Category: Television

Introduction

Based on the article by Pomerance and Sakeris (2012) titled, American Idolatry, the Practice of Democracy in the Age of Reality Television the paper presents an argument on the prospects of democracy and participation in the political economy of North America. This paper presents a comprehension of the issue of democracy and participation through the lenses of the political landscape and the reality television show, the American Idol, which is followed by the exploration of the advancements in the entertainment industry and the variation between the participatory culture in the entertainment industry and such culture in the political landscape.

The paper also looks at the variations between participatory culture in the entertainment industry and the aspects of democracy in the political arena. This paper agrees with the observation in the article that there is a great disconnect between the culture of participation in the entertainment industry and the embrace of the culture of participation and observance of the principles of democracy in the political and economic landscape of North America.

Understanding the culture of participation in the entertainment industry

It is clear to most people that the popular music and television receive a huge following from the public. With the huge following, the entertainment industry across the world has grown in stature and influence. However, the most interesting thing that perhaps points to the embrace of the principles of democracy in the industry is the manner in which the public is being incorporated into the industry. At this point, it is important to bring out the real picture of the most famous television reality shows like the American Idol. The American Idol attracts up to tens of millions of viewers across and even beyond the United States (Pomerance & Sakeris, 2012).

The current picture of the entertainment industry has been attained from the incremental consideration of open participation of the public in shaping up the industry. It is important to reiterate that the public is given a chance to directly participate in the show and determine the winner. For instance, in the year 2009, over 624 million votes were cast by the public in the American Idol season. About 100 million votes were cast in the final season to determine the winner of the show. The audience participates in the entire stages of the competition, thereby shaping the developments throughout the show.

Contestants on the reality show are selected from among the audience and the audience is given a chance to vet out the weaker contestants until they choose the strongest and most desirable contestants by voting them as the winners. These are just but a few of the examples that show how the culture of participation is being highly fostered in the development of the entertainment industry. However, questions are raised about the relatedness of the participatory culture that is embraced in the entertainment industry with the real participatory culture in the political scene where civic value is highly attached on the activities taking place within the political realm of the society (Brym & Lie, 2013).

Another important thing in comprehending the popping culture and the growth of the culture of participation is the issue of technology. The digital technology platform is the main tool that encourages the culture of participation in the entertainment industry. It is easy for the participants to track and follow the developments in the industry with the digital technology, thus making informed choices. The fans play the role in shaping and positioning, as well as marketing their participants long after the end of the television shows through the marketing of concerts on the digital technology platform and the purchase of authentic idol items. Therefore, the issue of responsibility also comes out here whereby the participants remain committed to the support and embrace of their favourite participants and entertainers by supporting them through the broad digital platform. The viewers are able to search for information about the contestants from the time the contestants are selected and use the information to drum support for the contestants throughout the stages of the show.

The media, through the digital platform, also offers the contestants a chance to advertise and promote themselves to the audience. Therefore, a high level of openness and support is witnessed in the entertainment industry, thus depicting the principles of democracy and democratic participation. Just as it is witnessed in the political realm, the public attaches a market value to the participants. The public then uses the value to drum and steer support for the contestants. In this case, it can be argued that the principles of democracy are exercised at an advanced stage where the quality of the participants, which is depicted in what they deliver, determines how marketable they are in the public and the resultant support for them from the public.

Also, the technology brings in the aspect of empowerment of both the participants in the entertainment industry and the contestants. The participants can enhance support for their favourite contestants on different digital media platforms. In a similar sense, the contestants can also gather support from the public by engaging them on the diverse digital media platforms that are embraced in the industry. In other words, advances in technology keep opening up the channels through which the practices and principles of democracy and participation can be attained (Pomerance & Sakeris, 2012).

Participation in the entertainment industry and the democratic practices in the political economy of North America

One of the arguments that come out in the featured book is that the developments in the entertainment industry, which largely points to the growth of the culture of participation and democracy, can be used to reflect the practices of democracy in the larger political realm of the society. This argument is based on the fact that a lot of structural changes are taking place in the larger entertainment industry. All the changes point to the increase in the production and consumption of music and television content. At this point, the question that comes into the mind concerns the variations between the nature of democratic practices that are embraced in the entertainment industry and the nature of democratic practices that are embraced in the society, where citizen participation is a key factor in determining the level at which the principles of democracy and participation are embraced in a the society.

The most important thing here is to determine whether variation exists between the culture of democracy and participation that is exhibited in the entertainment industry and the principles and practices of democracy in the society that embraces capitalism and democracy. Do the democratic and participatory practices have a spill over effect on the democratic practices that are embraced in the society? Here, society largely refers to the United States and Canada, which are the main countries of North America that are featured in the discussion. These countries embrace the principles of democracy and capitalism in political and economic governance (Pomerance & Sakeris, 2012).

The governing relations that are embraced in the modern liberal political society highly value civic participation as a key attribute of democracy. Civic participation emphasises more on the meaning of voting rather than the act of voting and what people vote for in the society. Are people possessed with the urge to vote in the entertainment industry than they are concerned with voting for the political candidates in the society?

The observation by Pomerance and Sakeris (2012) shows most people, especially the youth, are more interested in the developments taking place in the entertainment industry than they are interested in issues of democracy and governance in the society. An example that is given here is the election of the president in the United States in the 2008 elections, where only 57.1 percent of the eligible voters voted for the United States President. The same scenario was also replicated in the 2008 Federal Election in Canada, where only 59.1 percent of the eligible voters turned out in the elections. On the other hand, statistics denote the increase in the number of people who vote in the Idol competition each year.

This raises the question of whether democracy is shifting from concentrating on civic concerns to concentrating on the consumption and choices that are made by the public. Looking at it from the choices and consumption perspective, it becomes logical to conclude that there is a shift in the exercise of democracy and participation in the society where people immensely choose where and when to exercise democracy. The choice in this case is supported by the fact that most people have chosen the entertainment industry as one of their favourite industries; therefore, they show greater participation in the industry by showing total commitment in support of what they value in the industry.

The question of choice and participation within the realms of reality television and politics

It is critical to observe that the United States society highly values democracy and liberalism that take place within the context of capitalism. However, the aspects of democracy and participation seem to have shifted from the political landscape and concentrated on the social landscape; the entertainment industry. Therefore, it is critical to bring out the reasons why such shifts are common in the society and the level at which they affect civic concerns and the culture of participation and democracy in the political landscape. It is important to put into the consideration that the roots of democracy and participation in any political economy are often based on the level of civic concerns, which steer the development of civic knowledge and the participation of people in political governance through the exercise of their democratic rights. The exercise of inclusive and participative democracy in political governance is pegged on the number of people who show the will and participate in elections and vetting of political leaders in the society (Brym & Lie, 2013).

Whether the digital revolution in the entertainment industry is an appositive force in the development of democracy and participation in the North American society continues to be a debatable subject. Most commentators agree with the fact that the landscape of entertainment has been largely transformed through the revolution of technology from the analogue to the digital platform. The speed and intensity with which the media content can be shared and accessed by people across the society has been broadened due to the adoption of digital technology. Networks that are established through the digital technology in the media industry have made it possible for players in the media industry to develop reality television programs that are easily aired across the society (Pomerance & Sakeris, 2012).

The idol culture is just an indicator of how the diverse pieces of elements in the media environment can be incorporated in the music and entertainment industry. With technology, it is easy for people to monitor the critical developments in the entertainment industry right from the backstage production of music to the recording and distribution of music in the society. Therefore, connections with the audiences are assured by the key players in the entertainment industry. It is critical to note that the connections are quite intense because they can be established on a variety of platforms.

Also, the consumption of the entertainment content and products can be done on a variety of platforms, thereby allowing the consumers in the industry to have tests of the products in the industry at varying levels. Advances in the telecommunication and broadcast industries also ensure ease when it comes to the development and production of content. What comes out in this observation is that there is a higher level of efficiency and effectiveness in the operation of the telecommunication and broadcast industry, a factor that highly promotes the engagement of participants in the entertainment industry (Pomerance & Sakeris, 2012).

