<<Reality TV, in the UK context at least, generally involves British people
interacting with other British people. That being so, what ethical
questions are raised by the power relations which its scenarios construct?
Does it have any value in understanding the social world?>>
Although they might be all British, there remains significant divisions of class, ethnicity, gender and sexuality, factors which the producers surely consider and exploit in selecting participants. The power relations, negotiations of identities and formations of judgement among participants and by viewers (TV audiences as well as the writers, editos and readers of tabloids) are different from in an 'African Village', but there is still a form of fetishism involved (albeit on rather different levels).
Karen
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Karen P.Y. Lai
PhD researcher
School of Geography
The University of Nottingham
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