Page 171 - Critical Theories of Mass Media

JOBNAME: McGraw−TaylorHarris PAGE: 2 SESS: 9 OUTPUT: Mon Oct 8 09:09:07 2007 SUM: 51B1203F
/production/mcgraw−hill/booksxml/tayharris/chap07

156 Now
The monotony of this hodgepodge is the just revenge for its
inconsequentiality, which is heightened by the thoughtless way
the individual sequences are combined into a mosaic … almost
all of them avoid the most urgent human concerns, dragging the
exotic into daily life rather than searching for the exotic within the
quotidian … From horse breeding to carpet weaving, no out-of-
the-way subject is safe from the clutches of the popular
pedagogy of cultural films.
(Kracauer 1995: 311; emphasis added)

The political implications of celebrity’s pervasion is that all political
action becomes subject to the same indifference to truth content
that, depending upon your viewpoint, produces at worst a passive,
subordinated population or, at best, a passive population whose very
inertia becomes its only hope of assuming radical status as Baudril-
lard (1983b and 1990b) argues somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Formats
like Reality TV and docudramas play an ideological role in the
obfuscation of this essential passivity. Whereas the conventional
documentary was reflective and investigative, this new form is
revelatory and observational. The superficially participatory nature
of these shows merely either distracts attention from the inertness of
the viewing public or offers the false promise that meaningful
participation is freely available to all. More generally, the apparently
most transgressive shows such as Jerry Springer actually demonstrate
the paradox of conservatism for the manner in which they routinely
caricature and commodify the whole notion of transgression itself.
Their ritualistic and systematic formats are complete with sermoniz-
ing elements (for example, Jerry Springer’s homily at the end of
each show). Of key concern for critical theory is the fact that this
ideological function has important social implications beyond the
immediate sphere of entertainment.
Drawing from the critical heritage outlined in Part 1, Banality TV
is the phrase used to refer to a large swathe of media content
derived from highly formulaic but predominantly unscripted pro-
grammes. They share a sustained ethos of revelation and explicitness
(explored in more detail in the next chapter) but are both
ultimately hamstrung from a critical point of view by their structural
constraints. Banality TV thus describes the cultural manifestation of
McLuhan’s medium is the message and Baudrillard’s yet more radical
contention that modern communications technologies actually fabri-
cate non-communication. The dominant value they sponsor is the
act of transmission rather than any meaning behind that transmis-
sion. Banality TV incorporates three main categories – lifestyle
programmes, chat shows, and Reality TV. Two key criticisms arise
from Banality TV as the latest manifestation of the society of the
spectacle.

Kerrypress Ltd – Typeset in XML A Division: chap07 F Sequential 2

www.kerrypress.co.uk - 01582 451331 - www.xpp-web-services.co.uk
McGraw Hill - 152mm x 229mm - Fonts: New Baskerville