Pomerance and Sakeris (2012) observe that marketing and commercialization are intense aspects that have been deployed in the entertainment industry and the development of the popular culture through reality television shows. For instance, identity and image play a critical role in the identification and consequent support of idols on the American Idols reality television show in the United States. The contestants turn into products once they are selected and start featuring on the American Idol show. The marketing exercise for the idols is largely enhanced by the audience. Choice rather than influence plays a great role in the enhancement of the marketing practices by the audience. In another perspective, the marketing exercise is widely seen as a commercial aspect rather than a process through which the winner of the contest is decided. This raises the question about the possibility of attaining democratic credibility owing to the high levels of controls that are applied by the people who oversee the show (Zittel & Fuchs, 2007).

As observed earlier, one factor that favours the development of popular culture through the reality television shows is the range of options that are offered to the public. This encourages the public to make choices. The cooperation between the telecommunication and the media industry enables the engagement of the public sphere in the social discourse. This brings out the concept of the public as not merely participants, but as consumers where all the developments revolve around the development of content that is favourable to the consumers. In the political discourse, citizens are supposed to take an active role in shaping the developments in the society.

The form of participation exhibited in the American Idol depicts an active environment in which the citizens are the key determinants of what they want to consume, contrary to the developments in the political realms that do not largely reflect citizens as consumers. This limits their choices in influencing the society. The disenfranchising of the public is something that is inevitable in the contemporary society. Perception is a key factor in civic participation. Though there have been continuous efforts in the society to improve the participatory environment in the political landscape by increasing the opportunities for citizen participation, there is still a low perception among the public about the level at which the public can influence the political discourse (Brym & Lie, 2013).

An observation of the political landscape in the society reveals the prevalence of a lot of challenges in the political environment. These challenges largely impede the process of crafting the important tools and trends that can enhance public participation and choice in the political landscape. One of the challenges that come out of the assessment of the development of a participatory and democratic environment in the political realms is the constriction of parties. Unlike the entertainment industry that is immensely commercialized, the political environment suffers from lack of commercialization and the lack of revenues to publicize and encourage wider participation of the public in decisions and outcomes. To a large extent, citizens within the political realms lack adequate incentives to influence their participation in the political discourse. This is why the scope of democracy and participation in the political environment remains constricted (Zittel & Fuchs, 2007).

Conclusion

From the argument presented in the paper, it is rational to conclude that democracy and the culture of participation flourish in the entertainment industry more than they do in the political landscape. The entertainment industry is more open, thus it offers a wider space of direct participation by the public and choice. This, in turn, promotes the principles of democracy. However, the political landscape is constricted in the sense that people are left with a limited space to make choices and directly influence decisions and outcomes.

References

Brym, R. J., & Lie, J. (2013). Sociology: Pop culture to social structure. N.S.W., Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Pomerance, M., & Sakeris, J. (2012). Popping culture, (7^th edn). Boston, MA: Pearson Learning Solutions.

Zittel, T., & Fuchs, D. (2007). Participatory democracy and political participation: Can participatory engineering: bringing the citizens Back in? London, UK: Routledge.

Introduction

The twenty first century has witnessed a major increase in the popularity of reality TV shows like it has never been experienced before. Reality TV shows have taken centre stage to take television entertainment and information to another level. There are various features of these shows that make them appealing to the audience and hence contribute to their popularity. This research study will look at some of these aspects of reality TV shows that have seen them take the entertainment sector by storm. This will be done through an analysis of one reality TV show: Masterchef Australia. This research study will further look at how this reality TV show evokes the aspect of reality by depicting real life situations in a live manner. The study will also look at some of the shows features of style such as documentary realism, simulacrum, simulation, tabloidization and technological reflexivity.

Overview Of The Reality Show

Masterchef Australia is a reality TV show that best exemplifies the contemporary reality TV shows. The fact that this show has won the Logie Award lends credence to the stance that it is a typical example of todays reality TV shows. Its popularity and airing on several television stations also shows that the show succeeded as a modern reality TV show. The analysis of this reality TV show can therefore be taken as the comprehensive analysis of the majority of todays reality TV shows that have the same aspects of style as this one.

The Masterchef Australia reality show can be described as a cooking game or contest that seeks to bring reality and entertainment to the mere practice of food preparation and other related areas. The contest has a series of seasons that follow the same format or change one or two things. The aim of the reality TV show is to present cooking as an enjoyable and challenging experience rather than the conventional boring task that is characterized by female figures. This reality show encompasses a number of interesting activities which are discussed below.

First Challenge

The first challenge of the show take place at night and requires the contestants to make a certain meal using a set of given ingredients. The contestants may also be asked to prepare a meal that suits the definition of certain theme using a core ingredient. Furthermore, the team may have to undertake external challenges such as cooking for a large number of people. The first three winners from this stage are set aside for their participation in the Immunity Challenge.

Second Challenge

The second stage of the show seeks to eliminate one of the three contestants from the previous nights challenge who scored lowest. The three contestants are once again given a recipe for a specific dish which they are then asked to prepare. After the judges have tasted the foods of the three contestants and awarded marks accordingly, the contestant who scores the lowest mark is eliminated as the challenge moves to the next level.

Third Challenge

The next level is called the immunity challenge. In this stage, the winner in the first stage competes against a guest who may be a chef or an apprentice. A meal is chosen and the contestant and the guest are told to prepare it using the given ingredients. After preparation, the meals are submitted to the judges for awarding. The meals are not labelled so the judges have no idea which dish belongs to the contestant or the guest chef. This helps to eliminate claims of bias or impartiality on the part of the judges. If the contestant scores the same mark or scores more than the guest, then he or she will be branded as the winner of the challenge. He or she then receives a pin that will save her from being eliminated in one of the subsequent challenges that follows. In season one, the winner of the immunity challenge was accorded a pass to the finale and was even allowed to go home and rest before the finale started.

Fourth Challenge

The team challenge comes just after the immunity challenge. In this team challenge, the contestants are tested on their ability to work as a team and achieve the best results. The challenge may take any of the following forms. First, the team may be required to serve a celebrity guest with a three course meal. Furthermore, the team may be required to run a restaurant for one evening. Lastly, the team may also have to successfully organize an event such as a wedding or birthday party. The success of this challenge is gauged on the basis of the amount of money made from the people served by the teams, the approval of the judges or the number of votes. The winning team receives an award which is mostly in the form of lunch in one of the top restaurants in the country.

Fifth Challenge

The members of the team that lost in the team challenge face a possible elimination. This elimination may take one of the following formats. The bottom two contestants of from the losing team may challenge each other in a head to head contest where the loser will be eliminated. The judges may also opt to ask each member of the losing team to single out an individual who contributed greatly to their failure. The person with the most nominations is automatically removed. In cases where a team challenge was replaced by an individual challenge, the bottom two contestants may engage in a contest of identifying ingredients of certain dish to determine who will be eliminated. The person who is the first to name a wrong ingredient is eliminated.

Final Stage

The final stage of the Masterchef Australia Reality TV show is the Masterclass. This is the final stage that will determine the overall winner of the whole show. In the course of this Masterclass, judges George and Gary may call back to some of the challenges that were experienced in the previous stages. The judges may also show how various dishes that were earlier prepared by some contestant could have been made better. The most significant part is the decisive moment when the judges announce the overall winner based on an analysis of the whole episode of the reality TV show.

The Masterchef Australia Reality TV show will be nothing but a boring cooking show without the deployment of some features. They are these features that make the show both entertaining and informative and keep the audience glued to their screens. These features include realism, simulation, simulacrum, hyperrealism, documentary realism, technological reflexivity and tabloidization. The rest of this paper will discuss each of these features in detail.

