Links from Wikipedia including references and my notes
One viewer posted: “As an Essex girl myself I find it offensive that we are being portrayed like this, no wonder we have all the typical stereotypes.”….In a pre-show interview Candy and Michael had said they were determined to put to bed the typical Essex stereotype of white stilettos and fake tan….One posting: “Well done ITV2 for making a show that has made all of Essex hate you. This show is nothing like us!”
- what the public living in Essex’s thing about the show and informs us the audience that the representation of only way is Essex’s is untrue.
One posted: “I’ll be honest and say that when I saw it advertised I thought what a bunch of fake people, but now I’ve watched it I actually really loved it! Entertaining to see how you guys live
- This shows different opinions of only way is Essex’s and shows that it’s not negative and I could add this into my essay to show the reasons to why people really enjoy only way is Essex’s and its false representations, this quote from the audience suggests that one of the reasons is because of entertainment.
“ITV2 show The Only Way is Essex could set us back 20 years.”
"The stereotype is getting really boring. We are an affluent county with lots of successful men and women.
"And whoever came up with this show has not presented a fair cross-section of people in Essex."
"But I think it will attract more viewers to portray Essex like they have.
"It's sad if this programme makes people ashamed to be from Essex."
“The show has been criticised for its negative and stereotypical representation of Essex, and there have been a number of complaints to ITV2 “
“Some Essex residents felt it was not a true representation of the area and the people that live there.”
- These are really good quotes that I could include these points about the thoughts of the real people that live in Essex’s and what their views are on only way is Essex’s. It allows me to give points on reasons to why people believe that realty TV shows are damaging the women of today.
Books, quotes and notes
Reality Bites Back- The Troubling Truth about Guilty Pleasure Tv Jennifer L. Pozner
“when Hollywood pushes the limit, its usually bad news for women. That has been the increasingly truth with reality TV.”pg.112
“Reality tv attacks on women’s social, sexual, political power.” pg. 112
“The influence of all media is systemic and affects how we think and feel in ways we don’t even recognise.”
“so, what do reality tv producers want us to believe about ourselves and about ‘our place’ in society ?”pg.142 - allows me to back up my points on that reality tv has its affects on the audience and whatnit makes us think about ourselfs .
“Social beliefs ...women are conniving, deceitful and vicious and all men should be aware that they are money –grubbing gold diggers.” pg.142
“Perfect-picture reality TV women” - what the characters within
“Men are unworthy of love if they are not rich.”pg.142
Portraying the female population as ditzy, inept workers, wife’s and mothers. pg.142
“They have created a universe were women not only have no real choices but don’t even want any.” pg.156
“Single women are seen as they could never be happy or flourished financially without husbands.”
“Unreal world” pg.156 &“Misleading to the viewers”.pg. 156- these quotes show that reality isn't so real.
“Probably a little bit of truth to what you see but reality TV producers are manipulating everything.”pg.187- producers in this book are letting us know that reality tv only has a little bit of truth.
“Women in reality TV are moulded into predetermined stock characters such as “The bitch”, “The weepers” and “The Angry black women” the strong, independent women are typically excluded.” pg.187 - the typical sterotypes of each character and what are to expect in reality TV shows.
“Reality TV include stereotypes that most people would assume got left behind 35 years ago”
One Dimensional women (zero books) by Nina power
“feminism was at one time a great generator of new thoughts and new modes of existence but for a generation growing up with this in their eye-sight an impression that this is what they should aspire too.”
pg.69
Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices (Culture, Media and Identities Series) Stuart Hall
“Language and representation produce meaning.”pg 18
“To represent something is to describe or depict it, to call it up in the mind by description or portrayal or imagination, to place a likeness before in our minds or in our senses.”pg. 18
“Two systems of representation” pg18
Reality Tv: Audiences and Popular Factual Television By Annette Hill
Quotes on reasons to why they are popular and could relate to why females are represented this way.
“ the way real people and their stories are represented on TV are closely connected to how we judge the truthfulness of visual evidence.” pg.53
“reality programming is an extraordinary success story, an example of televisions ability to cannibalise itself in order to survive in a commercially uncertain media environment” pg.53
“The rise of reality TV came at a time when networks were looking for a quick fix solution to economic problems within the cultural industries” pg. 63
“Real people and real events in an entertaining style” pg. 74
“The popularity of reality tv has led to a dangerous blurring of boundaries between fact and fiction… as a result reality TV has had a negative effect on modern society”
The Woman at the Keyhole: Feminism and Women's Cinema (Theories of Representation and Difference) Judith Mayne
“ Genuine female identity has been repressed.” pg. 232- this quote helps bring up a point that have women lost their identities because of reality tv shows.
