The Celeb Diaries

Me again..
Just came across this article about the book: the celeb diaries .. It was written by the ex-editor of Heat Magazine, Mark Frith, and having read the book myself i think it provides a really useful insight into the minds of journalists, particularly those writing for celebrity magazines who thrive from the reality tv culture.
If i remember correctly, Big Brother was the original topic that sold Heat magazine, and Mark stepped down as Editor when he saw the downfall of Jade Goody at the hands of the media. He says of this:

"The democratisation of fame has led to some of us going too far. When you see celebrities as your playthings ... how much do you play with them?'  -- this, coming from a journalist who does manipulate celebrities is a scary idea..there is no line drawn anymore.

There is another extract from the autobiography HERE

Suzanne x

Voting Power

Thinking about the reasons why we  as an audience vote in reality TV contests...We discussed in class that we vote because it gives us a sense of control, even in a society that is a democracy. However, I realised that in countries that do not enjoy this sort of political freedom, voting for reality shows could literally be the first vote people ever cast, and the only time they experience voting for something that has an effect on other people's lives. This would definitely be a reason to vote- reality tv gives these people the control and power they crave and do not get in their own oppressed lives..

On this point, I wondered if it would be an idea to first create a situation for the audience in which they feel like they have no power (for example, if they came face-to-face with the "Phaedra" character and this person was very dominant/over powering), how would they react to then being given the opportunity to play and manipulate this person's life? If they felt they were gaining some control back over this person, i think that the audience would be much more likely to want to see the downfall by manipulating the forbidden love interest.
It could also be interesting to create a media hate figure out of the "Phaedra" character (perhaps through newspaper articles etc.) so that the audience have pre-conceived ideas before they manipulate/play god..and only find out afterwards that this information was distorted by the media, and therefore realise the consequences of their actions on an 'innocent' person who the media have latched onto and destroyed. 

Just a (long-winded) general thought...I would have put this forward next week in class but won't be there, so thought this was the next best way :)

Why do we watch reality TV?

Hey guys,

I found this great artical about why we watch reality TV, it focuses a lot on Big Brother but it is definately worth a read. Enjoy. Its a bit long but its all relevant.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2000/jul/17/broadcasting.mondaymediasection

zimbardo experiment:footage

Hey guys, I stumbled accross this great website which has clips from the zimbardo experiment. The behaviour is extremely interesting to observe and the participants comments also. Take a look. Haven't put a link on before so I hope it works. Rosie xx

Dear All,

Hope you are having a productive rest of the week. Just wanted to let you know about a few things.

Firstly here is a link to a workshop class based in Bristol that specializes in Meisner technique. I have done quite a bit of Meisner technique and some of you might find it beneficial.

http://www.studiofilm.co.uk/content.php?page_id=4246

Lastly you can get £5.00 tickets for the Globe Theatre, if you are under the age of 25. It is great to see shakespeare as it is and outside you may want to take a look.

http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/

See you next week.

Becca :-)

Shifting the blame

Here is a story from America about how a member of authority is trying to shift the blame onto an innocent party in an accident. I thought it would be relevant as one of our new stripped down units is about "the blame is shifted". Hope you find it useful :)

Jess

Media Manipulation

Hey guys, I've just come across this image and it struck a chord with me, especially as we have recently been discussing the impact the media can have on society and different kinds of manipulation.

Jess