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.
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.
Since 2015, Australia has no regulations specifically for reality television. With controversy swirling around Channel Nine’s ‘The Briefcase’, what exactly is allowed?
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.
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?
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?
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?
Nicolas Suzor, Queensland University of Technology; Rachel Choi, Queensland University of Technology, and 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.
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.
It has been 30 years since EastEnders arrived on UK screens to begin chronicling the lives of the denizens of fictional Albert Square in east London. But the history of soap operas goes back a great deal…
The SBS/Blackfella Films production First Contact – that takes six non-Indigenous people and immerses them into Aboriginal Australia for the first time – captured the nation’s attention this week amassing…