Big Brother is a
television series that started in 2001 it has become a world wide phenomenon,
in many countries, in particular being Australia. Big brother started in
Australia in 2001 by Channel Ten and ran for eight season before it was later
cancelled in 2008 and then brought out by the Win Network, where in 2012 it has
aired it first season with the new network
Big Brother look at
social interaction of multiple housemates, each coming from different
backgrounds, cultures and generation, and how they all interact and get long
when they are all contained in the one house where they are unable to leave or
have any interaction with the outside world for up to three months. The
producers of the show choose contestants from a large number of individuals who
apply, the choose contestants on how they are going to interact with other,
what qualities they have, also choose particular contestants that they feel are
going to cause a stir or draw attention with the intention of drawing in viewer
and rating towards the show, to have a successful show.
Big brother is manly
made up 5 main components: back to basic environment, isolation from the
outside world, evictions, diary room and weekly tasks
Big brother from a sociological perspective allows
for the opportunity of analysis oh how people react and interact when they are
placed into a close confinement, with people who they may not interact with
other who are outside there comfort zone.
These individuals may hold different values,
opinions or ideals or even just be a different type of person who they would
normally interact with on the outside world
The
format is ideally suited to such analysis because us as the viewer is afforded
the opportunity to see how a person reacts on the outside through the constant
recording of their actions and also what they feel on the inside through the Diary Room The results can range from
violent or angry confrontations to genuine and tender, providing entertainment
to the public.
The
interactions that are constructed between individuals can be seen as scripted,
as we as individuals with out even realising we are submitting ourselves to
obey expected norms, codes and obligations that is expected our us by other may
it be society, family or our culture, we following these norms, codes and
obligations as we feel that by abiding by these we as individuals are
presenting ourselves as an appropriate ‘self’ to others around us may in be in
our own family or society, and in this case the way housemates present
themselves to other house mates in the house, to create the perception of them
‘self’ (Giddens, 1972, pg. 115)
our
body language itself is a representation of our self that we can portray with
out even having interaction with another individual, through the way we use
body language we can portray what type of person we are, if we are easily
approachable, if we are a person who is confident in ourselves, or if we are
feeling an particular emotion that we may be seen as expressing through our
body language.
·
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ2z2cJnPWM
This clip of natural occurring
data from Big Brother 2008, Looks at two housemates and an issue that they have
had with each other in the house and the effect of these issues building up and
when one leaves the house and has the ability to effect the others time in the
house does so on a very personal level, that may not normally effect all individuals
in the same way it effects this housemate, but to this one effects the on a
high level
Saxon letting of the
hand grenade that is part of one of the tasks that are set out in the big
brother house
In the above scene
from big brother it can be seen the effect that is had on Bridgette , after it
has been announced by Saxon that he has the power to remove all her
possessions, from her clothes to her prized possession ‘Princess Sparkles’ a
stuffed toy unicorn, Bridgette then expresses emotion through tears, and anger
, and sarcasm. She is extremely distort as she has lost everything that she has
in the house, they are things that she feels make up her image of her ‘self’
from her make up, to her clothes, to her toy unicorn
This is what
Bridgette feels make up her image of her ‘self’ and gives her confidence. She
is in the house under Big Brothers rules so it unable to leave as as she is
under his control and therefore he has the right to remove her belongings as it
is part of the Television show and its components.
Bridgette then turns
into anger against Saxon, and wants to leave the house to get back at him
‘’There is more to
you then what you, than just what you wear’’
From Bridgette not
having her clothes, her whole image of her self has changed, as she feels out
of character without her clothes and possessions.
Through this
interaction it can be seen through one persons action how it can changes
another individual so much from some thing as simple as not having her clothes,
to leading her to be unhappy, and have severe anger towards Saxon of who she
then starts throwing indults at to justify what he has done, and try to
reassure her self, that he is feeling pain too, like her
In particular this
exchange has caught my attention as it shows the different stages she goes
through from being raged, to upset to then anger and even revenge wanted
against Saxon when she leaves the house. It also shows how she potrays her
‘self’ and that she feels by all her personal belongings being gone that she
can not be herself and is no longer comfortable.
