The master narratives have moved into a different realm on television. Where they used to be found in the story form of television weekly series programs, such as Friends or Happy Days, they are now found in popular reality programs, on quiz shows, and in commercials. Supposedly ordinary people participate in supposedly non-scripted competitions in all cases. Most of the participants are actors already and members of one of the unions or guilds and the shows are loosely scripted. The list of reality shows is very long, but they all have the same theme: real people with enough beauty, talent, ambition, or other positive attributes can get anything they want. They are winners. Realityshows.com lists more than twenty reality shows currently in production. On each of them, contestants vie for some kind of prize, and the audience roots for their favorites. There is always an attainable and attractive objective and one contestant or group of contestants will win it. In some reality shows, like American Idol (2010) or So You Think You Can Dance (2010), the viewing audience votes for people to keep them on the show or votes them off.
What is special about these audiences is that they respond and they support their favorites even if audience participation allegedly does not contribute to winning or losing. In reality, audience mail and email are considered very carefully in scripting the next shows even on reality shows which are supposed to be only the actions or choices of the participants. For example, on The Bachelor (2010), the show begins with a group of lovely, smart, and talented women and they are competing for the affections of the selected eligible bachelor. The audience hears the women talk among themselves and they also each talk privately to the camera, and then the bachelor shares his thoughts also privately with a few million people.
What makes this show, and all the others, a master narrative is that this is the cultural ideal in which we all want to believe. The most beautiful and worthy woman will get the wonderful and worthy bachelor and they will share a huge pot of money, generally a million dollars or more, and live happily ever after. All through the series, some things go wrong. In addition, sometimes one or more women are offered money to quit. Generally, during one season, one of the ladies will take the money. Each week, the bachelor eliminates at least one contestant. He has to pick one and give his reasons for eliminating her. It is never the audience’s favorite. So audience members can believe that the best woman won at the end.
Though many people believe this show is a real Cinderella story, even those viewers who are aware that it is all scripted and staged pretend to believe. They like to believe that it could be them in the place of the winner or the bachelor. They also like to believe that they are watching an example of the status quo, even though the shows are designed to make people think such a thing exists. The status quo which the producers and sponsors want to preserve is the public impression that life is fair and that every person who wants to can become whatever they want, even president. The operative word here is every. Yes, things like this do happen. Poor black men do become president, but they are the exceptions, not the rule.
Works Cited
American Idol. 2010. RealityShows.com. Web.
So You Think You Can Dance. 2010. RealityShows.com, Web.
The Bachelor. 2010. RealityShows.com. Web.
Cinderella Story
The master narratives have actually moved into a different realm on television in the popular reality programs, on quiz shows and in commercials.
Supposedly ordinary people participate in supposedly non-scripted competitions in all cases.
There is always an attainable and attractive objective and one contestant or group of contestants will win it. In some reality shows, like American Idol (2010) or So You Think You Can Dance (2010), the viewing audience actually votes for people to keep them on the show or votes them off.
What is special about these audiences is that they respond and they support their favourites even if audience participation allegedly does not contribute to winning or losing.
What makes this show, and all the others, a master narrative is that this is the cultural ideal in which we all want to believe.
So audience members can believe that the best woman won at the end.
Though many people really believe this show is a real Cinderella story, even those viewers who are aware that it is all scripted and staged pretend to believe.
The status quo which the producers and sponsors want to preserve is the public impression that life is fair and that every person who wants to can become whatever they want, even president.