Page 196 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

PRODUCTION ELEMENTS

3. Examine programs belonging to a cross section of genres. Com-
pare/contrast how a particular production element is used in these
genres (e.g., lighting in film noir and sitcoms). What messages are
conveyed by the use of this production element?
4. Select a genre, focusing on how production elements establish the
dominant point of view.
a. What is the dominant point of view?
b. How do the production elements reinforce this point of view?
c. What does this point of view reveal about ideology (the dominant
belief system) of the program?

Genre Analysis: Production Elements

The following two sections use production elements as a theoretical
framework for the analysis of reality television.

Production Elements in Reality TV • by Kara Gibson

Introduction

Considered both annoying and addictive, reality programming is fast
becoming a familiar staple of prime-time television. From The Real World
to Survivor to My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé and The Swan, producers
capture the interest of the American public and keep them coming back
for more. The recent surge of reality shows is reason enough to question
the reasons for their popularity.
Visual media, in general, rely on a voyeuristic public. People like to
watch and the television program, film, magazine, or photograph makes
money. However, anyone can lament being forced to watch someone’s
real-life home movies of a vacation to Florida or a birthday party. Though,
is that not the main draw of reality TV, that it is real life? What makes
a reality TV show more interesting? What draws viewers in and keeps
them watching week after week?
With technological advances in digital video, editing, and audio
equipment, capturing the human experience is easier and faster than ever
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before. The hypothesis of this pilot study is that the production tech-
niques common to fictional programming are used to package “reality”
footage and that this is what attracts viewers.
To investigate this hypothesis, a random sample of four reality pro-

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