Reality TV

Reality TV has changed television and changed reality, even if
we are not among the millions who watch. Written for a broad
audience, this accessible overview addresses questions such
as: How real is reality TV? How do its programs represent
gender, sex, class, and race? How does reality TV relate to
politics, to consumer society, to surveillance? What kind of
ethics are on display? Drawing on current media research and the
author's own analysis, this study encompasses the history and
evolution of reality television, its production of reflexive selves
and ordinary celebrity, its advertising and commercialization, and
its spearheading of new relations between television and social
media.

To dismiss this programming as trivial is easy. Deery demonstrates
that reality television merits serious attention and her incisive
analysis will interest students in media studies, cultural studies,
politics, sociology, and anyone who is simply curious about this
global phenomenon.

Auteur

June Deery is an Associate Professor of Media Studies at Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute. She has been a Faculty Fellow at the
National Association of Television Program Executives and currently
serves as her department's Graduate Program Director.

Résumé

Reality TV has changed television and changed reality, even if we are not among the millions who watch. Written for a broad audience, this accessible overview addresses questions such as: How real is reality TV? How do its programs represent gender, sex, class, and race? How does reality TV relate to politics, to consumer society, to surveillance? What kind of ethics are on display? Drawing on current media research and the author's own analysis, this study encompasses the history and evolution of reality television, its production of reflexive selves and ordinary celebrity, its advertising and commercialization, and its spearheading of new relations between television and social media.

To dismiss this programming as trivial is easy. Deery demonstrates that reality television merits serious attention and her incisive analysis will interest students in media studies, cultural studies, politics, sociology, and anyone who is simply curious about this global phenomenon.

Contenu
Acknowledgements

1. Introduction: Definitions, History, Critiques
2. Reality Status
3. Social Television: Reality TV and New Media
4. Advertising and Commercialization
5. Gender and Race
6. Class
7. Politics
   Notes
   References
   Index