Brooks1

Matthew Brooks

Emily Litle

English 121-001

13 March 2019

The Influence and Power of Media Break Through at the Turn of a New Century

Greame Turner an Australian professor at the University of Queensland in 2006

published a journal article he titled “The mass production of celebrity: ‘celetoids,’ reality TV and

the ‘demotic turn’.” In 2006, the exposure of reality TV had become mainstream and was

increasing in popularity. Turner writes in 2004 “I coined the term ‘the demotic turn’ as a means

of referring to the increasing visibility of the ordinary person as they turn themselves into media

content through celebrity culture, reality TV, DIY websites, talk radio, and the likes” (153). I

agree with Turners concept of demotic turn, and partially disagree on the change from elite to

ordinary, as well as his media views. In the 90’s the Real World was all reality TV had to offer,

but remembering who starred in the shows is difficult. It was not until media and technology

exploded in the 2000s that the shift was noticeable and became popular in households.

Turner defines the term demotic as democratizing. He explains that reality TV allows the

individuals on the show the ability to be noticed through their authentic personality whether they

have any talent or not. One show Turner referenced was American Idol, in this talent filled show

the article says, “American Idols notorious William Hung for instance attempted to impress the

judges by pointing out that he had never had any training in singing or dancing - as if this was an

argument in his favor” (154). The article also discusses how demotic relates to the media, and

how “the media has mutated as it has increasingly directly participated in the construction of
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cultural identity as one of its primary spheres of activity” (Turner 154). The demotic turn has

allowed limited talent to be replaced with the charm and personality of contestants who then

receive media attention to capture an audience while auditioning for reality TV.

Reading this section brings up a slogan Laurel Thatcher Ulrich came up with known as

“Well - behaved women seldom make history” (664). Tiffany Pollard also known as New York

an African American contestant on the hit reality show Flavor of Love used her dramatic

personality and chaotic outbursts to become famous. Pollards dramatic energy caused the

producers to form a story line around her. This type of behavior fits into Urichs slogan and

Turners theory because she turned her opportunity into 15 minutes of fame by offers of her very

own spin off shows. William Hung an Asian male from the show American Idol was sent home

after auditioning but not before capturing the hearts of viewers, a 2018 article writes “Despite

being sent home, his positive attitude won over audiences worldwide and led to a record deal [...]

reaching #34 on the U.S. billboard charts and #1 on U.S. independent charts” (Chan par.1). In

both cases, the media was involved in creating two different identities influencing culture with

two different personalities.

Another point Turner discusses is the trends of the celebrity to the celetoid in which he

says, “This is a shift from the elite to the ordinary” (154). Even though ordinary individuals have

always been discovered and processed throughout history to become famous, they have done this

through hard work and procedures. Turner goes on to discuss that celetoid fame may come with

consequences in which contestants may face if they accept any other outlet exposure to enhance

their fame. “Nick Coultry points out, ordinary people have never been more desired by, or more

visible within, the media” (Turner 155). The viewers get a visualization of what they are

watching is live and is happening right now so it is a simple supply and demand. The audience
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demands the drama associated with reality TV so the networks and media supply it. With

incorporating ordinary people also comes the ability to have employees at your disposable.

I agree and disagree with Turner to some extent that the ordinary person is shifting to

fame with what he calls a celetoid. When dealing with a celebrity they often are provided a

detailed script that fits the situation or discussions topic. This allows the celebrities name and

everyone tied to him to maintain a positive image. When reality TV came into the media it

allowed ordinary people to see other regular people act and live the same way that they do while

receiving praise for it whether their behavior was good or bad. I feel the public demanded it

because they related to the natural settings and actions reality TV offered. However, after

selected, many of the contestant’s lives are not as normal as a viewer may believe. A Direct

Expose Article reveals some of the unordinary rules these contestants have to follow. “Anyone

appearing on the Real World has to agree to let the producers manipulate footage of them [...]

inaccurately, Top Chef fines contestants one million dollars for any leaked spoilers, while on the

Bachelor an audition process includes an intense 600 question psych evaluation” (Gardner).

Even though these might be ordinary people, they also have to submit to a long list of rules that

might not make them feel ordinary. Due to all of the rules and procedures reality TV stars have

to follow, I agree and disagree with Turner for these reasons.

As Turner concludes his article talking about media, Turner writes “According to most

models, the media was thought to operate as a medium or a carrier rather than as itself a

motivational ideological force; its activities were the product of the interests of other locations of

power: the state, largely, or perhaps capital. The media typically ‘mediated’ between the

locations of power and their subjects” (159). Turner explains this saying “the general point I

want to make is that during these earlier formations, we were interested in media tools for what
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they told us about the generation of meaning, and in media institution for what they told us about

the production of culture, but we tended not to look at the media as a motivating force-as itself,

an author rather than a mediator or translator of cultural identity” (Turner 159). Turner says the

demotic structure in media allows reality TV celetoids to connect or “merge” themselves into the

public on a daily basis. This permits the youth to engage with how celetoids act and speak

allowing cultural identities to form while following the power behind what the media is pushing

out.

Growing up my parent and the parents of my friends kept their political views very

private. In fact, I never knew what political organization they even supported. The media shared

political campaigns and visions as is and showed no biased sides. When reality TV started

coming into existence so did the influence of the youth. A generation of conservatives started

becoming more open and opinionated. At this time, America was under the attack of terrorists.

Personally, I feel that after 9/11 the media start forcing their ideologies on the world, and used

celebrities and celetoids to push their views to the public. I agree and disagree with Turner as I

feel it was a larger event that took place for the media to start expanding their influence and

control over the U.S. population. The government did this through political agendas and used

celebrities to influence younger generations and cultures by showing conservative or liberal

actions and views through reality TV shows. Not only did reality TV produce stars but also many

shows involved famous singers or actors.

In conclusion, Turner makes some great points that I agree with. Although, there have

been other events take place in history that allowed celetoids to become famous through

platforms other than reality TV. One of these events was the 9/11 attacks on America that

opened up the voices of generations that were once silent. At the core of Turners article was
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“The shift from elite to ordinary” (Turner 154), Turners statements were backed by facts and

examples from reality TV. Not only has reality TV infiltrated the media but it is also a great

attention grabber to any audience that wants to understand more of what and why Turner has to

say. A question I would ask Turner is if he believes there is a specific person or group with

motives to control the minds of the world by regulating media.

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Works Cited

Chan, Natasha. “William Hung is Still Doing his Best and has no Regrets.” The Slant, May

17,2018. https://medium.com/the-baton/william-hung-is-still-doing-his-best-and-has-no-

regrets-13bb5d35fc7e. Accessed 29 Feb 2019.

Gardner, Will. “Want to Audition for a Reality TV Show? Here are 5 Crazy Things You’ll Have

to do.” Direct Expose, April 5, 2018. https://www.directexpose.com/reality-tv-show-crazy-

rules. Accessed 29 Feb 2019.

Turner, Graeme. “The mass production of celebrity:’Celetoids’, reality TV and the ‘demotic

turn.’ International Journal of Culture Studies, vol. 9, no.2, 2006, pp. 153-165, Sage,

http://ics.sagepub.com/content/9/2/153. Accessed 25 Feb 2019

Ulrich, Laurel Thatcher. “Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History.” The Norton Field

Guide to Writing with Reading, edited by Richard Bullok, Maureen Daly Goggin, 2016 MLA

update, PP.664-674