Why is rudeness such a prominent feature of contemporary broadcasting? If broadcasting is about the enactment of sociability, then how can we account for the fact that broadcasting has become a sphere of anger, humiliation, anger, dispute and upset? And to what extent does belligerence in broadcasting reflect broader social and cultural developments?
This book reflects upon and analyses the development of 'belligerent broadcasting' beginning with an examination of belligerence in its historical context and as an aspect of wider cultural concerns surrounding the retreat of civility. With attention to the various relations of power expressed in the various forms of belligerent conduct across a range of media genres, the authors explore its manifestation in political interviews, in the form of 'confrontation' in talk shows, in makeover television, as an 'authentic' means of proffering opinion and as a form of sociability or banter.
Richly illustrated with studies and examples of well-known shows from both sides of the Atlantic, including The Apprentice, The Fixer, American Idol, Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares, DIY SOS, The Jeremy Kyle Show and Dragon's Den, this book reflects on the consequences and potentialities of belligerence in the media and public sphere. It will appeal to scholars and students of cultural and media studies, communication and popular culture.
Author(s): Michael Higgins, Angela Smith
Series: The Cultural Politics of Media and Popular Culture
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2016
Cover
Half Title
Series Information
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
List of figures
List of tables
Acknowledgements
1 A polite introduction
Broadcasting and the imperative to be sociable
What are the characteristics of belligerent broadcasting?
The belligerent broadcaster and the audience
The study of angry TV
Cultural setting
Civility and its discontents
What is politeness?
The social setting and context for interaction: argumentation
A brief history of the study of argumentation
Contemporary approaches to argumentation: the role of the media personality
Difference and dialogicality
‘Common ground’
Book structure
Conclusion
2 Pugnacious political media talk
Politics and conflict
The accountability interview and the shift to ‘confrotainment’
Holding the position in Frankly Speaking
Conclusion
3 Truculent talk television
Defining the talk show
‘Celebrity culture’ and the commodification of the personality
The celebrity chat show and the harnessing of belligerence
The turn to ‘the public’
Argument and the popular public
Tough love: anger in the therapeutic talk show
Conclusion
4 Bellicose business
Business broadcasting and the rise of the entrepreneur as performer
Analysing business belligerence
Business makeover shows: Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and the performance of authority
Business game shows: I wanna be belligerent like you
Conclusions
5 Chastening changes: Makeover TV
Presenters as head girls
A woman’s best friend
The decline of aggressive consumption
Every woman’s best friend
Banter and bullying
Conclusions
6 Banter as playful sociability
Banter as playful belligerence
Anti-authoritarianism as entertainment
Banter as competition
Post-production banter
Conclusions
7 Mediated fury: Talk radio and its publics
The arrangements of talk radio
Extending a welcome: managing belligerence
The agonistic audience in political talkback
Conclusion
8 Some courteous conclusions
Belligerence matters
Belligerence in the market
The anger of the righteous
Belligerence and power
References
Index
