How does Donald Trump, the son of a millionaire, manage to be an ‘outsider’? A clue might be found in The Apprentice, a melodrama which uses exaggerated emotion to tell the story of an underdog overcoming adversity.
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry flexes during a preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
USA Today Sports/Reuters
Many decry ‘superteams’ like the NBA’s Golden State Warriors as bad for the sport. But psychology research shows that they also make us more likely to watch – and bask in the joy of seeing them fail.
On the set in Soweto of a makeover television show.
Leyla Tavernaro-Haidarian
Since 2015, Australia has no regulations specifically for reality television. With controversy swirling around Channel Nine’s ‘The Briefcase’, what exactly is allowed?
Muhammad Ali pictured in Germany in 1976.
EPA/ISTVAN BAJZAT
The boxer’s death follows hard on the heels of David Bowie and Prince. The world is losing global icons and learning how to grieve using new and democratic tools.
Donald Trump in the boardroom during an episode of ‘The Apprentice.’
Nick Lehr/The Conversation
Studies have shown that since the 1970s, people’s scores on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory are rising. Could there be a connection to television consumption?
What do the viewing public make of reality TV shows about relationships when they’re masqueraded as “science” and feature “relationship experts”?
Despite criticism from the Chinese government, which claims it espouses “the wrong values”, the popularity of dating show If You Are The One continues unabated.
SBS Television
The Chinese dating show If You Are the One has a domestic audience of 50 million, and a cult following in Australia. It seems harsher than shows such as The Bachelor – but is it really all that different?
The appeal of shows such as So You Think You Can Dance can be attributed to kinaesthetics, the felt experience of dance on screen.
SYTYCD/Fox
Last month, the American reality dance competition show So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) celebrated its 10 year anniversary. Why do we keep watching?
It’s an abuse of copyright to use it to stifle creativity – even the everyday, unglamorous kinds.
Randi Boice
Nicolas Suzor, Queensland University of Technology; Rachel Choi, Queensland University of Technology e Suzannah Wood, Queensland University of Technology
High-stress scenarios, flavoured with competitive chefs, and garnished with a panel of celebrity judges … what could possibly go wrong? The copyright spat between channels Seven and Nine is illustrative.
Tim McCallum’s performance on The Voice wowed viewers, and offers an opportunity advance social understandings of disability.
Channel 9
Outright homophobia has mostly moved from the mainstream of public discourse to its margins. For this, we can thank pioneers like Lance Loud of An American Family.
Why do people complain so much about ‘low-brow’ shows – yet still watch them?
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