capital of Senegal, and Darfur when she went to Sierra Leone with World Vision as its “ambassador.”</p>
<p>Those mistakes that occur and the hassles that arise when famous people show up can <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1367877914528532">defeat the purpose of celebrity engagement</a>. But since these celebrities often come with corporate sponsors – meaning cash – aid workers and local people put up with them.</p>
<h2>Celebrity activism as an industry</h2>
<p>As demand for star power surges, the machinery behind celebrity activism has become more corporate and professional, we explain in our new book, “<a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/batman-saves-the-congo">Batman Saves the Congo</a>.”</p>
<p>Today, most major charitable organizations have <a href="https://celebrityanddevelopment.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/third-world-quaterly-2014.pdf">full-time celebrity liaisons</a> to manage dozens of celebrity supporters. There are philanthropic consultants, like the <a href="http://www.globalphilanthropy.com/">Global Philanthropy Group</a>, which help celebrity clients <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/jul/29/when-celebrities-become-philanthropists">find causes to represent</a>. </p>
<p>We have tracked dozens of celebrities who have <a href="https://www.elitedaily.com/p/these-celebrity-backed-charitable-foundations-are-doing-so-much-good-22972563">their own nonprofits</a>, suggesting <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2017.1322465">long-term commitments</a>. But these organizations are sometimes founded on shaky premises that ignore local needs and can benefit the celebrity more than the cause.</p>
<p>Consider Ben Affleck’s <a href="https://www.easterncongo.org/">Eastern Congo Initiative</a>. We looked at how, in <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/frontlines/may-june-2016/drc-coffee-might-be-served-starbucks-near-you">partnership with Starbucks</a>, it claimed to transform the coffee sector in Congo to advance peace and development. Unfortunately, the initiative had no expertise in coffee production and little knowledge of rural development.</p>
<p>Despite professing to serve up a “<a href="https://stories.starbucks.com/emea/stories/2016/starbucks-eastern-congo-lake-kivu/">cup of hope</a>,” research later showed that this collaboration <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105193">made hardly any difference for the farmers it was supposed to help</a>.</p>
<p>Also, it was Affleck’s search for meaning in his own life, aided by <a href="https://www.williamsworks.com/our-story">highly paid consultants</a>, that led him to start this organization, not the Congolese.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IcloAVusC9Y?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Ben Affleck explains why he chose to ‘shine a spotlight’ on the crises facing the Congolese people in Africa.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Celebrities and consumer activism</h2>
<p>Many celebrity-led organizations include corporate partnerships in the form of cause-related marketing lines. Now would-be activists are encouraged to “shop to support” Damon’s water.org by buying a <a href="https://water.org/stellaartois/">Stella Artois Limited Edition chalice</a>.</p>
<p>Or, to sustain Christy Turlington Burns’ Every Mother Counts, you can “<a href="https://everymothercounts.org/what-can-i-do/gifts/">shop gifts that make a difference</a>” and purchase <a href="https://stephaniefreidperenchio.com/orange-rose/">a Stephanie Freid-Perenchio Orange Rose Necklace</a>.</p>
<p>For celebrities to promote splurging as activism risks distorting how causes can be addressed more successfully through collective action, grassroots engagement and direct donations.</p>
<figure>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Matt Damon co-founded a group that strives to increase access to clean water.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A boon for the rich and famous</h2>
<p>Without any accountability, <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Celebrity-Humanitarianism-and-North-South-Relations-Politics-place-and/Richey/p/book/9781138854284">we have seen these efforts generally do little</a> to help the causes or beneficiaries they are championing.</p>
<p>After studying this pattern for years, we want to know: What does celebrity activism accomplish?</p>
<p>It makes an impact, but not in the ways you might expect. We’ve observed that getting celebrities to back a cause may bring greater visibility for the celebrity and profits for corporate partners.</p>
<p>Celebrity activism can soften or rehabilitate a celebrity’s reputation, as in the case of <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Celebrity-Humanitarianism-The-Ideology-of-Global-Charity/Kapoor/p/book/9780415783392">Madonna and Jolie</a>.</p>
<p>[<em>Over 110,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletter to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=100Ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p>
<p>It can also lead to <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4651309.stm">higher album sales</a> or more downloads. That’s what happened for many performers, including British rock band <a href="https://www.forestgoldradio.com/live8">Pink Floyd</a> and the pop singer <a href="https://www.nme.com/news/music/live-8-3-1365228">Robbie Williams</a> after the Live 8 concerts. The point of those widely televised <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160323203946/http://live8live.com/whathappened/">concerts, held at venues across the world in 2005</a>, was to increase <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/5e331623-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/5e331623-en">aid to low-income countries</a>. </p>
<p>Even as a canceled TV show, “The Activist,” is destined to spotlight the unaccountable power stars possess, far more than the causes than it’s supposed to be about.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168025/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexandra Budabin receives funding from The Shana Alexander Charitable Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Ann Richey receives funding from the Danish Council for Independent Research (Project 6109-00158B Commodifying Compassion).</span></em></p>
The producers are recasting the show as a documentary. The original version would have done more harm than good for the causes being showcased, two scholars argue.
