Journal of Popular Television, The - Current Issue
Volume 12, Issue 3, 2024
- Articles
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Telling all yet revealing nothing: Reality memoir as extension of TV persona
By Lena EnglundThis article examines personal narratives of reality TV stars and introduces the term reality memoir to describe their unique features and purposes. The reality memoir as discussed here in relation to four texts follows a trajectory different from traditional memoir, being, paradoxically, less about revealing new information than about managing that which is already out there. By doing so, reality memoir effectively becomes an extension of the reality persona. The four memoirs examined are Kris Jenner… and All Things Kardashian (2012) written by Kris Jenner in collaboration with Mark Seal, The Secrets of My Life (2018) by Caitlyn Jenner with Buzz Bissinger, Love Me as I Am (2022) by Garcelle Beauvais together with Nicole E. Smith and Make It Nice (2021) by Dorinda Medley. All four writers are famous for appearing on the reality shows Keeping Up with the Kardashians (2007–21) and the Real Housewives franchise (2006–present). The memoirs indicate that self-promotion remains a central part of the narrative and works to reinforce the image of the persona portrayed on TV. The memoirs also testify to the fact that reality memoir can hardly be defined as a ‘tell-all’, revealing little that is not known to an intended audience familiar with the TV shows.
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Medical appointments, surgeries and broken families: Transnormativity in the Czech docusoap series ‘In a Different Body’
Authors: Michaela Fikejzová and Martin CharvátThis article aims to analyse the media representation of trans* people in a non-anglophone environment, specifically on the example of a docusoap series produced by Czech Television, V jiném těle (‘In a Different Body’) (2022). Using the theoretical framework of ‘transnormativity’ and related concepts such as medicalization and the ‘born/trapped in the wrong body trope’, we analyse the narrative strategies and production and post-production practices present in the programme in question, which discursively set limits to the ways in which the participants could express themselves and how both they, and trans* identity in general, are presented to the audience. In particular, the findings of the study include the extreme medicalization of trans* identity and the significant tailoring of its expression to the cis viewers, resulting in highly stereotypical and transnormative portrayals of trans* people.
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An anti-colonialist and feminist Sandokan?
By Marco GabbasThis article offers an anti-colonialist and feminist reading of the 1976 Italian TV miniseries Sandokan. Produced at the height of political radicalization in Italy, this series is arguably an expression of the anti-colonialist spirit of the time. In addition, this series is remarkable because it hit an audience record which was probably never reached again: almost 30 million viewers in a country of 60 million. Sandokan is a Malaysian nobleman who becomes a pirate after the British slaughtered his family. Though he certainly fits within the Robin Hood trope, Sandokan not only robs the rich to give to the poor, but he also takes back from the British what they are stealing. Apart from the anti-colonial slant, the miniseries is of interest because of its gender aspects. In the series, a few White women assertively challenge both male and colonial supremacy. Finally, one crucial aspect of the series which has so far been neglected is interracial love, represented by the union of Sandokan and the White Lady Marianna. While their sentimental and physical love defies nineteenth-century racial-colonial relations, it cannot last because of Marianna’s death.
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Spanish regional fiction in the twenty-first century: From cultural synchronization to global expansion
More LessSpanish regional fiction has traditionally been a local product, consumed in regional environments. However, due to changes in television consumption, and the rise of video-on-demand (VOD) platforms, regional fiction has recently reached global audiences. This article considers Spanish regional fiction in the twenty-first century, as well as questions related to its distribution. Using a mixed methodology, it analyses all Spanish regional series released in the first twenty years of the twenty-first century (2000–20), establishing a taxonomy of regional fiction to assess its global reach.
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Netflix’s transnational identities: From Europeanness to cosmopolitanism in Sex Education
By Mariana LizA British creation, Netflix’s original hit series Sex Education (2019–23) casually navigates local, national and global references. British and American protagonists appear from the first episode, joined by international characters from northern Europe and francophone Africa, although not much is made of these supposedly foreign identities. As much as the period in which the show is set cannot be easily pinpointed, since references to different temporal eras are screened in a vibrant mix of songs, patterns and colours, so does identity appear as fluid, constructed as a diffuse mix of accented languages, native idioms and cultural backgrounds. Aiming to unpack this apparently harmonious mix, this article focuses on Episode 5 of the third season, in which Eric travels to Nigeria with his family, while the remaining students go on a study trip to France. It asks what visions of hyphenated identities emerge, as well as what representations of Europe are put forward. From First World War trenches to romance, from toilet humour to rude French characters, the episode disparages ‘Europeanness’ and instead foregrounds the value of cosmopolitanism. It thus contributes to our understanding of the idea of Europe and its future, as framed by global audio-visual cultures.
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Cross-cultural comparisons of social penetration on reality dating television: A look at First Dates UK and First Dates South Africa
More LessResearch into the initiation of romantic relationships through first dates has aided in a deeper understanding into the important norms that make for a successful first romantic encounter through variables such as the role of attachment, attractiveness and goals involved in these encounters. Yet there remains an underappreciation of the communicative processes in the social dynamics across different cultural contexts in these first romantic encounters using non-student samples. Of particular importance is the role of how partners balance the information needs of presenting themselves as a suitable partner while simultaneously assessing the suitability of their date as a potential mate. By doing so, a social exchange paradigm is often implemented in the process to find love. Through social penetration theory (SPT) as a predictive lens, I compare how couples on the first seasons of First Dates UK (2013–present) (n = 12) and First Dates South Africa (2019) (n = 10) moved through the stages of intimacy as a result of mutual communication. Textual analysis suggests that cultural variation in the communicative act of self-disclosure was less of a predictor than was the desire to form an intimate bond.
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