Reality TV—“America Next Top Model”

我想談談Reality TV真人電視節目作為presentation 之後的補充。本人就十分喜歡看真人Show，尤其是美國製作那些，如我present中提及過的“America Next Top Model”那種，就十分喜歡！不知道是否其市場策略做得好，使節目的情節有一種緊湊性，什至凝造出緊張的氣氛，使觀眾不斷地追看下去。

在這兒我想引出數個問題是「究竟Reality TV有幾真實呢？」、「當中的主人翁是真正的參賽者，還是被製作商刻忘意安排在節目中呢？」在看這些節目時，我不其然會想ANTM中的模特兒是一個真實的參賽者還是「做馬」呢？我當然不希望是後者，不過亦不排除這個可能性。

為什麼我那麽愛看也會這樣說呢？是因為在ANTM的比賽過程中會加插了一些參賽者的訪問，讓他們說參賽的感受。當中的女子在訪問中不停狂罵，狂數某個女子的不是，說他們的壞話。又有一些片段記錄她們的生活情況，當中又有一些女子不滿某女子的行為而作出「行動性的報復」。這些片段看似是很真實的，一班女子為奪得冠軍而「不擇手段」、「搶風頭」，但是有些片段實在過於誇張及造作，狀似為做節目而做節目那樣，使我有一點質疑！

不過正因為如此，加插了一些在比賽以外的生活片段，才使真人Show的「真實」程度增加，製作商亦可以從中增加收視率，因為每個人內心其實有一種「窺竊心」，簡單而言即是「好奇心」。正是如此，製作商捉緊了觀眾喜歡偷看別人的私隱這個弱點，「真人節目」才那麽受歡迎，而觀眾亦忍不住一集一集地追看下去，我也是其中一個呢！

Posted by: Rainy Ip

電視劇與日常生活的關係

電視劇與我們確實有著很大的關係, 電影與電視雖是同一的媒介(即透過視象傳播視訊), 但是對我們日常生活會有較大的影響。 原因很簡單, 因為家家戶戶幾乎全部都有一部電視, 電視是人們或家庭餘閒的飯後娛樂, 而電視劇一星期連播五天, 我們每天晚上都可看到電視劇, 我們不其然在看的時候, 都會與朋友或家人討論劇中話題。

其實電視劇除了有娛樂功能之外, 還有一種互動功能。就是電視劇所提供的內容實是觀眾平日經驗得到的生活模式, 讓觀眾有機會學到不同角色的情感與動機, 藉此機會了解他人的觀點, 並預測真實生活中其他人在遭遇相同情影的行為與反應。 電視劇會使大眾建構出認知的社會現實, 協助觀眾形塑對現實社會中各種人際關係和對真實的諸種社會印象。

例如「金枝玉薜」、「大長今」當中的宮廷鬥爭片段，觀眾看到女人之間為求保存自己的地位，為求目的，不擇手段，不釋犧牲他人，從而成存自己或是自己的黨員。其實，這些情節某程度上都反映現時社會的「人性真面目」。譬如在現時的官場、商界，這些「不擇手段」的情形仍會存在，只是程度不會像宮廷那樣嚴重到把人殺掉。其實電視劇基本上已認同現在已有的社會規範，鼓勵傳統价值觀念，對人與人之間之互動關係具備相當影響力。

Posted by: Rainy Ip

媒體全球化與每日生活的關係

「電視」這個媒體對於全球一體化真是佔着一個重要地位，電視媒介把世界每個角落的人類拉近了，我們可以從新聞節目、旅遊節目、電視劇等節目知道世界各地不同的資訊，而且這些資訊迅速地更新着，緊貼了每日的生活，我們能知道每天的世界大事，電視使世界各地的距離進一步拉近。

我們可以透過不同類型的電視節目嘹解不同地方的文化背景、生活習慣、社會狀況、政治狀況等，當我們每日都在看不同地方的節目，在耳濡目染底下，我們會慢慢受到那些節目所影響。例如，香港人現在追捧韓風，喜歡看韓劇，喜歡劇中人物所穿的服裝，劇中的美食，這些韓国文化隨着這股「韓風熱」而捲入香港。故此，韓式餐館不斷開業，韓式食物大受歡迎，在香港街頭的服裝店也貼上「最新韓式服裝」、「時款韓國貨」之類。

可見電視節目所能產生的影响不單在於能娛樂觀眾，更能將自己的文化推到其他地方，進而影響當地文化。

Posted by: Rainy Ip

Test

Testing!!!

In-media

Hey all –

Just a quick response to some of Lisa’s questions –

I believe one of the most interesting features of in-media is the ways it challenges the normal discursive structure of mainstream commercial news and current affairs. Mainstream news is always constructed as being authoritative and completely objective – opinions of ‘experts’, ‘officials’ and celebrities are used to legitimise and objectify events. as cultural studies students we’ve all probably spent countless hours reading and writing about discourse, ideology and power, of Foucault and Co., so we all know how dangerous assumptions about objectivity can be.

In-media on the other hand makes no such claims to objectivity – rather it exposes the subject position of its author, forcing audiences to realize that what they are reading are mediated stories about reality – not reality itself. Audiences are not subject to the same indoctrination as they are in the mainstream media – they are encouraged to critically engage with the content of what they are reading.

Consumers of in-media (and of the new media in general) tend to use the medium in a very different way to the traditional media – instead of relying on one or several major ‘objective and authorities’ news sources, users are encouraged by the very structure of hypertext to jump form link to link – opinion to opinion – they are exposed to a much greater range of voices, all with vastly different agendas. Ideologies of authors and contributors are more obvious and exposed, and are thus easier to critically engage with.

A lack of objectivity in In-media is not something to be scared of. Postmodern and poststructuralist theory has proved time and time again that objectivity is a ghost – discourses of ‘truth’ are mobilised by the powerful to reinforce ideological structures and define discursive boundaries.

Indymedia seems so much more honest when placed next to commercial mainstream media. Its honesty is its greatest appeal for me.

- jon

lecture on media activism

Dear all,

I hope you got a lot from our two guests, Ms Lam Oi Wan and Argos. I think there are some interesting questions we can discuss:
i) what do you think about In-media? how do you find the way they report news, and how do they make you think about mainstream news?
ii) people have criticized In-media for being subjective and unprofessional. what do you think?
iii) how effective do you think alternative news media is in challenging our reception of news?
iv) do you think alternative news media has and will challenge mainstream news production?
v) do you think alternative news media only appeals to a small group of people?
vi) what do you think about the space for alternative / independent media in Hong Kong ? eg. independent film making, TV production, video art?
just some questions for thought. any comments welcome!

Lisa

The success of KOrean TV dramas

DEar all,

ACtually about this topic there is so much to talk about... but I'd like to post some questions for people to think and discuss aobut:
i) Korean TV dramas are so tear jerking and melodramatic. Why is it that they are so popular? do you think this is about Asian audience, or are there other reasons?
ii) Do you think that there is something typically 'Korean' about Korean TV dramas, compared to Japanese, or even TAiwan, and Hong KOng TV dramas?
iii) Do you think Korean TV dramas will stop to be popular very soon?
iv) what does the success of Korean TV dramas tell us about the argument of 'cultural proximity' as the most important reason for the increased popularity of ASian dramas?
v) do you see mainland Chinese TV dramas fast developing as the next trendy place for TV dramas?
vi) what do you think about the future of HK dramas, or China-HK co-productions?
vii) do you see ASian media being as, if not more, successful that American media in ASia, or even in other parts of the world?

let's give it some thoughts and we can discuss these on the blog!

Lisa