Alexandra Cosima Budabin, Senior Researcher of Human Rights, University of Dayton
Lisa Ann Richey, Professor of Globalization, Copenhagen Business School
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/167011
2021-09-16T15:14:51Z
2021-09-16T15:14:51Z
Netflix’s ‘Indian Matchmaking’ at the Emmys: The problems with nominating this Indian ‘reality’
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420831/original/file-20210913-17-1yymqmm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C0%2C2779%2C1865&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How did 'Indian Matchmaking,' a show that hinges on regressive principles of caste and colourism, not to mention flippant misogyny, land itself an Emmy nomination?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>At a time when most people were glued to screens, streaming non-stop to escape pandemic realties, Netflix’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZS2KbLAy5Y"><em>Indian Matchmaking</em></a>, released in July 2020, created global buzz for all the wrong reasons.</p>
<p>What was it about a show with “Indian” in the title that made it trend not only on Netflix India, <a href="https://etcanada.com/news/666277/netflixs-indian-matchmaking-puts-a-whole-new-spin-on-the-dating-show/">but also Netflix Canada</a>? The show eventually scored an Emmy nomination that was met with <a href="https://in.mashable.com/entertainment/23552/this-is-a-joke-desi-twitter-is-baffled-after-indian-matchmaking-bags-emmy-nomination">disconcerted displeasure from Indians and the Indian diaspora</a>. </p>
<p>With the Emmys airing on Sunday, how did a show that hinges on <a href="https://www.cnn.com/style/article/indian-matchmaking-netflix-intl-hnk-beauty/index.html">regressive principles of caste and colourism</a>, not to mention flippant misogyny, <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/qj8exb/netflix-show-indians-hate-watched-nominated-for-emmy?">land itself a nomination</a>?</p>
<h2>Nostalgic affirmations</h2>
<p>At the outset, the premise of <em>Indian Matchmaking</em> is about normalizing, or even valorizing <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/07/26/895008997/netflixs-indian-matchmaking-is-the-talk-of-india-and-not-in-a-good-way">the tired trope of arranged marriages in India</a>. </p>
<p>The institution of arranged marriage essentially dictates <a href="https://medium.com/@sunil.narayan/on-caste-reservation-and-arranged-marriages-in-india-21d7b7406219">caste-based discrimination in India</a>, falling prey to blatant religious politics. The fundamental backbone of Hindu religion has been the <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ambedkar/txt_ambedkar_castes.html">historically violent caste system</a> — rigid social groups characterized by hereditary transmission of life style, occupation and social status — which has been relayed and protected through generations <a href="https://scroll.in/article/897802/how-same-caste-marriages-persisted-for-thousands-of-years-in-india-and-are-still-going-strong">by same-caste marriages</a>.</p>
<p>In the show, the Indian diaspora in the United States is shown to idolize marrying in one’s own culture (read: caste). Cultural theorist Stuart Hall explains that <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/arena-attachments/86080/001e75f034abebd05d59e738d506434e.pdf">any diaspora tends to hook itself in familiarized, nostalgic affirmations with one’s culture of origin</a>, which he terms as “associational identification.” The characters and framing of the show reinforce such notions, suggesting that the couples similarity in culture is based on their religion and upper caste. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aZS2KbLAy5Y?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Netflix’s Indian Matchmaking was released in July 2020.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Upper class, upper caste</h2>
<p>The show is called “Indian” Matchmaking, but “Indian” is substitute for <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Modern-Hindu-Traditionalism-in-Contemporary-India-The-Sri-Mah-and-the/Bevilacqua/p/book/9780367886721">Hindu traditionalism</a>, and glorifies upper-class, upper-caste, Hindu marriages. </p>
<p>Defending the lack of inclusivity in the show, executive producer Smriti Mundhra <a href="https://ew.com/awards/emmys/indian-matchmaking-emmy-interview-controversy/">said in a recent interview</a> “one cannot make a show that’s going to represent 1.3 billion people across the globe.” While Mundhra’s response might have some truth to it, why was it important to tell this story? Are we meant to be drawn in by the story of <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/the-sima-from-mumbai-exclusive-the-matchmaker-who-has-spurred-a-thousand-memes/story-TrXIyrj9XYzfS0lDfTgzgK.html">the show’s matchmaker, Sima Taparia</a>? </p>
