Living with Television by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Sociology, General, Media Studies
ISBN: 9781351508384
Google: 3x0uDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2017-07-12T03:27:04+00:00

6 Quiz and Audience Participation Shows

Shows in this category usually involve an emphasis on real people rather than on fantasy characters or on professional performers in their formal roles. The participants are supposed to be behaving as amateurs or representatives from private life, whether in fact this is true or not. Their rewards for appearing are payments that are supposed to be public matters and judged by standards other than regular professional scales. Thus, people win prizes, objects, and sums in keeping with their achievement on the program, or sometimes they are known to get a token payment merely for being a guest.

This special nature governs the basic relationship of the audience to such programs. It rests in the supposedly realistic exposure of personalities and consequently permits a kind of face-to-face implication that can transcend ordinary entertainment. It is this definition that explains the public shock of the quiz show exposés, which showed that “friends” were deceitful. At heart, many people recognize the show-business nature of even these programs and heartily wish they were back, even if the contestants are paid or do put on a “rigged” performance. The reality of quiz and participation shows does not really have to be real.

The realistic element is nonetheless important and operates in different ways. Three main program groupings may be noted. One is the typical quiz or prize show, such as The Price Is Right or Concentration. Here the audience is motivated by rooting for particular people to win and by their own vicarious or envious dreams. At the core of their thoughts is “that could be me, I wish it were.” They enjoy testing their own knowledge. In addition, the master of ceremonies is usually seen as a man with an attractive personality, a cross between a benevolent, giving father and a very cheerful son. The audience often becomes fond of these men, taking their television personalities for fact.

Well, the one that I like is The Price Is Right. I love to see people win things .... I enjoy Queen for a Day with Jack Bailey .... Occasionally I watch Beat the Clock because they have some nice prizes on there too for the contestants to win.

Bill Cullen is the M.C. on The Price Is Right. Well, they give away a lot of gifts on that quiz show. I would like to have them myself.

These shows have a particularly distinctive appeal to working-class housewives, who can in this way look in on other people’s lives in a context that implies real (if glamorous and miraculous) problem-solving. The shows imply a world of mature women who can relax and be giggling girls again under the stimulating good humor of the master of ceremonies. The viewers can revel in a feeling of material relief and gratification, and this appeal is not limited to older women, although they may predominate in the audience. An eighteen-year-old girl comments:

My mother watches Concentration every day .... She watches It Could Be You at 11:30. Bill Leyden M.C.’s it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.