To what extent can reality TV and the modern rolling news exemplify Strinati’s idea about reality and Debord’s theory of ‘the spectacle?’

Postmodern Media describes the ideas and beliefs that we now live in a media saturated world, where the mass media and popular culture have a lot of power. Also how things such as the news and reality TV shows are manipulated and manipulate the public and create a fake reality. The news used to reflect reality, but it now is the reality we live in. This is all part of Strinati’s ideas of about reality. Debord’s theory of the ‘the Spectacle’ also suggests that popular culture and media images dominate our sense of reality, and the world around us more and more. We now live in a simulated world and we are part of the spectacle.





One example of people becoming a commodity comes from a Big Brother contestant called, Jade Goody. She became a commodity by becoming famous from being on Big Brother. She was accused of being stupid by the media, which bought her more to fame. She would go on more and more day time TV shows, including Celebrity Big Brother.  On this show, she was accused of being racist and became badly represented by the media, bringing her to more fame. She went on Indian Big Brother, possibly to help fight the claims of her being racist. While she was on this show, she was live broadcasted of her receiving a phone call telling her she has cancer. After this, the way she was represented by the media quickly changed. She was represented as being sweet and the public were lead to sympathise for her rather than dislike her.  She used this to gain loads of money as she went on many TV shows about her and her cancer. She also had a ghost written Biography, which is another way she sold herself and her illness. She also sold the rights to her wedding. She has become part of the spectacle as she is now part of the fake reality that we live in. Her fake story is now the accepted truth. She compensates for our own lack of productive activity as people as a society now talk about fake things, like what we have watched on telly and fake characters like her, instead of their own lives and real thoughts and feelings.



Another example of the ideas of postmodernism comes from Charlie Brokers comedic TV show called screen wipe. In one episode he talks about how fake reality TV shows are. He makes a parody of reality TV shows to demonstrate this. He talks about, and shows examples of different ways editors of reality shows manipulate and change the story. For example, they may edit together a clip and a sound bite to create a different version of someone. If a negative sound bite is played over top, the clip can seem very different. They also edit a clip of someone’s reaction of something in a different place. They also will edit all the boring bits of someone being nice, if they want to manipulate that character to be sort of a bad guy. This all shows that we have become part of the spectacle as we accept those characters to be real and the whole TV shows to be reality. It shows that we are just part of a simulated world. Again, people in reality TV shows become a commodity because they sell themselves as characters and allow themselves to be manipulated to for the shows benefit and profit. It also gives them more fame, and are likely paid to be on the TV show.



 In conclusion, as fake realities are everywhere and in many different forms, our society is completely immersed and can’t escape from the fake, simulated reality we now accept as the truth. Although there are clearly some people who realise this, such as Charlie Brooker.