There is no really language
framed in this scene as it is a show that is a live show that just shows the
lives of indivduals living in a confined space. It can be seen that there is
speration of ‘teams’ in the Big Brother house, as when Saxon is broadcasting
his speech to the house, he stated indivduals along with Bridgette in the house
that he had issues with and reasons why he was going to use the hand grenade on
them but chose Bridgette. It then goes ton to show teams, when Bridgette is
raged about what has happpned she goes around the house and different
housemates approach her trying to comfort her. Bridgette deploys raged, to
upset to then anger and even revenge, this is deployed through her language,
expressions and clearly through her body language, of where she trys to bring
out her anger and then by passing back and forth outside the diary room
The interacton can be
seen as a power struggle as in the big brother house Saxon had an amout of
power with the hand greande that he was
still able to use when he left the Big Brother house, resulting in causing all
the issues, but there is also a power struggle by all housemates, due to they
are all adults who enter the house who control there own lives, but when in the
house , Big Brother has all control over ther lives from what they eat to what
they do, to what they can have,even if it may be there own personal belongings
Cyber self the selfing
project goes online by Laura Robinson: Robinson says that we are developing a
parallel of yourself when we are creating a cyber-profile as it is seen to be
more appealing to have a parallel self that is not like their biological self-
this is like big brother in a sense because they people who are in the house
are not exactly the true people they are on the outside work as the are in
isolation and can create the own parallel identity when entering the house as
the other in the house are not aware on who they really are on the outside
world and if who they say are and there background really matches up to be the
truth
In the reading of Goff man-
performances – the presentation of self in everyday life: It looks at the actual
self and how we present ourselves may it be front stage or backstage
We change ourselves at
times without being social conscience to make ourselves fit in and other times
we change ourselves to what we would rather be put on a mask when we are at work or with
friends and each mask can be very different as it may not be the person we are
in everyday life. We put on these mask to ensure that we can do our job to our
best our ability and until someone points it out in a cases like this we do not
realise the difference and what attributes we withhold in different
circumstances.
Yes as
Goffman argues ‘we are always wearing masks in order to make it to the highest
point possible in the social ladder’. This is a true point as through this
we, sometimes push ourselves further a work as an example to ensure we can get
further in life or where we want to be. Good point being that it is our truer
self and the person that we want to be and by putting on mask in some cases
helps us to show our true self in everyday life.
This can be clearly
seen in the Big Brother house that they could be creting another version of
themselves that they only show in the house, as other house mated would not
know what is true or not, until they get to know them better or till they leave
the house and see who they are in the outside world. They could make up a whole
new identity to potray of themselves, or leave out factors such as that they
have a partner in the outside world
In conclusion it can
be seen that they ways in which indivduals interact with can bw scripted in the
sense that we are aaware of the situations in am modify our ‘self’ to fitin
aswell at the same time tstill construct to the norms and expectations of
society. In the case of the Big Brother house, you can only be scripted to an
certain extent as your are being watched every moment of the day by the outside
world, aswell as living in a restricted unfamiliar space with 12 housemates
that gradually decreases, may you feel comfortable with them or not, you cannot
put on a ‘show’ all of the time and as in the Bridgette case just have an outbreak
where there is a drastic change or something upset you.
References:
·
"Big Brother",
2002, Television & New Media, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 251-254.
·
Wieder, D. Laurence. 1974.
“Telling the Code.” Pp. 144-172 in Ethnomethodology, edited by Roy Turner.
Harmondsworth: Penguin.
·
BIG BROTHER 2012, News Digital Media,
Southport, Qld.
·
Goffman, Erving.
1971. “Performances.” The Presentation
of Self in Everyday Life, Harmondsworth, Penguin.
·
Giddens, A. 1972,
Emile Durkheim: Selected Writing, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.
·
Roscoe, J. 2001,
"Big Brother Australia: performing the "real"
twenty-four-seven", International Journal of Cultural Studies, vol. 4, no.
4, pp. 473-488.
·
Smyth, R., Plange, N.
& Burdess, N. 1997, "Big brother? Australia's image in the south
pacific", Australian Journal of International Affairs, vol. 51, no. 1, pp.
37-52.
·
Chris Berg & Hugh
Tobin 2007, "Big Brother vs. Big Brother", Review - Institute of
Public Affairs, vol. 59, no. 2, pp. 32.
·
Robinson, Laura 2007
‘The Cyberself: the self-ing project goes online, symbolic interaction in the
digital age’ New Media and Society, vol 9 no. 1: pp. 93- 110
·
Goffman, Erving.
1967. “The Nature of Deference and Demeanour.” Pp. 47-96 in Interaction Ritual:
Essays on Face-to-Face Behaviour. New York: Pantheon Books.
