8. Reality tv

From Across Cultures

By E. Sharma

In 1974, the BBC broadcast a new TV programme called The family. In 12 episodes, everyday scenes from the lives of the working-class Wilkins family in Reading were shown to the nation. Some television executives feared that it couldn’t possibly be a success – who would be interested in watching something so boring? But The family was instantly a huge hit. Known then as “fly-on-the-wall” documentaries, and now as “docusoaps” or reality TV, such programmes now dominate the TV schedules and regularly attract millions if viewers.

In the 1990s, house and garden makeover programmes such as Changing rooms were particularly popular, while docusoaps such as Driving School made overnight stars out of likeable ordinary people such as Maureen Rees, possibly the worst driver in the world.

In the new millennium, however, reality TV programmes have tended to become more personal and humiliating. Fat Club, for example, followed the ups and downs of eight overweight people desperate to lose weight at a remote health club, and Wife Swap took the simple but explosive idea of two women swapping places in each other’s families for two weeks. For the first week they had to live according to the other woman’s rules, but for the second week they could dictate how the house was run. In 2003, reality humiliation reached a new low with How Clean Is Your House?, a surprise hit involving two women who investigate some of the dirtiest homes in the country, then return later to see if the inhabitants are still following their

cleaning advice.

With reality TV also came interactive TV, starting with the mother of them all, Big Brother. Following the model of that programme, in which viewers decide each week by vote who stays and who goes, many other elimination shows quickly appeared. The most popular ones were Pop Slurs, Fame Academy and I’m a Celebrity – Get me Out of Here, where a group of celebrities attempt to survive for two weeks in the jungle together, performing various tasks along the way. Celebrities, especially those seeking to boost their careers, seem particularly keen to appear on reality shows, as successful celebrity versions of Big Brother, Driving School, Fat

Club and Fame Academy have proved.

9. Mass media of the future

Mass media is any medium used to transmit mass communication. Until recently mass media was clearly defined and was comprised of the eight mass media industries: Books, Newspapers, Magazines, Recordings, Radio, Movies, Television and the Internet.

Defining mass media is no longer clear cut or simple. The continuing explosion of digital communication technology breeds new questions concerning the list of mass media. Considerable debate surrounds this topic at the moment and the answer is still not entirely clear.

A cell phone or any phone is not typically considered to be a mass medium. A telephone is

a simple two way communication device, capable of serving only few people at time.

Looking at the definition of mass media, it is clear that a mass medium must communicate a message to a large group, often simultaneously. However, modern cell phones are no longer a single use device. Most cell phones are equipped with Internet access and capable of connecting to the web which is in fact a mass medium. Does this make cell phones a mass

medium or simply a device to access the web?

Currently, there is a plan in motion that will allow advertisers to link to satellites and broadcast commercials and advertisements directly to millions of cell phones. Transmitting mass advertising to millions of people is indeed mass communication. Someday, in the near future, you may check your cell phone and find it flashing a message that you have two missed calls AND that four out of five dentists chose Trident.

Should video and computer games be included in a definition of mass media? Is “World

of Warcraft” a mass medium strictly speaking? Consider the fact that video games certainly

contain messages and ideologies conveyed to users. Users sometimes share the experience by playing online but players of video games are also sharing a common experience when they have played the game separately. It is possible to discuss in great detail the events of a video game with a friend you have never played with because the experience was identical to you both. Are you receiving the same message along with millions of others? Is this mass communication? Experts disagree but once again, the question may soon become disputable as advertisers are looking into placing advertisements as well as product placement into the games

themselves.

As digital communication technology continues to expand, exactly what devices constitute a mass medium will undoubtedly continue to evolve and expand the current definition beyond the eight mass media industries.