Proposal

Proposal

Producer(s): Reece Charles Jones, Lewis Kingston & Arfa Khan

Production Title:

Brief: Opening 3/4 minutes to a teen drama.

Aim: To achieve an A* and achieve a opening sequence that is as close to professional one as possible. Hopefully a really well structured production.

Description of your intentions:   To step away from the typical 'badman, kiduldhood' trailers and sequences. Tap into a different kind of sterotype and steps away from the gang culture. Teen series are at a current high in rating sespecially amung E4 and BBC3 and the intention is to produce a series that is realistic.

Target Audience: Female and Male 15+ Demographic: C2 D, E

Similar Products:  Misfits, Skins, Heros, E20.

Production Details:

“I’m fake, I’m flirty and I’ve got double F’s.” Do structured reality TV shows like Geordie Shore dumb down UK and television culture?

“I’m fake, I’m flirty and I’ve got double F’s.” Do structured reality TV shows like Geordie Shore dumb down UK and television culture?

The phenomenon of the hybrid between drama and reality TV recently known as ‘dramality’ has vastly spread, becoming a huge ratings success throughout the UK. “The latest big trend in television is the 'dramality' - reality programs with made-up scenarios to heighten both the drama and the trashiness.”[1] Is the definition of dramality TV described by a ‘today tonight’ article. The three dramality shows of MTV: The Hills, Geordie Shore and Jersey Shore on their premier nights had combined views of 1.3 million (Geordie Shore bringing in 329,000 of those viewers). The institution MTV’s target audience is perfectly in sync with the target audience of Geordie Shore which follows a group of ‘Geordies’ who continuously consume alcohol, argue and party. However, many have argued that shows such as these ‘dumb down’ our UK culture and television. Geordie Shore in particular was heavily criticised by residents of Newcastle and more importantly MPs who would agree with the hypothesis that these shows ‘dumb down’ our culture.Newcastle MP Chi Onwurahstated: “By putting these young people in this situation, it is encouraging them to lose all their dignity. It's totally unrepresentative of Newcastle."[2] This, however, is not the view of all the critics as some believe they are noble and strive to be hated in order to succeed. People no longer simply aspire to be famous. They aspire to be hated. As the Guardian recently joked, "Authorised media hate figure" is now a valid career.[3] Looking into whether this hypothesis can be justified has a case on both sides: is it sheer ‘trash TV’ or is there a positive to these structured reality TV shows?

The history of reality television has developed rapidly throughout the years. From the early daysCinéma vérité, right down to structured reality television. Once reality television came onto the screens in a documentary style like cinema verite which showed the raw honest truth and “an attempt to bring cinema the freer reporting methods of television”[4]It often came with a strong political message where the camera never lied, however now it can be argued with the new hybrid in place these shows lack substance and any meaning. Geordie Shore is deemed what we call nowadays a structured reality television show. Regarding a historical context that was linked Geordie Shore was quite difficult to find in particular the northern England region. So linking it to the Cinéma vérité era itself was a better idea. This era of cinema was what the 60's/70's deemed as the honest truth. It was documentary styled film usually fly on the wall and the slogan for Cinéma vérité was "the camera doesn't lie"

The idea of a set up, structured situation for the camera to record and rely on reactions is essentially what both are about. This idea of 'stylised set ups' here film makers have a conversation with audience about the subject is almost identical to what happens in Geordie Shore.

These two are very similar however there are just as many differences. Throughout the years political and hidden message within these shows have changed. The idea of Cinéma vérité was to voice the underrepresented and these ideologies have changed as time has passed. Especially in the north of England it was usually honest, truthful representations of the hard working class. Comparing to the today's adaptation of Cinéma vérité we have the northerners being represented as 'slutty, alcoholic, air head c list celebrities.'