<p>While introducing herself as “Sima from Mumbai” to characters in the U.S., Taparia implicitly dissociates herself from India, affirming her allegiance to a <a href="https://medium.com/@lakshmi.govindrajan/the-privilege-of-apathy-4e828cf04256">privileged Mumbai-based reality</a>. </p>
<p>Her “Indian” matchmaking only engages Hindu, upper caste, upper class, while <a href="https://screenrant.com/indian-matchmaking-aparna-shewakramani-sima-taparia-double-standard-argument/">blatantly favouring men</a>. The only people who get equal, if not more, screen time than Taparia are <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/pradhyuman-from-netflixs-indian-matchmaking-addresses-questions-on-his-sexuality-2282291">Pradyuman</a> and <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/tv/akshay-from-indian-matchmaking-reveals-why-he-called-off-his-engagement/story-JhOD3TGrkyqivNvvmtCUQI.html">Akshay</a> — two painfully wealthy, privileged, upper caste Mumbai men. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1284755146199662595"}"></div></p>
<p>While the shows creators try to spin it as a progressive version of matchmaking that upholds <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/analysis/matchmaking-illustrates-the-ills-of-indian-society-analysis/story-6YJNaptYn0Ue8fBqRLaDPJ.html">renewed cultural values, it is an evident miss</a>.</p>
<h2>A return to roots</h2>
<p>Despite the show’s portrayal of Indians in the American diaspora, the idea of “<a href="https://www.caribbean-beat.com/issue-71/culture-always-translation#axzz76Bi6xSTJ">a return to roots</a>” works as a redeeming angle on a global platform but panders to a “foreign” (non-Indian), North American gaze. </p>
<p>Sure, <em>Indian Matchmaking</em> is a show about Indians, featured in Netflix India, but it fails to capture an “Indianness” that is nuanced and personal to people of Indian origin. Instead of portraying a complex narrative of human relationships <a href="https://hbr.org/2009/02/global-generations-focus-on-in">informed by generational differences</a> and <a href="https://www.indiatimes.com/lifestyle/self/7-ultra-regressive-and-sexist-customs-in-india-285128.html">regressive customs</a>, the show refashions it all into a skewed idea of India. By indulging the <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/feelings/five-annoying-nri-stereotypes-that-exist/">common stereotype of rich Indians</a> following regressive customs, the show ends up becoming another weary caricature of India and Indians on a global platform.</p>
<p>The show highlights <a href="https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/35217/340114.pdf;jsessionid=93E2F8EF75253BD78CE6194FC06222D3?sequence=1">the diasporic Indian</a> as a guardian of “traditional” Indian identity, as they yearn for a partner from “home.” </p>
<h2>What does an Emmy nomination say?</h2>
<p>The Emmy nomination under the category of “<a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/binge-watch/story/sima-taparia-s-netflix-show-indian-matchmaking-bags-an-emmy-nomination-1827804-2021-07-14">Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program</a>” is not only problematic, but it also fuels <a href="https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/postcolonialstudies/2014/06/21/orientalism/">fantasies of the fantastical Orient</a>. In post-colonial studies, this signifies the misconstrued notion of the East as backward and exotic — an antonym to the flourishing, modern West. </p>
<p>For years, the only <a href="https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210121-will-hollywood-ever-show-us-the-real-india">palatable portrayal of India for the West</a> was often seen in the likes of <em>Slumdog Millionaire</em> or <em>Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom</em> or even <em>Eat, Pray, Love</em>. These portrayals are palatable as they feed <a href="https://news.illinois.edu/view/6367/198683">a stereotypical notion of the India</a>, which are more compatible with orientalist assumptions.</p>
<p>While the show <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/opinion/sunday/indian-matchmaking-netflix.html">has been widely critiqued</a>, and <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/07/26/895008997/netflixs-indian-matchmaking-is-the-talk-of-india-and-not-in-a-good-way">many viewers are aware of the show’s problems</a>, receiving an Emmy nomination has become cause for confusion.