This special issue comes at an opportune time. Not only is the reality TV (RTV) format continuing in its popularity and proliferation, but also the nation is confronting its changing racial realities as a multiracial African American man is on the verge of winning (at this writing) the Democratic Party nomination for the President of the United States. As such, I feel privileged to have read these articles, all of which raise important questions about how television continues to try to manage and exploit race in a changing industrial and demographic environment. The strengths of these essays are in their deep, detailed readings of and comparisons across a wide range of RTV shows, and in the authors' ability to interweave critical race theory, Black feminist theory, and elements from cultural studies and news discourse analysis. This commitment to theory and deep description illuminates the troubling, troubled, and transgressive elements of racial representations and performances in RTV. They remind us of how much our racial realities are constructed through cultural, textual interactions (e.g., Hall, 1986 , 1989 ; Jackson, 2006 ). As I read the analyses, I was struck by the extent to which these RTV shows borrow from
Race and Reality TV: Tryin' to Make It Real—but Real Compared to What?
Abstract
This special issue comes at an opportune time. Not only is the reality TV (RTV) format continuing in its popularity and proliferation, but also the nation is confronting its changing racial realities as a multiracial African American man is on the verge of winning (at this writing) the Democratic Party nomination for the President of the United States. As such, I feel privileged to have read these articles, all of which raise important questions about how television continues to try to manage and exploit race in a changing industrial and demographic environment. The strengths of these essays are in their deep, detailed readings of and comparisons across a wide range of RTV shows, and in the authors' ability to interweave critical race theory, Black feminist theory, and elements from cultural studies and news discourse analysis. This commitment to theory and deep description illuminates the troubling, troubled, and transgressive elements of racial representations and performances in RTV. They remind us of how much our racial realities are constructed through cultural, textual interactions (e.g., Hall, 1986 , 1989 ; Jackson, 2006 ). As I read the analyses, I was struck by the extent to which these RTV shows borrow fromPreview Only. This article cannot be rented because we do not currently have permission from the publisher.
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Race and Reality TV: Tryin' to Make It Real—but Real Compared to What?
Follow Critical Studies in Media Communication
, Volume 25 (4): 434-440
Informa Healthcare – Oct 1, 2008
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