Geordie Shore is a show that taps into young audiences and in sync with the institution MTV’s target audience “12- 34”[5] of the demographic classification C2/D/E, (this is skilled manual workers, manual workers and unemployed). With the target audience age consuming so much television, this leaves them vulnerable to the hypodermic and disinhibition theory. The hypodermic theory suggests that the mass media have a direct effect on consumers and “The mass media in the 1940s and 1950s were perceived as a powerful influence on behaviour change”[6] Similar to the disinhibition theory which suggests that activities that audiences generally disapprove of, once frequently seen in the media as acceptable these activities seem more accessible to audiences. This can be deemed a increasing problem as “Child-development experts agree that adolescent brains aren't wired to understand much of the vast world explored on reality television today.” [7] Because of its vulnerable target audience young people consume these negative representations and could possible imitate them. Geordie Shore has seen ratings increase series by series and the most recent series trailer has helped with this. As seen in the series 4 trailer a lot of the series action is condensed into the minute trailer. Regarding new and digital media, this was shown on the Geordie Shore website before MTV. This is a direct this a direct attempt to tap into the target audience. At the end of the trailer we see ‘Geordie Shore’ hash tagged encouraging audiences to join in the conversation and often this has the ‘word of mouth’ effect. The internet then provides a pivotal promotional campaign for structured reality TV shows, and institutions are aware of this as the internet “it is an integral part of the process of becoming independent”[8]Still asking the question of does it dumb down our television and culture, the language used is not the most academic and challenging. “Jaeger bombs and knickers and everything flying everywhere.” Following the codes and conventions of interesting audiences of 12-34 simple texts along the screen moves the trailer along allowing younger audiences to understand without any difficulties. So how does Geordie Shore actually dumb down UK culture? Well the representation of Newcastle is challenged and this can link to the cultivation theory. “Television viewers are cultivated to view reality similarly to what they watch on television.”[9] This is the idea that consumers of television shows that represent a certain group of people, subconsciously our behaviour changes due to what we see on television. Audiences could then have a preconception that all people from Newcastle can “talk the back legs off a donkey”. The group of Tyneside youngsters give off the impression that they are idiotic and this lifestyle is something to be proud of. In an interview two cast female members are asked to compare their show to rival structured reality TV show ‘The Valleys.’ Sarcastically mocking the rival welsh show they glorify their outrageous antics stating “They got naked? We did that in series one. They have sex? Did that in series one.” Audiences seeing this assume these antics are acceptable which carries a representation of residents of Newcastle and overall the UK.

Alternative structured reality TV shows also carry the same values and ideologies reinforcing the original hypothesis. The Only Way Is Essex which has been running since October 2010 despite many critics. The idea of ‘dumbing down’ UK culture can be seen in the first seconds of the trailer for the latest series as one of the Essex gentlemen struggles to countdown from five and laughs it off. It could be argued that this in fact ‘dumb down’ UK culture and the outrageous comments like “a cheeky snog maybe a new bum” all reinforces the idea.  The rejuvenation of reality TV has been deemed to be the show Big Brother, and the adaptation of it being sold to the public as a social experiment can be compared to what it has been labelled today as ‘trash TV’. The show has developed into a social farce where “68% of respondents expressed enjoyment at witnessing a group conflict”[10] The general excitement for the show reverberated round the world and as the years went on audiences began to question social experiment vs entertainment values. Speaking under literal terms of ‘dumbing down’ “Japanese researchers conducted some of the earliest research on the relationship between television and impaired academic achievement.”[11] This is the idea that structured reality TV shows actually make audiences ‘thicker’ and damages their direct intelligent.  According to BBC news reality TV shows not only damage UK culture, but also hindering young people’s success in life. For example getting a job and becoming academically successful. “You become famous you become a success with out trying. That’s the sort of values they are implying”.[12]

Structured reality TV shows overall can also be an example of hegemony. Behind all the scenes it can be said that these shows are commissioned by white middle class people. By portraying the working class in such repulsive ways (getting drunk, having sex, arguing, uneducated) is a way of essentially keeping them ‘in their place.’So not only can it be argued that structured reality TV shows dumb down television and culture, maintains the metaphorical gap between working class and middle class by representing them negatively and praised for it. Producers make audiences feel a sense of power within structured reality TV shows and this sense of becoming omniscient. So, is this acceptable to watch how people live? Watch their every move? Who they talk, argue and have sexual intercourse with? On reality TV terms this is acceptable. A political message that is left unanswered due to hegemonic view that the middle class who possibly don’t want to answer. Maybe these working class ‘air heads’ making a fools of themselves is in their interest. Judging by the ratings, audiences are unaware of this because Geordie Shore is so simplistic and seems to be nothing more than young people having fun.

On the other hand of this hypothesis understanding the few positive aspects of reality TV is something that should be recognised. It is not a complete hatred and negative attitude to reality TV progressing as “8% of respondents said reality TV has changed for the better and 7% think it has not affected anything”.[13]The fact that consumers believe that it has changed for the better suggests that there are some positives to take out of reality TV. It can also be argued that times are moving on and people no longer want to accept what broadcasters’ idea of what is good for consumers. Giving the public what they want is not harmful and entertaining the UK is what TV is for. Freedom of speech and a liberal representative democracy is essentially what reality TV is, a democracy. If a character is not liked they are voted out and the power resides with the people. With these counter arguments very valid, no denying the negatives outweigh the positive.