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Screengrab from Twitter showing Indian Matchmaking's Emmy nomination" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420870/original/file-20210913-27-kul3fd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420870/original/file-20210913-27-kul3fd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420870/original/file-20210913-27-kul3fd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420870/original/file-20210913-27-kul3fd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420870/original/file-20210913-27-kul3fd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420870/original/file-20210913-27-kul3fd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420870/original/file-20210913-27-kul3fd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Netflix congratulates three of its shows, ‘Indian Matchmaking,’ ‘My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman’ and ‘Dick Johnson Is Dead’ on their Emmy nominations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://twitter.com/netflixqueue/status/1415028178268172295?s=20">(Netflix Queue/Twitter)</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While there is no way one can imagine the forces that came into play for its nomination, the fact that <em>Indian Matchmaking</em> received the recognition is unsettling. It goes without saying that to witness South Asian representation on a global platform is liberating, but what one is being represented for is of more importance, if not the most. </p>
<p>Receiving recognition for romanticizing the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/the-problem-with-arranged-marriage-1.963175">deeply flawed institution of arranged marriages</a>, which is an unfortunate reality for many Indians, is worrying. <em>Indian Matchmaking</em> threw away a glorious opportunity to engage in critical, cultural conversation. As a <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/binge-watch/story/netflix-announces-indian-matchmaking-season-2-fans-are-excited-to-meet-sima-taparia-again-1839943-2021-08-12">second season</a> is underway, will it take its criticisms into consideration?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167011/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anmol Dutta does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
To witness South Asian representation on a global platform is liberating, but what one is being represented for is of more importance, if not the most.
Anmol Dutta, PhD Student, English Studies, Western University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/165791
2021-09-07T12:53:25Z
2021-09-07T12:53:25Z
Netflix’s ‘My Unorthodox Life’ spurred ultra-Orthodox Jewish women to talk publicly about their lives
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416636/original/file-20210817-20-1w8tv84.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C46%2C5145%2C3368&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women have started telling their own stories via social media, challenging television's sometimes one-sided depictions of their lives.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/woman-using-smartphone-social-media-and-social-royalty-free-image/1154680675?adppopup=true">rfranca/iStock/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over the past four years, Netflix has released several shows related to people leaving the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. These shows include “<a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80118101">One of Us</a>,” “<a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81019069">Unorthodox</a>” and most recently the reality TV show “<a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81175724">My Unorthodox Life</a>.” </p>
<p>Each time, many in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community <a href="https://eu.lohud.com/story/news/local/rockland/2018/05/24/rockland-jewish-women-chany-rosengarten/573295002/">have raised questions regarding their representation</a>.</p>
<p>We are <a href="https://gufaculty360.georgetown.edu/s/contact/0033600001kNVj3AAG/jessica-roda">an anthropologist</a> and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=EzUKGdcAAAAJ&hl=fr&oi=ao">a philosopher</a> who have been analyzing how mainstream media depicts ultra-Orthodox Jews who leave their communities, known as “<a href="http://tupress.temple.edu/book/20000000009960">exiters</a>” or “OTD” – which means “off the derech,” the Hebrew word for path. We also study <a href="https://www.sunypress.edu/p-6848-off-the-derech.aspx">how these individuals tell their stories through the media</a>. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.pum.umontreal.ca/catalogue/les-juifs-hassidiques-de-montreal">research shows</a> that by sensationalizing stories of suffering within exiters’ experiences, notably those of women, mainstream media has created a shallow narrative about the exiting process. </p>
<p>But with “My Unorthodox Life,” ultra-Orthodox women responded to the image being projected in the show in an unpredecented way. Instead of just discussing it privately and informally, many women participated, for the first time, in a public social media campaign to tell their own stories. </p>
<h2>Mass media’s picture of religious Jews</h2>
<p>Mainstream TV typically tells exiters’ stories in a context of <a href="https://www.sunypress.edu/p-6848-off-the-derech.aspx">wider criticisms of ultra-Orthodoxy</a>, which is presented as religious extremism or fundamentalism. While Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox worlds are extremely diverse in their practices of Jewish laws, known as Halakha, popular depictions do not encapsulate this plurality. Women are generally cast in the leading roles, with the shows drawing on a liberal feminist trope of exposing religious life as traumatizing and oppressive. </p>
