Discipline and liberty : television and governance / Gareth Palmer.

Format:

• Book

Author/Creator:

• Palmer, Gareth.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

• Reality television programs--Great Britain.
• Documentary television programs--Great Britain.
• Television--Social aspects--Great Britain.
• Television--Social aspects.
• Television.
• Documentary television programs.
• Reality television programs.
• Great Britain.

Physical Description:

ix, 204 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Manchester, UK ; New York : Manchester University Press ; New York, NY, USA : Distributed exclusively in the USA by Palgrave, 2003.

Summary:

Discipline and liberty is about the different ways in which television represents the public, and how television recommends we conduct ourselves in all spheres of our lives. Taking Foucault's notion of governance -- the conduct of conduct -- Gareth Palmer applies it to a range of television formats which have loosely been described as 'reality TV'. The older, relatively stable form of documentary production, with its set of established practices addressing a certain form of citizen who had few channels to choose from, has been transformed. The new production climate has created a huge range of choices and the programmes have different approaches, intentions and aspirations. These hybrid formats -- Big Brother, Video Diaries, Judge TV, Rikki Lake, Stupid Behaviour Caught on Tape -- use a technology of discipline to produce confessions, revelations and transformations which render citizens more transparent than ever and can punish those of us who dare to be different. Looking at how various agencies of the state have exhorted us to report crime -- license fee and tax evasion, street crime, even benefit fraud -- the author shows how constant surveillance is now integral to the process of citizenship. Engrossing, engagingly written and formidably assured, this important book will appeal to all of us who watch television, as well as those interested in television documentary, programme production, media studies, sociology and politics.

Contents:

• Introduction: governance and documentary 1
• 1 Reality bites back 21
• 2 Tough policing 44
• 3 Police and the community 70
• 4 Local policing 92
• 5 Neighbours From Hell: productive incivilities 111
• 6 Judge TV 128
• 7 Spectacles of shame 145
• 8 Video lives 163
• Conclusion: Big Brother
• an experiment in governance 182.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

• 071906693X
• 0719066921

OCLC:

52143385