User:Lauren Barton

Lauren Barton is a first year QUT student studying a Bachelor of Business (majoring in Public Relations)/Bachelor of Creative Industries (Media and Communications)degree. Although it is her first year at QUT, it is her second out of school, having studied Arts at the University of Queensland at the beginning of 2003.

She works casually at a Pilates Studio at Coorparooo, Pilates Etc, as well as at the Brisbane Cricket Ground (the Gabba) as a members' usher.

As far as the future goes, Lauren wants to travel extensively, planning to study a semester of her degree overseas, as well as making a trip to New York, where she has been wanting to visit for a long time. Work wise, she is planning to go overseas and experience life in another country, but working here in Australia is not ruled out yet, anything is possible.

She is one of two children, having a younger brother, Thomas. Her mum, Anne is a Speech Pathologist and her father, Graeme, is a bricklayer. They live in Ashgrove, Brisbane and have for almost 18 years now.

Lauren Barton 12:22, 9 Sep 2004 (EST)

Interactive_TV

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

BIG BROTHER

How a reality TV show has helped change the social constructs of our world today

• Andrejevic, M. (2004) Reality TV: The Work of Being Watched, Maryland, U.S.A.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc., ISBN 0742527484
  

Mark Andrejevic provides an in-depth explanation of reality TV, its history and where it seems to be headed in the future. Valuable chapters to the subject being investigated are 1, 4 and 5. Chapter 1 introduces the reader to the concept of reality TV, and the way in which it has, quite literally, taken off in popularity and success. The concept of interactivity seems to be a main idea encapsulated in this chapter, an idea which is pertinent to the study of Big Brother. Chapters 4 and 5 go a bit further in depth into the study of the worldwide phenomenon that was, and is, Big Brother. A deeper insight into what the members of the audience were thinking is explored, as well as focusing on the economic function of surveillance and its adherence to pop culture. This book is an interesting resource with regard to this study as it puts forth a very strong, one sided opinion toward the show.

• Griffen-Foley, B. (2004) "From Tit-Bits to Big Brother: a century of audience participation in the media," Media, Culture and Society, vol.26, no.4, pp. 533-548. [Online]. Available: Cambridge Scientific Abstracts database. [Accessed 10 Aug. 2004].

An important article in the way in which it relates the ‘new’ media example of Big Brother to the ‘old’ print and electronic media outlets. It is essential to have a comparison between the two to see just how far this show has taken the world in terms of technology. An interesting suggestion was made by a lady in the article that the roles of audience and producer have actually been changed, highlights just how this phenomenon of reality TV, and Big Brother in particular, have changed some of the ways in which society functions nowadays. The comparisons to historical versions of audience interaction are helpful in painting a clearer picture on the origins of reality TV, and subsequently, Big Brother.

• Hartley, J. (2002) Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, London: Routledge, ISBN 0415268893
  

John Hartley, the Dean of the Creative Industries Faculty has written this extremely useful book which outlines some very important terms used in the study of communication, cultural and media studies. In particular, the definition of ‘new media technologies’ gives the reader a broad, and very brief history into media technologies, which is a good start when researching a topic such as Big Brother and the social aspect such a show has affected.

• Hill, A. (2002) "Big Brother: The Real Audience," Television and New Media, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 323-340. [Online]. Available: Cambridge Scientific Abstracts database. [Accessed 7 Aug. 2004].

This article introduces some valuable terms which appear in other publications, with regard to Big Brother. It focuses on the ‘real’ audience of Big Brother, which is important, as it is the audience, ultimately, who accepts the social changes it brings about. Hill classifies this show as a ‘gamedoc’, in other words, a game-show and documentary all in one. It outlines various arguments as to why the show is as popular as it is, and not just in Australia, but the world over. In fact, it has a subsection of the article which is devoted to explaining the 'gamedoc’s' popularity levels in the different countries in which it has been aired. Surprisingly, America was the only country not to have embraced it wholeheartedly.