Realism

The Masterchef Australia reality TV show has aspects of realism in it. This is because the show depicts cooking events and practices in a manner that shows a real connection to the actual world. The events in the show are portrayed in such a manner that they draw their inspiration from the actual happenings in the real world. Realism permeates throughout this reality show as discussed below.

Unlike some other features, realism in a show cant be singled out and identified. Its presence is felt but its identification as one single entity is not easy. This is the case with the Masterchef Australia reality TV show. Throughout the episodes, the audience can feel the connection to reality as they watch the show. This connection exists because there is little or no difference between the the reality show and the actual world happenings. This lack of a big difference is what brings the aspect of realism from the actual world to the show.

The television format in which the show is aired is largely responsible for the concept or realism (Hill 2005). The ability to the television to transmit pictures of the show in a way that depicts the exact way in which they are done in daily life contributes largely to the aspect of realism. The realism is felt because the audience is in a position to visualize the events in the show as actual happenings in the real world.

Simulation

The Masterchef Australia reality TV show is a simulation of the real world of cooking. The show copies exactly what is done in the actual world and presents the same albeit with a few alterations here and there. The aspect of simulation can be appreciated in this show through the manner in which the show takes the form of reality. In fact, there is no significant distinction between what is shown in the show and how the same is done in the real world.

Simulation in this context has played a big role in merging the real world with what is depicted in the show. This simulation has gone as far as removing any possible indicators of the discrepancy between the two. An audience that is watching the Masterchef Australia reality TV show will at one time be convinced that what they are watching is actually happening and is not planned or tailored in any way. This is an aspect that lacks in other forms of digitized visual presentations. They lack the aspect of reality which in this case has been achieved through simulation.

Simulation of realty in the reality show has been able to achieve what other digitized imageries have not been in a position to achieve. This is because the extensive use of digitized media has eroded the reality that comes with the transmission of real pictures (Baudrillard 1983). The reality show discussed in this context is therefore an attempt to recover the reality that was previously swept away with the advent of digital technology.

Simulacrum

The Masterchef Australia reality TV show creates a situation where it is difficult or even impossible to distinguish between the activities shown on the show from their original form. This is because both of them are so identical that one can easily be mistaken to be the other. The sign, which is the show, can easily be confused with the referent, which is the original practice of the activities in the show (Sturken and Lisa 2001). This simulacrum has erased any guidelines that could be used to determine the originality and nature of the sign from the referent.

The events in the show take place in the same manner that they do in the real world. For instance, the part where the team of contestants is required to run a restaurant is no different from a real world setting where a restaurant is being run on an evening like such. The show has depicted the events in a way that it has taken care of each and every detail to ensure that it is identical to actual practice in the real world.

Hyperrealism

An exaggerated level of simulated realism is prevalent in the reality show. Attempts have been made to accord realism to the show to an extent that the realism has been blown out of proportion. Instead of setting forth the situation as it is in the real world, the reality show has ended up going overboard and coming up with hyperrealism. This is because some of the aspects detailed in the show are too idyllic or utopian to be real.

For instance, it is not real that a person who is able to identify the ingredients included in a certain dish by simply tasting it is a better at cookery skills compared to one who is not able. This is because the ability to produce a delicious dish is not related in any way to the ability to identify the components used in an already prepared meal. As a matter of fact, chefs should know the ingredients they are using before they start preparing a meal as opposed to the connotations in this case that they should still be able to single out the ingredients used after the meal is prepared. Therefore, some of the methods used to arrive at the winner of the reality show are not relevant and real to the world of cookery.

Documentary Realism

Documentary realism is witnessed in the reality show where the television camera follows the real occurrences and people. This facet contributes greatly to the realism of the show as seen on the television (Corner 2001). The use of this documentary realism enables the audience to feel as if they are part and parcel of the reality TV show. They feel as if they are present at the event in person and taking part actively in the activities going on. The documentary realism manages to do this by capturing their attention and taking them so close to the show that they feel that they are part of it.

Technological Reflexivity

The Masterchef Australia reality TV show relies heavily on the camera to achieve technological reflexivity. Indeed, the camera plays a crucial role in capturing the events as they are. Other than the event itself, the camera is the main mainstream to which the audience and the participants in the show are linked together. The manner in which the camera conveys the sound and pictures is therefore a determiner of the reception of the show on the other side.

A camera is able to catch each and every detail that takes place at the event and enable it to be seen by the audience (Collins 1997). The audience therefore solely relies on the camera for the show. The ability of the camera to catch all these details contributes to the aspect of realism. The realism of the show is therefore also dependent on the reflexion of the camera technology.

Therefore, the show itself is without significance if the camera does not come in to make adjustments that will make the show even more appealing to the audience. The most important thing is therefore not the show but the camera which determines how the show will appear to the audience using a variety of technical operations. The Masterchef Australia reality TV show is entirely depended on the camera technology in order to get through to its audience.

Tabloidization

Tabloidization is evident in the reality show where it contains content that can be both entertaining and informative. Tabloidization enables the reality show to contain both fictitious as well as bona fide facts (Biressi and Heather 2008). Through the combination of these two facts, the reality show is able to meet various needs of the audience. For instance, it can be entertaining as far as the competitive bit and the various elimination methods used are concerned. On the other hand, it can be informative when it comes to the methods of preparing dishes and other significant information about cookery skills.

In conclusion, it can be inferred from this research study that the Masterchef Australia reality TV show is one that has gained popularity across the earth. It can also be seen that the reality show employs the use of certain features that appeal to the audience and make it enjoyable as well as informative to watch. These features include realism, hyperrealism, simulation, simulacrum, technological reflexivity, tabloidization and documentary realism. From the explanation of each feature above, it can be inferred that the Masterchef Australia reality TV show capitalizes on these features in order to appeal to the audience.

Reference List

Baudrillard, J 1983, Simulations, Semiotext(e), New York Biressi, A and Heather, N 2008, The Tabloid Culture Reader, Open University Press, Maidenhead.

Collins, J 1997, Television and postmodernism in Peter Brooker and Will Brooker, (eds.), Postmodern after-images: A reader in film, television and video, Arnold Publishing, London.

Corner, J 2001, Documentary Realism, in Glen Creeber (ed.), The Television Genre Book, BFI, London.

Hill, A 2005, Reality TV: Audiences and Popular Factual Television, Routledge, London.

Sturken, M and Lisa, C 2001, Practices of looking: An introduction to visual culture, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Abstract

On January 25, 2011 a grand piano appeared on top of a sand bar in Floridas Biscayne Bay. No note or explanation accompanied the piano, and no other objects or debris inhabited the sand bar alongside it. This essay presents and analyses three different forms of coverage of the same news story, with an eye to how one version differs in portrayal from another. Each network offered a version of news coverage that contained a slightly altered slant evident in segment presentation. In one case, a clear bias appears, most notably in portrayal of members of a social group, as well as in the sensationalist presentation of the story.

Introduction

The inferred goal of news reporting, according to Lee (2005), remains to present accuracy, balance, and fairness in any and all stories (Lee, 2005). Accuracy refers to adhering specially to the facts of the story, balance measures and presents approximately an equal amount of coverage to each party privy to the story, and parties who encounter an impact from the story (Lee, 2005). Fairness refers to perspective; in Lees words, fairness results when when all involved parties perspectives are represented, and no more favorable treatment of any side  either qualitatively or quantitatively  exists. Therefore, fairness reveals itself as a form of balance (Lee, 2005). Media bias therefore becomes any obvious or subtle form of preferential and unbalanced treatment, or favoritism, toward a political or social issue (Lee, 2005). Media bias might be avoided by remaining impartial and unprejudiced, which is the norm in the journalism profession in the United States (Lee, 2005).

