MIC Presentation

Here is a short presentation on Media Convergence that I gave in my Cinema and Media Studies class yesterday. Below I have also included the screenshots that I had taken for my powerpoint which I unfortunately did not get to include in the presentation because with a powerpoint I would have to deliver said presentation from the top of the class, whereas without I could just read from the comfort of my own seat, (public speaking has never been a strong point of mine). All my own fault. I chickened out.

“Let’s be friends” - How E4’s Made in Chelsea breaks down the final barrier between subject and viewer

My presentation is mainly based around the model of T.V participation described by Will Brooker in “Living on Dawson’s Creek: Teen viewers, cultural convergence and television overflow”. Exactly ten years on from Dawson’s Creek and the publication of Brooker’s study, television networks are still trying to make their shows into a lifestyle rather than one hour’s viewing, one night a week.

While E4’s Made In Chelsea promotes itself as “reality t.v”, let us not for a second pretend that every event, conversation and intense look is left entirely to chance. Obviously a large degree of scripting, reshooting and editing goes into it, a fact made obvious by continuity errors that are clearly visible to any viewer. What sets Made In Chelsea aside from other reality t.v shows is that, while it promotes itself as reality, it does not drag its drama through the English tabloids in the same way that the likes of ITV’s The Only Way Is Essex or TOWIE, as it is affectionally referred to by devote followers. 

How E4 has cleverly differentiated its reality offering from the likes of TOWIE is not through the on-screen production but through how the cast of the show conduct themselves off-screen. The drama of Made In Chelsea – whether it is fact or fiction – is kept within the confines of one hour’s viewing, one night a week. Off-screen, however, the cast tweet and blog like regular people. As the characters of Dawson’s Creeks have their online lives, the discoveries made by the viewer while surfing through Dawson’s Creek’s Capeside.net are not essential to the viewing of the show itself. These Internet offerings are often independent to the content of the show. It is another way to promote the lifestyle of the show, over the simple one-hour’s viewing, once a week format.

Despite the existence of numerous tumblr websites devoted entirely to the cast of MIC, no stand-alone website for the show exists. Like the development of Capeside.net through Warner Brothers, everything is co-ordinated through E4’s main website, a branch off the initial Channel4.co.uk. Even the casts’ twitter accounts, supposedly their own personal accounts, must bear the official E4 stamp of approval. As Jenkins intreprets the television industry has come to terms with the fact that just one hour’s viewing, one night a week is, in some cases, simply not enough, as consumers are willing to search through a broad spectrum of content over varying media platforms (Jenkins. 68). The more the consumer wants; the more the television industry is willing to give. Plus the more it produces; the more content there is to sponsor (Jenkins. 68). Essentially, the lives of the MIC cast have become less about the dramas with which they entertain the viewers, but more about the advertising opportunities that their affairs can create and how befriending their fans through twitter, blogs and tumblr can break down that barrier between subject and viewer. Breaking down this barrier creates the basic model of playground consumer pyschology. Picture the MIC cast as the cool kid with the shiny new toy and the viewer as the friend going home and begging the parent for a similar shiny new toy. It is the most basic form of consumer pyschology (Jansson-Boyd. 158).

Similar to Brooker’s discoveries about Dawson’s Creek, it is obvious through the main sponsor of MIC; the show is primarily targeted at a female demographic. After every ad break the show is reintroduced by makeup brand Rimmel London “sponsoring fashion on four”. It is, of course, no coincidence that the show is labeled fashion and is sponsored by a well-known makeup brand. Similar to the relationship between J.Crew clothing and Dawson’s Creek as outlined by Brooker, the source of the character’s clothes and accessories is a source of some consideration with a constant stream of tweets about Millie’s dress, Rosie’s rings and even Hugo’s jacket following the airing of every episode. For this purpose, some of the cast including Rosie and Millie have specially designated blogs, Rosie on fashion (Powerpoint); Millie on makeup (Powerpoint), that simply serve the purpose of explaining the every outfit or look. If, as explained by Brooker, you wanted to purchase the hat that Pacey wore in the latest episode of Dawson’s Creek, you could head to the J.Crew website where there were pages devoted entirely to the clothing of the cast (Brooker. 461). Similarly, and taking it one step further, a simple tweet to a cast member of MIC or a quick consoltation with a blog and you to could be wearing Millie’s dress, Rosie’s rings and even Hugo’s jacket.

Finally, citing MIC as the new equivalent of Dawson’s Creek, not that it has the same following or longevity, it is fair to say, in the words of Brooker the seismic shift in what it means to watch television may well and truly be underway. The gap between character and fan is narrowing, as we really are willing to welcome dramatised people into our circle of friends. 

Bibliography

Brooker, Will. "Living on Dawson's Creek: Teen Viewers, Cultural Convergence, and Television Overflow." International Journal of Cultural Studies 4.456 (2001): 456-72.

Jansson-Boyd, Cathrine V. Consumer Psychology. Maidenhead: Open UP, 2010.

Jenkins, Henry. "Buying Into American Idol: How We Are Being Sold On Reality TV." Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: New York UP, 2006. 59-92.

Pictography

Cheers for reading,

Jane