• Johnson-Woods, T. (2002) Big Bother, St Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press, ISBN 0702233153
  

This book provides a very detailed look into the first series of Big Brother that aired in Australia. It is significant because it brings all the information on this reality TV series into a context that we (as Australians) can recognise. It goes into detail about who it was that watched Big Brother, and why. In addition to this, the book gives the reader a detailed explanation of the show, the rules of it and a week by week description of the tasks to be performed by the ‘housemates’. Johnson-Woods also explains the tricks used in audience manipulation as well as the way in which audience opinion helped create the celebrities that we ‘loved’ and those that we ‘hated’.

• Kelly, T. (2002) "Reality TV drives Aussie advertisers' sales," Media Asia, vol. 9 June 2002, p. 9. [Online]. Available Communication and Mass Media Complete database. [Accessed 10 Aug. 2004].

A very short article, yet a useful one in looking into how the show not only created instant celebrities, but also helped advertisers subtly place their products in the limelight. Amongst others, Freedom Furniture, who furnished the entire house for the 4th series of the show (which just recently finished airing on channel 10), reported positive sales growth during the time in which its stock could be seen. It is interesting to note that the sales director of channel 10, Queensland stated that the show was made for creative branding opportunities. The way that these advertisers have subtly tapped into the minds of the viewers certainly affects the way in which the show is viewed.

• Kilborn, R. (2003) Staging the Real: Factual TV Programming in the age of Big Brother, Manchester, United Kingdom: Manchester University Press, ISBN 0719056810
  

Staging the Real is a fantastic resource in the investigation into anything to do with reality TV. It focuses on the way in which the broadcasting environment has changed and given way to the development of programs such as Big Brother and Survivor, to name a few. The introduction is probably the most relevant part of the book with regard to the line of study being undertaken for this assignment, looking at the way in which reality TV has become more and more common. Big Brother is mentioned many times throughout the book, which is very useful, as it is recognising this show as a forerunner in the world of reality TV.

• Murray, S. and Ouellette, L. (eds). (2004) Reality TV: Remaking Television Culture, New York: New York University Press, ISBN 0814756883
  

This book helps uncover and address the economic, visual, cultural and audience dimensions of reality television. It looks, particularly in chapter 17, at the way in which audiences were so involved with Big Brother when it was first aired in the United States. It also introduces the reader to the beginnings of the show, the fact that it was based on the ideas of dystopia in George Orwell’s Animal Farm, and the way in which it used cross media formats (webcasting and broadcasting) to reach its audience. This book takes a look at the social ramifications that this show has had on society and again, poses the burning question of who really produced Big Brother, the audiences or the producers?!

• Palmer, G. and Hill, A. (2002) "Big Brother," Television and New Media, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 251-254. [Online]. Available: Cambridge Scientific Abstracts database. [Accessed 7 Aug. 2004].

An exploration into both the technical and social aspects of Big Brother, while asking questions as to what Big Brother actually is. It explains that this show was a multi level event, which generated media spectacle, and also gave insight into how the housemates were deliberately chosen to cause friction and uproar, so as the audience had more to think about when evictions came around. On the technological side of things, live feeds and continual access to the show via digital TV are all helping Big Brother (as well as other reality TV programs) become part of everyday life for people around the world, and consequently, have an effect on the social side of society. As well as explaining detail about the Australian version of Big Brother, the article goes further into talking about other countries and their own versions of this series.

• Roscoe, J. (2002) "Interview with Peter Abbott," Journal of Media and Cultural Studies, vol. 16, no. 2. [Online]. Available: Cambridge Scientific Abstracts database. [Accessed 8 Aug. 2004].

This interview is interesting to explore with regard to the assignment as it is talking to Peter Abbott, who is the Executive Producer of Big Brother in Australia. He can explain first hand what the company wanted to get out of the show, and what he thought the social ramifications would be, from his position within the production team. Jane Roscoe asks some interesting questions of Peter, about both the cast of the show and the program itself, and gets down to why certain people were chosen and why people liked and disliked them. It also goes into detail about his opinion on audience involvement, as well as questions about the overseas versions of Big Brother.

LAUREN BARTON

STUDENT NUMBER: n5034396

DUE DATE: 13th August, 2004

WORD COUNT: 1452 (not including references)

Criteria Sheet

Lauren Barton 20:21, 12 Aug 2004 (EST)