Shaw (1991) asserts that media bias remains largely accidental, and claims that those who point to bias in the media often do not understand the dynamics of the journalistic process (Shaw, 1991). Said bias is not toward politics or social agendas, but rather reporters tend to be biased in favor of a good story, a juicy, controversial story that will land them on page 1 or on the network evening news (Shaw, 1991)

This essay presents and analyses three different forms of coverage of the same news story, with an eye to how one version differs in portrayal from another. The news story under analysis takes place in Biscayne, Florida where officials discovered a grand piano on a sand bank a few hundred feet from shore. The news media coverage under review includes segments from Fox News, CNN, and ABC News. Each network offered a version of news coverage that contained a slightly altered slant evident in segment presentation. In one case, a clear bias appears, most notably in portrayal of members of a social group, as well as in the sensationalist presentation of the story.

Piano on a Sand Bar

On January 25, 2011 a grand piano appeared on top of a sand bar in Floridas Biscayne Bay. No note or explanation accompanied the piano, and no other objects or debris inhabited the sand bar alongside it. On the whole news coverage of this story favored a human interest slant and covered the story as a charming and whimsical mystery.

FOX News

FOX News often comes under scrutiny for its perceived right wing conservative slant on news issues and news coverage. Murry (2001) characterized FOX news as possessing commercial-laden, repetitive design [that] presents stories as if they had been fired from a shotgun (Murry, 2001). Similarly, in Murrys (2001) analysis of the presentation of standard news stories on FOX news, segments tend&to be less interactive, showing sound bite footage of press conferences more often than one-on-one interviews. Reporters also tend to voice over footage rather than letting people in the news speak for themselves (Murry, 2001).

The latter is true of FOX news coverage of the piano on the sand bar story. The story segment itself runs a rapid fire 18 seconds and includes aerial as well as close up images of the grand piano on the sand bar as a FOX news reporter recounts the story in a voice over: Folks near Miamis Biscayne Bay not sure how this grand piano ended up all the way out on this sand bar. Whoever managed to get this massive instrument out there placed it on the sand bars highest point and the city says its leaving it there. As long as its not harmful to wildlife or boaters it stays right there (FOX, 2011).

Point of view wise the FOX coverage attempts to be objective. The reporter refrains from any overt speculation as to how the piano arrived on the sand bar. No humans appear in the footage; only the piano, the ocean and the sand feature in the visual coverage. This choice allows the haunting image of the grand piano moored on a sand bar surrounded by water to speak for itself. The segment ends with a qualifying official statement from the city of Biscayne Bay officials that suggests that the officials understand the pianos implicit allure and fascination. On the whole FOX news coverage encourages viewers to form their own theories about the story of the piano and the sand bar, which supports an objective telling.

ABC News

The coverage of the grand piano on a sand bar story became a little more subjective in the ABC News example. Similar to the FOX coverage, the story moved quickly  27 seconds in total  and relied on close ups, zoom in shots, and high aerial shots to depict the lonely obscure juxtaposition of the piano on the sand bar surrounded by ocean. ABC News also covered the story using voice over from the reporter exclusively.

Where the ABC segment differed from the FOX segment was in the quality of the reporting, as evidenced herein: And finally when you think of a piano bar you mostly think of a piano in a bar, right? Well, heres a mystery thats given a whole new meaning to that term. A grand piano recently appeared on a sand bar in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Whoever put it there knew what they were doing. Its been placed at the highest point of the sand bar so that its not underwater during high tide. Coast guard says that unless the piano becomes a navigation hazard they wont touch it&or play it (ABC, 2011).

Unlike the FOX news coverage which left the origin of the piano as mystery, the ABC News correspondent involved a human agent and speculated as to that persons motivation, as shown by the phrase whoever put it there knew what they were doing (ABC, 2011). ABC Newss coverage as a result removes a bit of the charm and mysterious elements of the story by assigning a human will and motive to the pianos appearance. ABC News coverage also included more color in the sense that the reporter spoofed the piano bar reference and ended the segment with a joke (ABC, 2011).

CNN

CNNs coverage of this story differs significantly from that of FOX and ABC. The segment narrated by CNN reporter Jeanne Moos chooses a highly in depth and subjective slant for the story, one that essentially crushes all mystery and charm from the piece. Rather than focus exclusively on the visual impact of the piano on the sand bar, the CNN coverage includes clips from movies ranging from Disney to Casablanca, clips from local Miami news coverage, and voice overs from residents. Whereas both the FOX News and ABC News more or less allowed the image of the marooned piano to spark theories in its audience, the focus of the CNN segment remains to uncover the mystery, to assign responsibility and learn who is responsible for the piano being there.

The CNN segment the longest of the three at two minutes and 35 seconds. Similar to the ABC News coverage, the segment opens with a joke about a piano bar. Its not your usual piano bar, a piano on a sand bar and then goes on to call attention to the magnetism of the piano mystery itself: Its so unexpected, so charming you can almost imagine a mermaid tickling the ivories. It would strike a nice cord if we could tell you that the piano was still playable but reporters who have made it out to the sand bar say no (CNN, 2011).

Where the coverage becomes subjective is in its depiction of filmmakers William Yeager and Anais Yeager, who called CNN to take responsibility for the piano. The CNN coverage essentially reduces the piano to a publicity stunt for the Yeagers films, then proceeds to malign the work of the filmmakers through a series of unflattering clips from their previous films. As artists the Yeagers receive a harsh portrayal at the hands of CNN, heightened by the sarcastic and dismissive tone Jeanne Moos adopts when describing them: instead try picturing these two lugging a piano out to Biscayne Bay&making a film called Jesus of Malibu about a spiritual journey across North America (CNN, 2011).

Though clips from Jesus of Malibu appear in the segment, the Yeagers do not. The highlight of the CNN story remains photos taken by Florida resident Suzanne Beard, whose spectacular shots of pelicans frolicking on the piano ended up included as one of National Geographics photos of the week (CNN, 2011).

In conclusion, both FOX News and ABC News chose to cover the piano on a sand bar story with a focus on the beauty of the image of the piano in the bay, with no human involvement. This choice allowed viewers to respond emotionally to the images and experience the charm of the mystery. Conversely, the CNN coverage chose a more subjective and inherently cynical slant; the CNN coverage quashed the mystery and drained the allure of the piece, as it interpreted the piano on the sand bar as nothing but a publicity stunt by two desperately untalented filmmakers.

References

ABC News.com. (Producer). (2011). Grand piano found on Florida sand bar. ABC News.com. Web.

CNN.com. (Producer). (2011). Marooned piano. CNN.com. Web.

FOXNews.com. (Producer). (2011). Piano turns up on Florida sandbar. FOXNews.com. Web.

Lee, T. T. (2005). The liberal media myth revisited: an examination of factors influencing perceptions of media bias. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 49 (1), 43-49. Web.

Murry, B. (2001). Fox news, fair and balanced  Not. St. Louis Journalism Review 32 (242), 4. Web.

Shaw, D. (1991). Unreliable Sources: A Guide to Detecting Bias in News Media. Columbia Journalism Review 29 (5) 55-58. Web.

Introduction

Wil Time Bigtime is a Philippine television show broadcast by TV5 from Monday to Saturday, having premiered on October 23, 2010. The show is hosted by Willie Revilame and produced by Wil Productions. Formerly known as Willing Willie, Wil Time Bigtime is a variety game show in which participants take part in a series of games with the winner taking home a jackpot.

Controversy

Since its inception, Wil Time Bigtime has aired a number of shows that can deemed offensive and bad for society and this is one of the reasons why the show had to change its name from Willing Willie to the current name. First, the show consists of in-house girls who manage the show and appear onscreen (Bahala Na Si Batman, 2011).

These ladies are frequently scantily dressed and many viewers have opined that their dressing may promote acts of incest and rape. Most of these girls are regularly involved in feuds and this has sometimes led to temporary suspensions. Authorities have also mentioned that Wil Time Bigtime and similar shows draw their audiences by offering a quick source of cash, hence benefitting from the poverty of Filipinos (Bahala Na Si Batman, 2011).