<p>In “My Unorthodox Life,” this narrative is somewhat altered. While traumatic experiences are mentioned, the main story is about the successes of the protagonist, Julia Haart, once she exits ultra-Orthodoxy.</p>
<p>The journey Haart and her family take from religiosity to secularism over the show’s nine episodes is key to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a553JOZq-4&ab_channel=Netflix">Haart’s professional and personal achievements</a>. The secular and liberal world, characterized as a place of creation of a new set of values, is portrayed as a path for emancipation. </p>
<p>The transition or the “fight out of the community,” as expressed in the show, is presented as what has enabled the protagonist to build her religiously and sexually diverse and inclusive family. These values would have been inconsistent with a strict interpretation of Halakha. </p>
<p>This standpoint is also advanced to understand Haart’s success as a CEO and co-owner of a fashion company. After following tziniut – Jewish codes of modesty – for most of her life, she becomes highly involved in the creation of secular women’s clothing, from lingerie to footwear. This avenue out of Orthodox modesty norms, lived as a restrictive rule by Haart, is mainly shown by the creation and presentation of clothes uncovering the body. As Haart says in the show, “every little crop-top, every mini-skirt” is an “emblem of freedom.” </p>
<p>In contrast, several productions made outside of the North American mainstream media by women exiters such as <a href="https://www.malkygoldman.com/">Malky Goldman</a>, <a href="https://www.bellisario.psu.edu/people/individual/pearl-gluck">Pearl Gluck</a>, and <a href="https://www.melissaweisz.com/">Melissa Weisz</a> have told more nuanced stories about their former community in <a href="https://filmfreeway.com/1343793">short films</a> and <a href="https://www.newyiddishrep.org/di-froyen/">plays</a>. </p>
<p>These productions, however, do not draw large audiences. </p>
<h2>#MyOrthodoxLife</h2>
<p>Since 2018, we have also been interviewing ultra-Orthodox women in Montreal and New York about their use of social media, in particular Instagram and TikTok. Because religious authority <a href="https://www.haujournal.org/index.php/hau/article/view/hau7.1.016">restricts and filters the access</a> to the internet and social media, their presence on these platforms is still controversial within the community. </p>
<p>If they are active on social media, it is usually to promote their businesses. Sometimes they are engaging in criticism of ultra-Orthodoxy to transform it from within, on issues such as <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/agunah-get-refusal-social-media-campaign-orthodox-women">divorce</a>, equal pay, birth control and modesty. The debates and discussions are often kept private and restricted to women. </p>
<p>While these women previously did not engage with the public, the release of “My Unorthodox Life,” with its focus on prosperity, drove them toward voicing their own successes. </p>
<p>Since mid-July 2021, when “My Unorthodox Life” premiered, women began posting under the hashtag <a href="https://jewishjournal.com/commentary/columnist/338798/jewish-women-showing-off-myorthodoxlife-in-response-to-netflixs-my-unorthodox-life/">#MyOrthodoxLife</a> – a snub to Netflix’s #MyUnorthodoxLife. The goal was to reach a broad audience and oppose negative representations by highlighting their financial prosperity and fulfilling religious life.</p>
<p>Many of the posts feature <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEkEgSGinEM">stories of women</a> who are professionally accomplished and educated, contradicting the Netflix show’s perspective that success and religiosity are an oxymoron. To do so, they published numerous online messages exposing their religious life of following Orthodox Judaism precepts while also highlighting their careers.</p>
<p>The primary objective of the movement is to reject the too simplistic representation provided by the reality TV shows and allow women to expose the richness of their lives through their own lens. </p>
<p>The activist <a href="https://www.lohud.com/story/opinion/2021/07/29/my-unorthodox-life-increases-bias-toward-orthodox-women/5404581001/">Rifka Wein Harris</a> reflected the opinions of many other Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox women when she stated that Haart’s story was deceptive and diminishes their success stories. </p>
<p>For many of the women, being religious and respecting Jewish laws are an essential part of their identity, guiding them through different aspects of their lives. </p>
<p>One post from the movement <a href="https://myorthodoxlife.net/blog/">reads</a>:
“I am orthodox … and I am fulfilled.
