M/C Reviews 'Screens' Feature

"Must-See Reality TV"

Editors: Kate Douglas and Kelly McWilliam

M/C Reviews http://www.api-network.com/mc/reviews

'Reality' television ('RTV') - that is, non/un-scripted television -
is widely acknowledged as the largest growth industry in contemporary
television. In its varied forms, such as documentary, 'caught on
camera',and adventure or game show challenges, RTV has been prominent
in television programming for the past decade. The current wave has
seen "Survivor" become the most successful television program in
American television history. Two other programs that have been widely
successful in Australia and Europe, "Popstars" and "The Mole" have
inspired American versions which are currently in their first season.
RTV has proven to be successful across different countries and age
demographics, to the extent that all television networks in Australia
currently broadcast RTV programs.

M/C Reviews is interested in critical responses to particular issues
surrounding the success and interest in RTV. All papers should focus
upon very recent or current RTV programs or issues. Possible topics
include, though papers should not be confined to:

- discussions of television programs such as 'Survivor', 'The
Mole', 'Big Brother', 'Popstars', 'Shipwrecked' or 'Temptation Island'
- the documentary form
- home-improvement style programs (such as 'Backyard Blitz'
or 'Changing Rooms')
- competitive real-life television (winning, losing, success, fame)
- strategy and sabotage ("outwit, outplay, outsmart")
- challenge and humiliation
- fabricated reality & 'authenticity'
- contrived 'societies' (domestic space, relationship building, social
hierarchies, rituals of island life, etc)
- television and testimony (disclosure, confessional, intimacy)
- marketing TV 'reality'
- RTV and 'casting'
- the role of the camera and editor in RTV
- immediacy and RTV (audience engagement, interactive RTV versus
passive
viewing)

Articles should be 1000-2000 words in length, should follow the
format of
other reviews on the 'Screens' site
http://www.api-network.com/mc/reviews/screens
and should reach the editors no later than Friday April 13th, 2001.

Submissions should be e-mailed to the editors: Kelly McWilliam
[log in to unmask] or Kate Douglas
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