The most notable act that was very offensive and amounted to child abuse occurred recently when a 6-year old boy performed a macho dance to show off his talent. This is an erotic dance in which the performer wears few clothes, in some cases, the performer wears only a boxer. In this specific case, the six-year old boy known as Jan-Jan performed the lewd dance on national television, and to the shock of viewers, the host and audience were so mesmerized that they told to reluctant Jan-Jan to perform the dance numerous times (Bahala Na Si Batman, 2011). This caused a big controversy with major sponsors pulling out and forcing the government and private organizations to investigate the matter. Eventually, the show was slapped with several sanctions that forced it to make a number of changes, plus the name (Chikkadora, 2011).

Defense of the Show

Despite having a number of scenes that can be considered offensive, the owners of the series have every right to create, distribute, and market the television show. First, the constitution grants every member the right to self-expression, onstage or offstage. If a person wishes to express himself or herself through dance or choreography, then they should be allowed to do so. Any hindrance towards the creation of this show would be a violation of the freedom of speech and expression.

After creation, the owners have the right to distribute their product television stations and private viewers that are willing to purchase it. This action can only be blocked if the owners have infringed copyright acts or violated any terms, clearly, the creators of Wil Time Bigtime have not done any action that may warrant the blockage of the distribution of their product. If television networks feel that the show violates some terms of its service, the it can either choose not to buy it or place a parental restriction feature.

Lastly, the creators of Wil Time Bigtime still have the right to market their product as long as it satisfies all legislation on marketing, for which it has not. similar to creators of other shows and movies, the creators of Wil Time Bigtime deserve every right to market their product in as many places as they want.

Reference List

Bahala Na Si Batman. (2011). The most offensive and tasteless show on Philippine television  bar none? Web.

Chikkadora. (2011). Wil Time Bigtime Promises a Lot of Firsts in Their Show. Web.

The article is written by Claire Atkinson and headed Research Report: Youngsters Not Abandoning Live TV. It discusses research conducted by the Council for Research Excellence on the video watching patterns of people aged between 18 and 24. The idea was that marketers believed that the modern youth spend more time watching TV and videos online compared to watching them traditionally on TVs. Hence they were starting to concentrate their marketing activities heavily towards online marketing campaigns.

The article tells us that on average a person aged between 18 and 24 will watch 5.5 minutes of computer video compared to w significant difference of 209.9 minutes of live TV viewing. The official result given out by the study said that TV viewing still amounts to the highest viewing even in the age group studied. In the eyes of the researchers, this has created a dispute with the common belief of marketers that people in this age group are more skewed towards watching TV on their mobile phones or computers. This is certainly an enormous difference.

However, the study also claims that digital media has now moved into second place just behind live TV after pushing the radio aside and leaving it at number three.

In my opinion, this is not completely shocking. I have always been very surprised as to why marketers put more effort into advertising online. There are very few ways of advertising online and the major ones include pop up, pop-under, banners, and active x displays. Each of them has severe limitations. Almost all of these techniques can be blocked by any user who wishes to. All browsers now come with pop-up blockers pre-installed which only leaves banners and active x displays. Many cautious users do not enable active x displays on their computers and banners are so limited in their design that they can hardly attract a person browsing the website.

But coming back to the point, the computer is a machine which I think will never be able to take over from live TV as the amount of effort to keep using a computer is much more than what is required to watch TV. Also, using a computer almost certainly means that you are multi-tasking. For example, you will be chatting to your friends and listening to music and watching TV on it. This wears a person out more quickly and just to relax the person will eventually go and sit in front of a TV.

Using a computer doesnt count as relaxation in my opinion. A computer was built for work. It was built to perform specific office-related tasks. It has been converted from a workstation into an entertainment machine. But since the TV was invented for the sole purpose of relaxation, it will be some while before the computer can overtake the TV for pure pleasure and relaxation, and who knows, we might have something better than even the computer at that time, making my first line true, that computer will never be able to become a better alternative than a TV.

Works Cited

Atkinson, C. Research Report: Youngsters Not Abandoning Live TV Broadcasting & Cable. 2009. Web.

Television is a form of art today, and the 2020 TV series Bridgeton, created by Chris Van Dusen, perpetuates this idea. This eight-episode TV series was shown on Netflix at the end of the year 2020, and it influenced the lives of its viewers in different forms. Thus, the viewers began to demonstrate their interest in art, history, and Regency romance, as well as race and gender attitudes of ancient and modern times.

I think that this TV series is art because it is made in a form of a novel and contains various elements of art. In the Week 7 Lesson (2021), one can read that modern episodes are now as chapter stops and parts of a whole. Bridgeton reminds me of a romance novel, in which viewers can see beautiful paintings, sculptures, architecture, and medieval dresses. At the same time, Rege-Jean Page, who performed the role of Duke of Hastings, sees this series as subversive art because of its multiculturalism and sexual intensity (Kalia, 2020). Such a deviation from historical accuracy caused a strong public reaction, making the viewers call the series colorblind and unlikely to be true (Luders-Manuel, 2021). I believe that such a response makes this series a form of art too because people can admire and discuss it, judge and criticize, and enjoy watching beautiful Holburne Museum locations represented in the episodes.

Bridgeton influenced its viewers, making them show more interest in art and the London culture of that period. Moreover, it raised such important themes as female sexuality and relationships between races. The series tried to shape British history, detaching British people from slavery and colonialism and making people look at that period from a novel perspective. I believe that this TV show made many viewers reconsider their opinions about the above-mentioned subjects, which makes it a form of modern art, even if it is subversive or non-traditional.

References

Kalia, A. (2020). Rege-Jean Page on Bridgerton: Were seeing this Regency romance through a feminist lens. The Guardian. Web.

Luders-Manuel, S. (2021). The Tragic Mulatta of Brigerton. JSTOR Daily. Web.

Week 7 lesson: Streaming has created a new art form. (2021). Chamberlain. Web.

The Shows I Chose to Watch

For this assignment, I decided to choose the following three shows: House, M.D., Scrubs, and Quincy, M.E. All of them are associated with medicine, and each one has a medical worker as the main character. However, while all of the shows are connected with medical melodrama, they are different in what concerns the genre.

House, M.D. features an arrogant but brilliant doctor Gregory House who has an outstanding talent to make the right diagnosis and by doing so, to save peoples lives(Autopsy). The team of professionals working with House consists of several doctors belonging to the diagnostic team. Each episode tells the story of a mysterious case that only the House is able to solve. With the help of his wits and intuition, this doctor helps many people to obtain a chance for many more years of life.

Unlike House, M.D., Scrubs is a mostly comical TV show, where the emphasis is not put on patients and saving their lives but on the interns and doctors personal affairs. The main character is Dr. John J.D. Dorian, who is also the voice of the series (Scrubs  My Super Ego). Some of the staff members are regular, and some are changing in different episodes. The main idea is to reflect the life of a young doctor through the prism of J.D.s point of view.

Quincy, M.E. is closer to House, M.D. than to Scrubs (Quincy ME S02 E01 02 Snake Eyes). In this TV show, the main character is the medical expert Quincy whose job is to investigate the unusual cases and find out the reason for peoples death. Quincy combines the characteristics of a doctor and a detective.

The Reason Why I Chose These Shows

I chose these three TV shows because they portray medical melodrama rather well. Each of them has a different approach, but all in all, these three shows are a great representation of medical melodrama.

In House, M.D., the main hero is fighting with the evil that is represented by dangerous diseases. Doctor House may not be the sweetest person on Earth, but his kindness is expressed in other ways. He is rude and seems uncompassionate, but it is his activity that saves the lives of many patients. Thus, House, M.D. shows the traditional feature of melodrama  the opposition between the good and the evil, where the good always wins.