I am orthodox … and I achieved A Level results that ranked in the top 5% of the country.
I am orthodox … and I studied my undergraduate degree in one of the best universities in the UK.”</p>
<p>In response to this social media campaign, Haart told <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/13/arts/television/my-unorthodox-life-julia-haart.html">The New York Times</a>: “My issues and the ways that I was treated have nothing to do with Judaism. Judaism is about values and community and loving, kindness and beautiful things. I feel very proud to be a Jew.” </p>
<p>Her statement appears to be an attempt to distinguish Judaism and, implicitly, Orthodox Judaism from what she characterized as “fundamentalism” in the show. However, several women engaged in the movement are coming from the <a href="https://forward.com/scribe/473098/i-grew-up-in-the-same-community-as-the-star-of-netflixs-my-unorthodox-life/">same community as the one Haart labeled as “fundamentalist.”</a></p>
<p>Hashtag #MyOrthodoxLife has permeated almost every social media platform. Photos, videos <a href="https://myorthodoxlife.net/">blog posts</a> and articles circulate under the hashtag on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/myorthodoxlife/">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23myorthodoxlife&src=typed_query">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/amp/tag/myorthodoxlife?lang=fr">TikTok</a>, LinkedIn and WhatsApp.</p>
<h2>Shaking up religious and secular media</h2>
<p>By revealing their faces and voices to the general public, these women contradict their invisibility in ultra-Orthodox media, implicitly defying religious authority. In upcoming publications, including a book to be published by the New York University Press, we document these women’s online activism and its disruption of religious norms.</p>
<p>Not all women disagree with Haart’s portrayal of ultra-Orthodoxy. Some seized on #MyOrthodoxLife as an opportunity to pursue and air internal criticism. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/flatbushgirl/?hl=fr">Adina Sash</a>, a prominent Jewish activist and influencer, supported the show as a depiction of Haart’s individual journey and the ultra-Orthodoxy’s need for change. The Orthodox podcaster <a href="https://www.franciskakosman.com/podcast/episode/bcdc0924/lets-talk-about-the-issues-brought-up-in-my-unorthodox-life-with-dr-efrat-bruck">Franciska Kosman used the show as a springboard to discuss</a> the challenges women face in the Orthodox world, as well as how the faith’s presence in secular media could improve. </p>
<p>We argue that the #MyOrthodoxLife movement resonates with what anthropologist <a href="https://www.fordham.edu/info/20855/faculty/5003/ayala_fader">Ayala Fader</a> has identified as “<a href="https://press.princeton.edu/our-authors/fader-ayala">a crisis of authority</a>” occurring within ultra-Orthodoxy: the increased defiance against religious authority. </p>
<p>But this criticism of religious authority has gone beyond those questioning the faith and exiters that scholars have <a href="http://tupress.temple.edu/book/20000000009960">documented</a>. It has become more present among observant ultra-Orthodox Jews and other advocates of religious beliefs and practices. </p>
<p>“My Unorthodox Life” – love it or hate it – eventually surpassed its one story of a Jewish woman’s religious life. It led to unexpected responses creating an alternative space for public and nuanced discussions about Orthodoxy, ultra-Orthodoxy and gender.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165791/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Roda receives funding from Hadassah Brandeis Institute, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (Canada), and Georgetown University. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexandra Stankovich does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The #MyOrthodoxLife movement challenges both mainstream and ultra-Orthodox media to tell more nuanced and complex stories about Jewish women.
Jessica Roda, Assistant Professor Jewish Civilization (Anthropologist/Ethnomusicologist), Georgetown University
Alexandra Stankovich, Ph.D. candidate and graduate research assistant, Université de Sherbrooke
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.