values and ideologies

One of the most obvious ideologies Big Brother presents is one of Order and of Hierarchy. The format of the show follows the housemates taking part in a number of tasks in order to win a luxury shopping budget as well as luxuries within the house such as alcohol and parties etc , this is extremely representive of the value that in order to possess the ‘better things in life’ we must work hard to get them.

The faceless character of ‘Big Brother’ creates a hierarchy immediately putting this character at the top of the hierarchy making the housemates the subordinate, similar to the everyday world enforcing the ideology that we are subordinate to a higher being/force etc which can be related to religion, government etc.

The show itself seems to have progressed the ideology over the years that fame and a celebrity lifestyle will follow those who take part. Looking at the contestant profiles this year a large percentage of the contestants said that they were entering the house in the hopes of obtaining fame and fortune after they left the house.

One of the most controversial ideologies I feel Big Brother presents regards the constant surveillance of the housemates. The philosophy of the show makes it acceptable to watch everyday people’s personal and intimate lives day-in-day-out , something there has been a vast amount of moral panic surrounding in the media in regards to rising amounts of CCTV in England. Through Big Brother taking this moral panic and turning it into entertainment it is almost supporting the idea of the increase in CCTV , enforcing the ideologies of the dominant ruling class . Marxist theorists would thus claim that Big Brother presents these idelogies to inject the view that CCTV and a lack of privacy is acceptable in order to create consensus in the lower demographic groups to keep the elite at the top of the hieracrchy.