Task Five

Do reality TV talent shows such as The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent challenge the concept of being a "Star"? Why might this be so?
Introduction:
• Explanation of what the stereotypes of a Star are, with examples of a few famous faces.
• How has this changed, example of controversial winners now?
• Rise of reality TV, this is because of the gratifications if offers viewers (how they get to chose who wins).
• But do they challenge the stereotypes? End by posing a question, but hint out my answer, (which I think is no, they do not challenge the stereotypes of a star, because after the contestants win they change their image to fit the contemporary landscape.)
First Paragraph:
• Ownership and control – SyCo TV, Power of Simon Cowell, ITV is an entertainment channel. Maybe I can link hegemony? Piers face when he sees Boyle?
(“Ideologies do not remain fixed or static. In many respects, the media are part of a battleground in which different power elites fight for supremacy in terms of the acceptance of their ideas.”) AS Media Studies: The essential Introduction – Philip Rayner, Peter Wall, Stephen Kruger.

“It can be argued that the effect of these representations is cumulative and, as we saw with stereotypes, they deny the complexity of human existence and reduce it to a basic issue of right or wrong.”) AS Media Studies: The essential Introduction – Philip Rayner, Peter Wall, Stephen Kruger.
• Talk about auditioning process on shows, how certain shots influence the viewer’s opinion on certain contestants, then link this to...
(“One way in which ideology works through media texts is by the simple process of repetition. This is particularly true of repeated representations across media forms which can have the effect of naturalising a way of seeing an issue so that it seems that no other interpretation is possible.”) AS Media Studies: The essential Introduction – Philip Rayner, Peter Wall, Stephen Kruger.
• Linear narrative, how the viewers follow their story and then also hear about them on different platforms (Use quotations of how YouTube helped create the hype around Boyle) link this to...
• Maybe if you can identify with the contestants then you like them more and give them a “star” quality?
Second Paragraph:
• Historical examples of talent shows and compare their winners to our winners, link this to...
• Context, what the period of time was like, the rights of people, who were famous etc.
• How are “stars” now and why? (Talk about the moral panic of obesity and anorexia leading to the revolution of programs such as How to look good naked and you are what you eat, which tell people to embrace their body as perfection is impossible to achieve).