Reality TV has come a long way and has adapted very intelligently tapping into audiences and coming up with this concept ‘dramality TV’. Geordie Shore is no doubt an entertaining show, however dumbing down the UK culture can questioned. The effect of structured reality TV leads to the target audiences striving to be uneducated, vulgar and consequently be praised and loved for it. The domino effect of this is the more dramality shows the UK produces the more negative representations, the more youngsters strive to be celebrities for nothing and the more taboo subjects become acceptable. From all types of reality TV shows convey a strong political message behind it. Talent shows, who is an individual to tell them if they have talent if not? All the way to the hegemonic ideology within structured reality TV shows. The media is such a huge influencing in shaping opinions as “teens spend 7 hours and 39 minutes consuming media every day”.[14] With so much time spent consuming the media we begin to question what are audiences actually being fed? Geordie Shore is just one of many structured reality TV shows that have this negative effect on audiences, and with the ratings of shows like this increasing we can ask the question can it get worse in years to come? Clearly judging by the evidence, it has a negative effect on the public and in fact it could suggest that shows like Geordie Shore do ‘dumb down’ television and UK culture.

Word Count: 1,998

---

[1] http://au.news.yahoo.com/today-tonight/celebrity/article/-/14285230/the-reality-behind-dramalities/

[2]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-13685728

[3]http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jul/01/geordie-shore-noblest-people-in-britain

[4]Cinema Verite, Ali Issari. M (1979), P. 64

[5]www.medialifemagazine.com:8080/news2005/.../news3monday.html

[6]http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Levels%20of%20theories/macro/Hypodermic%20Needle%20Theory.doc/

[7] http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2008/03/does_reality_tv_for_teens_indu.html

[8] Teenagers and the internet, Panzarine S, (2001) P. 35

[9]http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/theory/cult.html

[10]Reality TV: the work of being watched, Andrejevic. M (2004) P. 11

[11] http://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/tv-danger/

[12] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15335555

[13]Reality Television Kopp M. (2013) P. 27

[14]http://opportunityagenda.org/negative_influence_reality_tv_teenage_girls

Draft one "Do structured reality television shows like Geordie Shore dumb down British culture?

"Reality TV encourages people to pursue celebrity status, and discourages the value of hard work and an education."

In this critical investigation i am going to look at why it is so frequently discussed that the new craze 'structured reality' television better known in recent times as 'dramality' television, (a cross between drama and reality television) and ask the question are these programmes to blame for our culture being 'dumbed down?' I will be discussing is it this a true statement and to what extent? My key focus on the hit series 'Geordie Shore.' A show that follows eight northerns on their talentless, argumentative and drunkard adventures. They now have been deemed celebrities and have endorsements round Britain, this poses the key question which is in fact my hypothesis: modern structured reality television is dumbing down British culture and television.

The history of reality television has developed rapidly throughout the years. From the early days of cinema verite right down to structured reality television. All having one similar key concept which is called ethnofiction.   This is essentially a type of narrative where the characters speak directly to the audience regarding the situation of what is being shown. So why has this changed throughout the years, and why has it dumbed down our culture? "I think that reality TV is so bad. It is a tool by the media to not make people think." Once reality television came onto the screens in a documentary style like cinema verite which showed the raw honest truth that we never saw for ourselves. Often with a strong political message where the camera never lied, however now it lacks substance and any meaning other than watching young people get drunk and aspiring to have such a lifestyle. This brings us to believe that the camera showing the truth through the prior years is now in the complete opposite state, and reality television in the modern era is for sheer entertainment value.

There is a numerous amount of evidence to suggest that this hypothesis can be deemed true. The modelling theory is young audiences in particularly the target audience of Geordie Shore is an imitation of behaviour or pareses. This theory is essentially glorified in the programme as the cast members tend to make up slang words and instantly they would 'hashtag' the word and through the use of new and digital media promote it via social networking sites. With these talentless role models having such influence to their audiences another theory that could link to this is the disinhibition theory. This is the idea that the younger generation (who structured reality shows like Geordie Shore target) disagree or object to something but once seen on television frequently by stars they become acceptant of these things. Desensitization theory says that people will become less affected by certain things that once bothered them and eventually it won’t seem as offensive to them any more. This could be anything from smoking, drug use, swearing right down to sexual activity.

In this critical investigation i am going to look at why it is so frequently discussed that the new craze 'structured reality' television better known in recent times as 'dramality' television, (a hybrid between drama and reality television) and ask the question are these programmes to blame for our culture being 'dumbed down?' I will be discussing is it this a true statement and to what extent? My key focus on the hit series 'Geordie Shore.' A show that follows eight northerns on their talentless, argumentative and drunkard adventures. They now have been deemed celebrities and have endorsements round Britain, this poses the key question which is in fact my hypothesis: modern structured reality television is dumbing down British culture and television.

