Governmentality in Makeover Reality TV
Reality TV is a genre of television programming in which actual occurrences and unscripted situations are depicted, usually using a cast that is previously unknown to the audience. Since the beginning of reality TV programming, believed to be in the 1940s, it has become an increasingly popular form of television programming that ultimately achieved worldwide success in the late twentieth/early twenty first century. (OSU, 2001)
In this essay, a makeover reality TV show will be looked at with regard to its representation of governmentality.
The programme that will be examined is What Not To Wear (UK), a BBC TV production that had series running through from 2001-2007. This makeover reality TV show focuses specifically on the themes beauty and appearance.
The aim of this show is to take the shows contestants and transform them from “floundering individuals into successful self-managers” (Ouellette and James, 2008).
What Not To Wear has proven to be a very successful programme after achieving significantly high viewer ratings on two of the UK’s most popular channels, BBC One and BBC Two.
The aim of this essay is to look at the idea that you cannot be a ‘good’ citizen unless you look good. It will focus on how techniques of governmentality are being used on makeover reality TV programming to achieve this by transforming the subjects into socially constructed idea of the ‘ideal’ citizen and ultimately achieve the desired outcome of becoming a good citizen.
This will be done by first giving a brief definition on the term governmentality. This will be given in relation to the topic of discussion in order to fully understand how it is represented throughout the makeover reality TV show in question.
What it means to be a ‘good’ citizen will also be looked at in order to compare how the shows contestants and the ways in which they have been changed as a result of their of their makeover with societies idea of what is right.
An in-depth analysis of the structure and
In this essay, a makeover reality TV show will be looked at with regard to its representation of governmentality.
The programme that will be examined is What Not To Wear (UK), a BBC TV production that had series running through from 2001-2007. This makeover reality TV show focuses specifically on the themes beauty and appearance.
The aim of this show is to take the shows contestants and transform them from “floundering individuals into successful self-managers” (Ouellette and James, 2008).
What Not To Wear has proven to be a very successful programme after achieving significantly high viewer ratings on two of the UK’s most popular channels, BBC One and BBC Two.
The aim of this essay is to look at the idea that you cannot be a ‘good’ citizen unless you look good. It will focus on how techniques of governmentality are being used on makeover reality TV programming to achieve this by transforming the subjects into socially constructed idea of the ‘ideal’ citizen and ultimately achieve the desired outcome of becoming a good citizen.
This will be done by first giving a brief definition on the term governmentality. This will be given in relation to the topic of discussion in order to fully understand how it is represented throughout the makeover reality TV show in question.
What it means to be a ‘good’ citizen will also be looked at in order to compare how the shows contestants and the ways in which they have been changed as a result of their of their makeover with societies idea of what is right.
An in-depth analysis of the structure and
Bibliography: Primary Sources What Not To Wear, 2001. [TV programme] BBC, BBC1, 29 November 2001 20.30 Secondary Sources Joseph, J., 2010. Governmentality and its Limits [pdf] University of Sussex. Available at:<https://www.sussex.ac.uk/webteam/gateway/file.php?name=governmentality.pdf&site=12> [Accessed 29 December 2013] Oregon State University, 2001. Reality TV: A Brief History [online] Available at: http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/soc499/cordray/media/Realitytv.html [Accessed 29 December 2013] Ouellette, L., James, H., (2008) ‘Makeover television, governmentality and the good citizen’. Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies 22(4): 471-484. [Available via NUIM Electronic Journals] Weber, B.R., 2009. MAKEOVER TV: Selfhood, Citizenship, and Celebrity. Durham and London: Duke University Press. Kubic, K.N., Chory, R.M., 2007. Exposure to Television Makeover Programs and Perceptions of Self, Communications Research Reports, [e-journal] 24(4): 283-291. Available via NUIM Library Databases <http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08824090701624155> [Accessed 30 December 2013] McRobbie, A., 2005. Notes on ‘What Not To Wear’ and post-feminism symbolic violence. The Sociological Review, [online] Available at: <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-954X.2005.00526.x/full> [Accessed 03 January 2014]