The reason why Scrubs is a melodrama is its portrayal of peoples feelings and affairs. All kinds of events  happy and sad, funny and serious, silly and inspirational  are included in this TV show. The melodramatic character of the series is present even in its title, which is the play of words meaning both a surgical uniform and an inexperienced person. Scrubs has some elements of a slapstick comedy, which is also the reason why it may be concerned with a melodramatic show.

The melodrama in Quincy, M.E., just like in House, M.D., is in the fight between the good and the evil. The main character is doing everything possible to fight the villains in each of the episodes. The hero is wise and shrewd, he does not get distracted from his aim easily, and he does not make any allowances. His purpose is to find and punish the villain, which he always does due to his exceptional analytical features.

Therefore, all of these TV shows are different, but the melodramatic component is what connects them.

Works Cited

Autopsy. YouTube, uploaded by NBCUvinersalShows. Web.

Quincy ME S02 E01 02 Snake Eyes. YouTube. 2016. Web.

Scrubs  My Super Ego. YouTube, uploaded by ABCTVONDEMAND. 2012. Web.

Introduction

The number of advertisements that reach modern consumers is 100-1000 per day (Tellis 1). Television is one of the most powerful advertising mediums (Hoxie 38). To launch a memorable commercial, the creator should put much effort into choosing appropriate audio, video, and computer graphics (Dahl 124). Bridgestones Hands is a good example of implementing a creative idea in launching an interesting and motivating TV commercial.

Hows the TVC?

Bridgestones TV Commercial called Hands uses the allegorical comparison of the handprint with the tread connecting the tires to the road. The advertisement uses the shadow play performed by four hands. The design of the video is kept in doomed colors, using black & white concept. It lets the viewer concentrate on the message conveyed by the TV Commercial instead of been distracted by bright details. The audio used in the commercial is neutral music, which promotes a joyful mood and does not distract the viewer from the message of the ad.

How is the impression?

The video commercial franchised (VCF) leaves a great impression, as its design is very creative. The creators of the commercial found an easy and comprehensible way of demonstrating the safety of Bridgestone tires. The idea of using hand shadow play appears to be rather successful and encourages the viewers to watch the video until the end.

What is the impact?

The commercial impacts the viewers attitude to the importance of the safety of tires used while driving. It encourages the viewers to give preference to the tires manufactured by Bridgestone, the company that puts stress on its determination to make sure that its clients are safe.

Understandable for GCC?

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region has witnessed huge changes related to the Arab Spring (Duffy 5). The commercial appears to be understandable for GCC, as its message is based on motifs like safety and reliability, which are common for all people. However, certain specifics of the region make the commercial less understandable for its population in comparison with the population of Western countries.

What is the message you get from this VCF

The VCF delivers the message of security provided by Bridgestone for all clients using its tires and encourages the viewers of the commercial to put themselves in the Bridgestones hands and feel safe on the road (Bridgestone Commercial: Hands TV Ad by Bridgestone Tyres).

Do you get any of the below messages?

The message of the importance of ensuring safety and premium quality is central in the commercial. The message of supporting individuals with innovation, environment, and vibrant does not appear to be conveyed in the commercial.

The message I get from the commercial is the importance of using tires manufactured by the safest company. The modern higher education system in Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries is quite young (Structure of Higher Education par. 2). The percentage of people possessing higher education degrees are lower in the GCC region compared to Western countries. It leads to a lower understanding of the primary message of the discussed VCF. Besides, the image of French kiss used in the commercial appears to be inappropriate for Saudi Arabia & Arab countries society due to the low acceptance of demonstrating intimate relationships in public in those countries. Therefore, such features of the commercial appear to be unsuitable for Saudi Arabia & Arab countries society:

• the use of the image of French kiss.
• the orientation of the commercial towards Western consumers.

The study conducted by using the questionnaire indicated that the initial message, related to the advantages of choosing tires of Bridgestone Company appears to be better received by the viewers with a higher level of education (See Appendix). The overall understandability of the VCF appears to be not dependant on the level of education of the viewers.

Appendix

Questionnaire used to analyze the impact of the level of education on the understandability of the TVC:

1. What is your level of education?
2. Would you skip the commercial if you find it on the internet by accident?
3. What is the primary message of the commercial?
4. What is the topic explored in the commercial?

Results

Works Cited

Bridgestone Commercial: Hands TV Ad by Bridgestone Tyres. Youtube. 2014. Web.

Dahl, Gary. Advertising For Dummies. 2nd ed. 2007. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley Publishing, Inc.. Print.

Duffy, Matt. Media Laws and Regulations of the GCC countries. Summary, Analysis and Recommendations, Doha Qatar: Doha Centre for Media Freedom, 2013. Print.

Hoxie, Mark. 90 Days to Success Marketing and Advertising Your Small Business, Boston, Massachusetts: Course Technology, 2011. Print

Structure of Higher Education. n.d. Web.

Tellis, Gerard. Effective Advertising: Understanding When, How, and Why Advertising Works, Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, 2003. Print.

QI: A Brief Overview

Launched in 2003, QI is an intellectual panel game which was hosted by a national celebrity, Steven Fry, for over ten years. Nowadays, Fry is replaced by Sandi Toksvig  the first female host of a mainstream comedy panel show on British television (Stephen Fry Steps Down as QI host par. 1) who is accompanied by a regular team captain, Alan Davies (Raeside par. 2). The programme can be distinguished from some other panel games by the hardness of questions proposed to game participants  famous comedians who love to laugh and who know how to do it. The major objective of QI guests is not to provide answers accurately but to answer in an effective and funny way and provoke a positive emotional response in the audience. Since the guests are not expected to answer the questions correctly, the points are given to them according to to the hosts evaluation.

QI is grounded in the philosophy that everything in the world is quite interesting, provided that you look at in the right way (QI par. 1). In consistency with this worldview, the programmes series each time cover new subjects from the animal world to social studies and religion (QI: Quite Interesting). Other QI principles state that we all know less than we think we know, new connections between phenomena and concepts can be found everywhere, and it is not needed to use specialised language or study manuscripts to discover interesting things (QI par. 3). To implement these vision in practice, QI research team strives to find the interesting facts which an average person does not usually know or on which one may have wrong perspectives. It is possible to say that the major QIs mission is the elimination of misperceptions and filling the gaps in knowledge along with entertaining. In this way, QI panel game settles at the junction of educational television and comedy genres.

Show Production: Evaluation of Industrial Environment

The programmes creator is John Lloyd who also produces such shows as Spitting Image and The News Quiz (QI par. 2). Since 2003, the show is broadcasted at BBC  one of the biggest phenomena in British and international television industry. The television corporation has a strong influence across the globe, and it manages to maintain a leading position among competitors due to its technical advancement, credibility, and popularity. BBC has wide broadcasting scopes, and its large audience share is characterised by stability. And although the company is the global mass media giant, the programmes broadcasted at BBC are not of great interest to advertisers and are not sponsored by state budgets (Barnett and Seaton 327). The scope and success of the British corporation development were defined primarily by the high-quality management, unique content, technology which contributed to the creation of BBC image associated with credibility and advancement and brought public recognition.

Throughout the history of its existence, BBC adhered to the policy of content localisation and adaptation to specific interests and preferences of local audiences. The company invested only those trends of broadcasting activities which are expected to be more perspective than others. When QI was initially pitched for BBC channels, it was turned down for several times, but ultimately the BBC controller, Jane Root, commissioned the series of sixteen episodes (QI par. 2). Thus, although the shows launching did not go smooth at first, later, its progress was substantially supported by BBCs significance and reliability.

BBC is recognised for its democratic policies and compliance with the values of balance and impartiality (Barnett and Seaton 328). It means that the company attempts to include the diversity of opinions and voices into its content. BBC programmes are developed through the implementation of critical thinking, consideration of diversity, professionalism, and respect. And it is possible to say that the mentioned standards are as well relevant to QI show as one of BBCs services. The show addresses a great variety of issues of both topical and general character. QI cast includes hundreds of writers, comedians, actors and anchorpersons who discuss different topics and express opinions while, at the same time, serving as the mediators for conveying the shows message and encouraging the aspiration for knowledge development in the audience.