“ the subject is always male and the object is always female.” pg231 - are womens lives revolved around men ?
Representation & Reality: Portraits of Women's Lives in the Western Cape 1948-1976
“emphasis on sexism both divides men and women and distracts them from the issue of race.” pg23
- proves that its not just women that are being represented negatively and that its also men, but at the same time suggests that having a negative representation allows us to ignore the issues of race, so could this be one of the reasons to why women are potrayed negatively.
Reality TV: An Insider's Guide to TV's Hottest Market –Troy Devolld
“ its nothing more than irredeemably corruptive guilty pleasure.”
“ the recipe for every reality tv show is different, writing and content manipulations is one of the main ingredients .”
Different articles, quotes and internet links that relate to representation, reality TV, only way is essex's, etc.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2011/mar/21/the-only-way-is-essex
“does the pleasure come from judging them?”
http://www.missrepresentation.org/reality-tv/reality-tv-the-self-esteem-of-women/:
“how sure are we that this new generation of young women can distinguish fact from fiction or real life from reality?”
“The media constantly reminds us that we’re not good enough, we need to be fixed, and that our value lies in our youth and beauty.”
“When watching these shows the resounding message is that “ordinary” may as well be synonymous with “worthless”.”
“Women are becoming desensitized to their emotional needs and instead use beauty as a temporary band-aid and reality TV secretly promotes this. Statistics report that depression, eating disorders, and low self-esteem are at an all time high in young girls and women.”
“By choosing to watch reality shows that depict women in highly sexualized and demeaning ways or in manners that are truly unflattering (fighting and competing against each other)”
“These particular shows have been masterfully orchestrated to depict a cultural norm that directly impacts women’s value to society with the promise that the thinner you are, the prettier you are, and the more outrageously you behave the more successful and happy you will be.”
“With reality shows like these dominating the primetime airwaves we have to be vigilant and heighten our awareness to what exactly our children are watching.”
“For young women the false illusion of beauty has proven to be damaging to their perception of themselves and the world they live in.”
http://sophierisner.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/is-this-the-only-way/
“TOWIE brings to the foreground the female body-shape as something austere; all breasts and tight waist, blonde hair flowing from head to floor, lips over-coated in gloss finish, perma tans and bottom.”
“many years of hardwork still women are driven to be seen to be more stupid and more blown-up than ever.”
“The dumbing down of the role of women especially lies in the formatting of the main male protagonsit; Mark Wright.”
“women treat their breasts as wholly separate entities, with little or no connection to themselves, their personality, or even the rest of their body.”
http://www.msmagazine.com/fall2004/unrealworld.asp ; Feminist News
“No one wants to see a brainiac in a bikini in reality televsion. In this unreal world, women aren’t just stupid — they’re also catty and bitchy.”
“The psychological browbeating these shows engage in has political ramifications. They reinforce insecurities bred into women by decades of inaccurate media reports of “man shortages” and brokendown biological clocks.”
“producers construct these shows to drive home the notion that no emotional, professional or political accomplishment can possibly compare with the twin vocations of beauty and marriage.”
“The real concern is the millions of viewers, scores of whom are young girls, who take in these misogynistic spectacles uncritically, learning that only the most stereotypically beautiful, least independent women with the lowest-carb diets will be rewarded with love, financial security and the ultimate prize of male validation.”
- these are all feminist points of views from what their thoughts and feelings are towards only way is essexs and why they dislike the idea of this type of reality TV shows, it allows me to bring up points about that reality tv shows make females feel that women it either you professional accomplish something or you choose beauty and marriage and that you can be both.
“ it communicates the idea to girls that you can have no true girlfriends because your only goal in life is to find a man, and therefore every women is a potential love rival and therefore you can have no true female friendships.”
http://chelsssrep.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/case-study-so-far/
“the reasons that this group of people that are represented in this way is because it is more entertaining for the audiences"
“stereotypes can be good and being able to represent women to be the same in reality makes it easier to stereotype these people to the particular place that these women are from.” - reasons to why the females in only way is essexs are represented negatively
http://www.artslondonnews.co.uk/20101123-isessex-the-only-way
“With their poor acting skills and barely a brain cell between them, are the characters in The Only Way is Essex meant to be a positive representation of what Essex has to offer?”
"The Only Way is Essex makes you proud to be from anywhere else on the planet, oh and if you are from Essex, move now”
"The place is defined by a few lazy stereotypes. Sure people like Essex Man do live there, but people like that live all over the UK, you just have to change the accent.”
