Understanding Reality Television

by Su Holmes (Editor), Deborah Jermyn (Editor)

'Popular Factual Programming' has rapidly come to occupy a place at the forefront of contemporary television culture on an international scale. Tracing the history of reality TV from Candid Camera to The Osbournes, Understanding Reality Television examines a range of programmes which claim to depict 'real life', from reality formatted game shows to 'real crime' programming and make-over TV. Contributors discuss the phenonenon of reality TV in the context of the debates it has introduced to our social, cultural and televisual agendas, such as the construction of celebrity, fandom, surveillance and the politics of representation.

314 pages, Paperback

First published December 11, 2003

Reviews

[Anne Homeschooling-Mama]

It looked interesting.
It wasn't.