Based on this, QI is associated with diversity in content development and consideration of multiple perspectives on facts and ideas. Despite the non-serious character of the show, a lot of serious topics are touched upon by the guests and the hosts, and the show itself serves as the arena for expression of distinct beliefs, perceptions, and values which can be either accepted or rejected by a viewer. For example, a guests quote the only South African past-time I know about is leaving the Country when it becomes a Democracy (QI: Quotes par. 15) refers to a difficult political situation in the South African Republic when apartheid policy was practiced, and the native African population was deprived of many civil and human rights while the European population enjoyed privileges until the democracy was established in the country and segregation was demolished. Many other examples can be drawn. For instance, in one of the episodes, Stephen Fry said:

There was a travellers handbook that advised women should put pins in their mouth when trains went into a tunnel so  [chortling]  men didnt kiss them. To protect themselves from unwanted kissing! They put a pin in their mouth (QI quotes par. 1).

The quote provokes the reflection over females social status, social gender roles, gender perceptions and stereotypes, as well as their evolution over time. In this way, although QI belongs to comedy genre, it is an intellectual and thought-provoking programme which, first of all, does not ignore present social, political, and other problems, and stimulates viewers for the engagement in thinking process and reflection over various issues on their own.

Social and Cultural Significance

At the current stage of development, television attempts to fulfil a polyfunctional set of tasks. As a cultural factor, it comprises all properties of economic, political, social, and ethical information. Moreover, while being an aesthetic value, television can be regarded as a new form of art. However, contrary to other forms of art, television fails to nurture and protect spiritual domain of human performance, but it rather adjusts viewers to particular modes of life by broadcasting multiple programmes, reality shows, and family dramas which serve as instructions for behaviour development (Burger 2). Experience obtained through the consumption of such shows is related to the evaluation of and mastering new concepts, but it still can contradict with actual life experiences. Through entertainment programmes, television builds artificial worldview frameworks which viewers may perceive as real (McConnell 197).

Entertainment television, e.g. reality shows, quiz shows, and games, is always associated with leisure, relaxation, and, as a rule, is considered to be a non-serious and interesting pastime. Sometimes, the evaluation of such programmes has negative connotations, and the shows are often accused of purposelessness and the lack of pithiness. Thus, entertainment shows are frequently perceived as a pleasant but empty makeweight to other forms of television content. For example, one of the multiple reviews of QI states that the show makes zero sense due to the topics they discuss (Philpott par. 1). However, such opinion contradicts the perspectives of the majority of QI fans who appreciate the show because of its fine humour and the peculiar facts one can enjoy learning from the guests discussions (What is your review of QI (TV Series)? par. 1).

The mentioned negative evaluation of the programme is made by a journalist from New Zealand who, like many other foreigners, perceives QI as a British show for a British audience (Philpott par. 1) and find it difficult to comprehend the whole idea behind the show content selection, as well as the character of discussions, due to peculiarity of language use, articulation, and the British humour which is regarded as a national treasure. QI is a purely British product, and it is another merit of the show because it is impossible to find similar programmes from other English speaking countries that could substitute the programme. It is also worth mentioning, that the shows ex-host, Stephen Fry, was considered everyones favourite headmaster, (Raeside par. 2) and it is possible to assume that the participation of a highly popular British celebrity contributed to the attraction of potential show viewers and significantly enhanced QI capacity of creating audience values.

Despite the major negative or superficial views of entertainment programmes, QI has many meaningful implications. For instance, as a reality and improvisation show it conveys information about acceptable norms and models of social behaviour. Like all quiz shows, it helps to train leadership qualities and pragmatism that can be useful in competition. Based on this, QI has a potential to educate viewers not merely by transmitting factual information but by providing them with an implicit opportunity to evaluate the manners of social interactions and overall social and cultural environment represented in the programme.

Analysis of Genre Contexts

Like it was mentioned above, QI contains the qualities of entertainment and education programmes which significantly contribute to the generation of social and cultural values and determine individual social orientation. The major purposes of education programmes are stimulation of individuals engagement in the process of self-education and knowledge development while entertaining comedy shows are mainly associated with relaxation and opportunity to halt an intense thinking process and decrease stress. Education primarily focuses on the informative aspect of content, but the concern of entertainment programmes is humour, fun, and generation of positive emotions. These two genres are often perceived as opposing to each other and mutually exclusive. However, the researchers suggest that the ability to balance between information and entertainment defines a channels ability to attract mass audiences (Norris and Holtz-Bacha 127).

QI is an example of interaction between media use and cognitive knowledge building. Although the main shows mission is education and a great portion of efforts in programme development is given to research and finding unusual and interesting facts, entertainment is paid great attention as well. As a result, QI is a unique mix of high-quality intellectual humour, satire, and education through discussion. Although the audience is not directly involved in the process of communication, viewers are provided with the opportunity to be engaged in self-reflection and independent exploration activities.

The genre of comedy makes QI highly attractive to a vast public and increases its success in communicating important social messages. Comedy is regarded as the creative reflection of life upon itself (Ford 93). In contrast to serious educational formats, it provokes strong impacts on psychological and emotional states of the audience. And comedy-orientation of QI is an essential element of its success and popularity, but its intellectual constructs clearly delineate the frames of the targeted audience  QI may not be appealing to those who have a limited scope of interests and who are not inclined to inquire. At the same time, the programme contributes to the integration of value of impartiality into the society and promotes a love of learning, and it makes QI an outstanding and irreplaceable project on the British television.

Works Cited

QI: Quotes, n.d. Web.

QI Quotes, n.d. Web.

QI.British Comedy Guide, n.d. Web.

QI: Quite Interesting.YouTube, n.d. Web.

Stephen Fry Steps Down as QI Host.BBC, 2015. Web.

What is Your Review of QI (TV Series)? Quora, 2015. Web.

Barnett, Steven, and Jean Seaton. Why The BBC Matters: Memo To The New Parliament About A Unique British Institution.Political Quarterly 81.3 (2010): 327-332. Academic Search Complete. Web.

Burger, Mariekie. Social Development, Entertainment-education, Reality Television and the Public Sphere: The Case of Zola 7. Communicatio 38.1 (2012): 1-14. Web.

Ford, Russell. On the Advantages and Disadvantages of Comedy for Life.Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology 35.1 (2004): 89-105. Web.

McConnell, Robert R. Disappearance of the Truth and Realism in Television Criticism. Journal of Mass Media Ethics 5.3 (1990): 191-202. Web.

Norris, Christina and Pippa Holtz-Bacha. To Entertain, Inform, and Educate: Still the Role of Public Television. Political Communication 18.2 (2001): 123-40. Web.

Philpott, Chris. Does QI Really Makes Zero Sense? Stuff, 2011. Web.

Raeside, Julia. QI: After 10 Series Still Rather More Than Quite Interesting. The Guardian, 2012. Web.

Show Background

Evidently enough, the development of modern communication technologies, which manifests itself primarily in the emergence of various social networks, contributes significantly to the occurrence of different challenges in the field of interpersonal communication. Accordingly, this phenomenon is naturally reflected in the works of modern culture. One of the TV shows that address communicational problems in the context of social media and social networks is Gossip Girl (Pirone, 2018).

The show aired between 2007 and 2012, depicting the life of upper-class young adults in New York, and it was critically acclaimed, having a 7,4 score on IMDb (Gossip Girl (TV Series 20072012), 2018). The relationships between two of the shows primary characters, Blair and Serena, could be exemplified as the excellent source material for the discussion of the issues related to conflict negotiation, friendship rules, betrayal, and barriers to efficient verbal communication (BlairSerena relationship, 2018; Weintraub, 2015).

