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RTVF 330 Culture Industries The Tribe Has Spoken: Surviving TV’s New Reality T/TH 3-4:50 Louis 119
Your Emmy Award winning host: Prof. Max Dawson Annie May Swift Hall 213 e:
[email protected] t: @fymaxwell Office Hours: T/Th 1-2 pm or by appointment The dream team: Kate Newbold Chris Russell
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[email protected] e:
[email protected]
Course description: Reality TV is popular, profitable, and wildly controversial. To better understand reality TV's impact on the American television industry this class examines the history, reception, and influence of one of its defining examples: Survivor . Survivor debuted Survivor debuted in the United States in Spring 2000. Its runaway success propelled the CBS network to the top of the Nielsen ratings and transformed its creator Mark Burnett into one of television's most sought-after producers. Survivor also Survivor also launched the current reality TV boom, inspiring a host of programs that emulated its competition format, episode structure, and visual style. While most of these programs have long since had their torches snuffed, Survivor has Survivor has outwitted, outlasted, and outplayed its competition for twenty-five seasons. The show's ongoing success makes it an ideal starting point for a critical examination of the American television industry's new reality. Required textbooks (available at Norris): Bill Carter, Desperate Networks (Doubleday, Networks (Doubleday, 2006). Troy Devolld, Reality TV: An Insider's Guide to TV's Hottest Market (Michael Market (Michael Wiese Productions, 2011) • •
All other readings will be available on Blackboard. Readings marked “ ” are available online via links through Blackboard.
2 Schedule of readings Note: This schedule is subject to change. Any alterations will be announced via email. When in doubt, check Blackboard. Week one Tu.
Th.
Jan 8 Screening:
The Marooning Survivor: Borneo ep Borneo ep 1
Jan 10 Read:
Reality TV and social media RTVF330 Island Orientation Packet Mark Burnett, “Survivor “Survivor : The TV Show” Anne Trubek, “Why Tweet (and How to Do It)” Hubspot, “How to Use Twitter for Business” “Twitter on TV: A Producer’s Guide” “How 'The Voice' Uses Twitter to Raise Ratings”
Week two Tu.
Th.
Week three Tu.
Tu.
Week four Tu.
Event:
Social media workshop
Jan 15 Read:
What was TV? Michael Curtain and Jane Shattuc, “Key Players”
Jan 17 Read:
What is TV in 2013? Amanda Lotz, “Understanding Television at the Beginning of the Post-Network Era”
Event:
Television Critics’ Roundtable
Jan 22 Read:
What is “reality TV”? Susan Murray and Laurie Ouellette, “Introduction” (excerpt pp. 1-13)
Jan 24 Read:
Reality before “reality TV” (part 1) Craig Gilbert, “Reflections on An American Family ”
Screening:
An American Family
Jan 29 Read:
Reality before “reality TV” (part 2) Chad Raphael, “The political economic origins of reali-TV”
Screening:
The Real World Season World Season 1, Episode 1
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Th.
Week five Tu.
Th.
Week six Tu.
Th.
Jan 31 Read:
TV’s new reality Ted Madger, “TV 2.0”
Feb 5 Read:
Final Project Workshop Bill Carter, Desperate Networks , prologue and chapters 2, 3, 4
Event:
Final project workshop
Feb 7 Read:
The reality TV explosion Bill Carter, Desperate Networks , chapters 5, 6, 9, 10, 14
Feb 12 Read:
The Charmin Café Amanda Lotz, “Advertising After the Network Era”
Feb 14
The merge (midterm exam)
Week seven Tu. Feb 19 Read:
Real work Heather Hendershott, “Belabored Reality” Todd Cunningham, “Reality TV: The Invisible Front in Hollywood’s Labor Wars”
Th.
Feb 21 Read:
Casting reality TV Dan Gheesling, How a Normal Guy Got on Reality TV (excerpts TBA) Vicki Mayer, “Reality Casters: New Jobs in and Out of Hollywood”
Week eight Tu.
Event:
Class visit from Dan Gheesling (winner, Big Brother 10 , runner-up, Big Brother 14 )
Feb 26 Read:
Writing reality TV Jim Milio and Melissa Jo Peltier, “Does Reality Still Bite?” “Harsh Reality: Working Conditions for Reality TV Writers” Lee Abbott, “Reality Check”
Th.
Feb 28 Producing Producing reality TV Read: Troy DeVolld, Reality TV , chapters 5, 6, 7 Event:
Reality TV producers roundtable
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Week nine Tu.
March 5 Read:
Being yourself Amber Watts, “‘You Can Blame the Editing but You’re Still A Bitch’” John Jeremiah Sullivan, “Leaving Reality”
Th.
Week 10 Tu.
March 7 Event:
Reality TV Roundtable Guests TBA
March 12 Read:
Reality TV formats Troy DeVolld, Reality TV , chapter 9 Charles Homans, “A Soap Opera on the High Seas”
Th.
March 14
Final Tribal Council
Assessment
Date Due
Points
5 Immunity Challenges (pop quizzes)
???
The merge (midterm exam)
Th, Feb 14
250 points (5 x 50 each) 250 points
Final project (reality TV show dossier)
Th, March 14
400 points
Participation
n/a
100 points 1000 points
Total:
