While reading Blogging as Social Action: A Genre Analysis by Carolyn R. Miller and Dawn Shepard, I was struck by the interconnectedness of blogs, reality television, and the concepts of public and private information. While referencing the Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky scandal that went public in January of ’98, as well as the death of Diana Princess of Whales in August of ’97, Miller and Shepard make note of a “cultural trend in the 1990’s, a weakening boundary between the public and the private and the expansion of celebrity culture to politics and beyond.” (p4).
I remember in 1994 at the age of 7, seeing my Nanny glued to the T.V. set. Along with tens of thousands of viewers across North America, they seemed hypnotized by the infamous televised O.J. Simpson murder trial. O.J. Simpson was a famous professional athlete, actor in the well-known ‘Top Gun’ movies, as well as a charismatic NFL sports broadcaster. He was a hero to the Nation and also on trial of the murders of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and waiter Ronald Lyle Goldman.
As Miller and Shepard put it, “American culture became obsessed with both making celebrities into regular people (as with Clinton) and making regular people into celebrities (as with Lewinsky)” (p.4). During the famous Ford Bronco chase seen here (34:57-35:31), cop cars, even helicopters following closely behind while documenting first hand the exact “obsessed” viewer that was referenced by Miller and Shepard. “This became televisions first reality show” as said here (2:56-3:00) by the narrator of Dateline.
Fast forward twenty years to the reality television era of today where Chris Jenner is more famous than ever. Jenner, who seen in the above mentioned Dateline story (00:04-00:09) multiple times discussing her relationships with the victim Nicole Brown Simpson (her best friend), the accused, and Jenner’s ex-husband, Robert Kardashian (lawyer of the accused). Today she can be seen with her family on the extremely popular reality show Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
So I find myself at the realization that O.J. Simpson did start the first reality T.V. show and potentially financed one of the most popular ones on air today. In another twenty years, will celebrities still be flirting with the line between public and private to capture an audience? And will that audience still be captivated?
Sources:
Dateline: The People vs. O.J. Simpson What The Jury Never Heard, published on Youtube by John Charmed 2 (July 4th,2014) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbKgEU8uqP0
Keeping Up With The Kardashians http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1086761
Hey Jennifer!
The fact that you explained why the Kardashians are famous is amazing! ! I think you pointed out a very important point here, being that they are perfect example of selling their private information to gain public gain. I think there has already been a shift in our society with famous individuals such as the Kardashians “flirting” with that line you mentioned. Reality T.V in a sense is already blurring that line between private and public information. The question that can be raised is how much information is too much information to share?
I completely agree Marlene and that’s a really difficult question to answer.
Interestingly though, on page 7, Miller and Shepard reference “an individual’s willingness to “overshare” (2000, p.83)”. They explore that idea which later on in the same paragraph leads to redefining exhibitionism.
I hate to admit it, but I have watched a couple episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, and from what I’ve seen and if I’m understanding the term correctly, the they are an excellent example of redefined exhibition.
Jenn, thank you for exploring the topic of reality TV- it definitely seems to be a controversial one.
While Miller and Shephard explore the desire of individuals to observe and catch glimpses of other humans’ lives, there is widespread discussion about the fact that Reality TV is in fact not realistic.
You can read this very interesting article by James Poniewozik that unveils very common manipulations by such program producers, which puts into question the true meaning of “reality” tv, and explores ethical issues associated with it. http://resource2.rockyview.ab.ca/ssela101/related_reads/how_reality_tv_fakes_it.pdf
Poniewozik describes the ease with which situations can be altered, or created through editing, in order to provide an end product that is thoroughly satisfying for the viewer. This brings me to my main question: if viewers require heightened conflict and drama in order to be entertained, what does that say about human nature? Do we crave such destruction and only allow ourselves to access it through such shows? Or have we been trained to crave characters that make us lament society and feel better about ourselves?
Another consideration I have is that if viewers are not observing true behaviour, it may no longer be characterized as “mediated voyeurism.” Perhaps this is a new form of entertainment, a genre evolved from reality TV, that intensifies fact to the point of altering it completely. It is also possible that reality TV was never meant to be “real” in the first place.
Let me know your thoughts!
I’m so happy you brought up the questionable reality in reality T.V.!
I really would have loved to get into that in more detail and add my opinion of the matter however I just didn’t have enough space. I completely agree with you that it is not reality. Most programs are scripted with a little improvisation thrown in.
I think what I found most interesting about this post and the reason why I called it “O.J. Simpson And Reality Television” is because that story was completely unscripted. He was on such a high pedestal and fell so hard, so fast that I think the general public got hooked on watching his life fall apart on live television.
And just as a side note, I find it fascinating that this infamous story has so much to do with O.J. Simpson and so little to do with the victims. Is it because he’s famous and they weren’t? Is his life more important or news worthy? Does anyone ever think about the unsolved murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Lyle Goldman?