The purpose of this paper is to dwell upon the discussion of the relevant conceptual framework, reviewing academic literature on the topic. Based on the thorough investigation of the scholarly sources, which discuss the primary aspects of the theory and its criticism, the foundation for the development of the original research will be established.

Conceptual Framework

The theoretical framework that is chosen as the most relevant scholarly approach for the discussion of the concepts and issues under consideration is the face-negotiation theory. Originally, the theory was developed and presented by Brown and Levinson in 1978, as it is mentioned in the article by Ting-Toomey and Kurogi (1998). Since then, the theoretical framework has gained much attention because it established a comprehensive approach to the investigation of interpersonal relationships within society. Stella Ting-Toomey is one of the most acclaimed and prolific contributors to the development of the theory as she continues to publish work in this area of concern. Thus, as the general context of the theorys emergence is provided, it is possible to explore its main characteristics and assumptions.

It could be observed that the initial purpose, which influenced the overall trajectory of the face-negotiation theorys development, was to develop an understanding of how individuals from different cultures respond to and manage conflicts, primarily of interpersonal nature. It is worth mentioning that both verbal and non-verbal means of communication are within the focus of the theory.

According to the study by Ting-Toomey and Kurogi (1998), the main perspective of the conceptual framework under discussion on the phenomenon of conflict could be formulated in the following way: conflicts are viewed as situations in which individuals contradicting self-interests contribute to the development of conflicts goals, which are achieved by the conflicting parties to some extent (Ting-Toomey & Kurogi, 1998). Accordingly, it is possible to observe that in conflict situations self-identities of individuals are manifested and shaped in the process of communication.

Regarding the primary underlying assumption of the theoretical framework under consideration, it is appropriate to cite the study by Oetzel and Ting-Toomey (2003). In this article, reflecting upon the differences within the cross-cultural understanding of the nature of the conflict, the authors state that face is an explanatory mechanism for cultures influence on conflict behavior (Oetzel & Ting-Toomey, 2003, p. 599).

In the research by Oetzel and Ting-Toomey (2003), the authors conducted an empirical test, administering questionnaires to 768 participants in 4 different national cultures (China, Germany, Japan, and the United States). Four key conclusions were retrieved from the results of the conducted study.

First of all, it is found that collectivist and individualist cultures influence the conflict styles of individuals to a vast extent (Oetzel & Ting-Toomey, 2003). Secondly, independent and interdependent self-construals were largely connected to self-face and other-face respectively (Oetzel & Ting-Toomey, 2003). Thirdly, an evident connection was found between self-face and the dominating conflict style as well as between other-face and the tendency to avoid conflict situations.

Lastly, it was found that face accounted for the total of variance explained for dominating conflict styles, most of the total variance explained in integrating (70% of 20% total explained), and some of the total variance explained in avoiding (38% of 21% total explained) (Oetzel & Ting-Toomey, 2003, p. 613). In general, it could be stated that this research represents a thorough and successful investigation of the theorys robustness. The findings also indicate the frameworks primary assumptions.

Further, it is also appropriate to mention several studies that also contributed to the development of the face-negotiation theory. The article that is highly worth mentioning is written by Zhang, Ting-Toomey, and Oetzel (2014) as it dwells upon the discussion of mediating effects of anger, compassion, and guilt in interpersonal conflict within the face-negotiation theory. The authors focus on the comparison of the conflict styles of the United States and Chinas cultures.

It was found that anger in its various forms is largely associated with the independent self-construal, which is distinctive for the American culture (Zhang et al., 2014). On the contrary, compassion was connected with the interdependent self-construal, which is the characteristic of collectivistic Chinese culture (Zhang et al., 2014). Accordingly, this study extends and reinforces the assumptions of the originally developed theory.

Additionally, it is possible to mention the study by Ting-Toomey (2010), in which the author discussed the importance of the dimensional value framework within the context of the face-negotiation theory. Ting-Toomey (2010) argues that the application of dimensional values contributes positively to studying the interpersonal conflict as it allows building a more comprehensive perspective on the subject matter. Also, given the overall scope of the projected research paper, it is of high importance to mention the article by Chen (2015).

In this study, the author investigates the crucial role of social media on the development of conflicts along with understanding self-identities (Chen, 2015). The author conducts a three-condition (rejection, criticism, control) single-factor experiment (Chen, 2015). As the result, it is found that even relatively minor face-threatening acts of rejection or criticism on a social-networking site similar to Facebook lead to increases in self-reported negative affect and retaliatory aggression, compared with a control (Chen, 2015, p. 819). As these findings are also discussed within the context of the face-negotiation theory, it could be stated that the conceptual framework is well-elaborated and evidence-based.

Criticism of the Framework and Complementary Theories

The face-negotiation theoretical framework is not largely criticized as it is proven to be an effective theory. However, the article by Oetzel and Ting-Toomey (2003) mentions several limitations to their study. For example, they mentioned that the validity of the dual-concern model of self-and other-concern, which is used in the theory, should be further researched to prove its applicability across different cultures (Oetzel & Ting-Toomey, 2003).

Another limitation that is mentioned by the authors is that the study relies primarily on self-reported information (Oetzel & Ting-Toomey, 2003). However, the theory is still highly potent in terms of explaining conflict styles and the development of conflict situations. The general theory of negotiation, studied by Jang, Elfenbein, and Bottom (2018), as well as interpretive, critical, and social science, approaches described by Ting-Toomey (2010), could be mentioned as complementary theoretical frameworks.

The Connection of the Studied Concepts to the Research

After the conducted literature review, one aspect appears to be insufficiently studied within the context of the face-negotiation theory. The total of the studies that were mentioned in the paper focuses almost exclusively on the comparative investigation of the perspectives on interpersonal conflicts in different cultures. However, it is suggested that the theory could be efficiently used in order to explore the nature of conflicts between individuals within the context of American culture. Thus, it is decided to address the topic of interpersonal conflicts between the two characters of Gossip Girl in the projected research paper as the show is the excellent source material for the discussion of this topic.

Identification of Research Questions

Lastly, it is of high significance to develop appropriate research questions that will guide the process of research. Based on the identified overall scope of the projected research paper, several questions should be addressed. The main question is the following: how can the face-negotiation theory explain the emergence and development of interpersonal conflicts in American society on the example of Blair and Serenas characters from Gossip Girl? Secondary research objectives could be formulated as follows: what is the role of (1) friendship rules, (2) betrayal, and (3) barriers to cooperative verbal communication in the development of interpersonal conflicts between Blair and Serena?

References

BlairSerena relationship. (2018). Web.

Chen, G. M. (2015). Losing face on social media: Threats to positive face lead to an indirect effect on retaliatory aggression through negative affect. Communication Research, 42(6), 819-838.

Gossip Girl (TV series 20072012)  Plot summary  IMDb. (2018). Web.

Jang, D., Elfenbein, H. A., & Bottom, W. P. (2018). More than a phase: Form and features of a general theory of negotiation. Academy of Management Annals, 12(1), 318-356.

Oetzel, J. G., & Ting-Toomey, S. (2003). Face concerns in interpersonal conflict: A cross-cultural empirical test of the face negotiation theory. Communication Research, 30(6), 599-624.

Pirone, K. (2018). 20 things everyone gets wrong about. Screen Rant. Web.

Ting-Toomey, S. (2010). Applying dimensional values in understanding intercultural communication. Communication Monographs, 77(2), 169-180.

Ting-Toomey, S., & Kurogi, A. (1998). Facework competence in intercultural conflict: An updated face-negotiation theory. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 22(2), 187-225.

Weintraub, H. (2015). Everything Gossip Girl taught us about female friendship. Teen Vogue. Web.

Zhang, Q., Ting-Toomey, S., & Oetzel, J. G. (2014). Linking emotion to the conflict face-negotiation theory: A US-China investigation of the mediating effects of anger, compassion, and guilt in interpersonal conflict. Human Communication Research, 40(3), 373-395.