 The history of reality television has developed rapidly throughout the years. From the early days of cinema verite right down to structured reality television. All having one similar key concept which is called ethnofiction.   This is essentially a type of narrative where the characters speak directly to the audience regarding the situation of what is being shown. So why has this changed throughout the years, and why has it dumbed down our culture? "I think that reality TV is so bad. It is a tool by the media to not make people think." Once reality television came onto the screens in a documentary style like cinema verite which showed the raw honest truth that we never saw for ourselves. Often with a strong political message where the camera never lied, however now it lacks substance and any meaning other than watching young people get drunk and aspiring to have such a lifestyle. This brings us to believe that the camera showing the truth through the prior years is now in the complete opposite state, and reality television in the modern era is for sheer entertainment value.

There is a numerous amount of evidence to suggest that this hypothesis can be deemed true. The modelling theory is young audiences in particularly the target audience of Geordie Shore is an imitation of behaviour or pareses. This theory is essentially glorified in the programme as the cast members tend to make up slang words and instantly they would 'hashtag' the word and through the use of new and digital media promote it via social networking sites. With these talentless role models having such influence to their audiences another theory that could link to this is the disinhibition theory. This is the idea that the younger generation (who structured reality shows like Geordie Shore target) disagree or object to something but once seen on television frequently by stars they become acceptant of these things. Desensitization theory says that people will become less affected by certain things that once bothered them and eventually it won’t seem as offensive to them any more. This could be anything from smoking, drug use, swearing right down to sexual activity.

Critical Investigation Plan

INTRODUCTION

- Brief introduction to what Geordie Shore is, when it started, values and possibly a bit about the institution MTV.

- My hypothesis 'Structured reality television such as Geordie Shore is a factor of a dumbed down culture we are deemed to have'

PARAGRAPH ONE

. Explain hypothesis
- Why I think this
- Researched evidence

- "Reality TV is sleazy, it is manipulative. It is as momentary as anything in popular culture. Morley Safer"

PARAGRAPH TWO

. Speak a bit about Ethnofiction
- development of reality tv
-History of social experiment vs Entertainment values

PARAGRAPH THREE

. Structured reality tv references
- The Only Way Is Essex
- air head fame
- Political messages


PARAGRAPH FOUR

. Counter arguments
- For and against

-"We live in an age of mass culture. More people read tabloids than the broadsheets, and reality TV is a fair reflection of this."

-"It exploits the vulnerable, and has been condemned by the Mental Health Foundation for doing so."

Task 3: HISTORICAL TEXT ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH

Cinema Verite Vs Geordie Shore?

Geordie Shore is deemed what we call nowadays a structured reality television show. Regarding a historical context that was linked Geordie Shore was quite difficult to find in particular the northern England region. So linking it to the Cinéma vérité era itself was a better idea. This era of cinema was what the 60's/70's deemed as the honest truth. It was documentary styled film usually fly on the wall and the slogan for Cinéma vérité was "the camera doesn't lie"

How does Cinéma vérité link to Geordie Shore?

The idea of of a set up, structured situation for the camera to record and rely on reactions is essentially what both are about. This idea of 'stylised set ups' here film makers have a conversation with audience about the subject is almost identical to what happens in Geordie Shore.

These two are very similar however there are just as many differences. Throughout the years political and hidden message within these shows have changed. The idea of Cinéma vérité was to voice the underrepresented and these ideologies have changed as time has passed. Especially in the north of England it was usually honest, truthful representations of the hard working class. Comparing to the today's adaptation of Cinéma vérité we have the northerners being represented as 'slutty, alcoholic, air head c list celebrities.' Mentioned by Newcastle upon Tyne MP constantly ranting that the show does not represent a true reflection of Newcastle.

Ethnofiction is a neologism which refers to an ethnographic docufiction, a blend of documentary and fictional film in the area of visual anthropology. It is a film type in which, by means of fictional narrative or creative imagination, often improvising, the portrayed characters (natives) play their own roles as members of an ethnic or social group. This is a key concept with a show like this as this is what the show is based around.

Task 2 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Works Cited

Andrejevic, Mark. Reality TV: the work of being watched. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2004. Print.

Balkin, Karen. Reality TV. San Diego, Calif.: Greenhaven Press, 2004. Print.

Murray, Susan, and Laurie Ouellette. Reality TV: remaking television culture. New York: New York University Press, 2004. Print.

Skeggs, Beverley, and Helen Wood. Reacting to reality television: performance, audience and value. New York: Routledge, 2012. Print.

Wyatt, Wendy N.. The ethics of reality TV: a philosophical examination. New York: Continuum, 2012. Print.