Discuss how you see two of John Caldwell’s five elements of convergence television (outlined on page 46 of his essay) applying to the television you consume today.
The elements of conglomerating textuality (convergence texts) and programming textuality (stunting/sweeps), two of John Caldwell’s five elements of convergence television from his paper “Convergence Television: Aggregating Form and Repurposing Content in the Culture of Conglomeration”, can clearly be seen in the CBS program Survivor.
Conglomerating textuality (convergence texts) is described by Caldwell as using “ancillary channel [to] promise to further engage and activate the audience, thereby bringing more of the viewer-user’s dollars back to the programming source” (Caldwell). Survivor, as an edited, one hour reality game show, requires producers to heavily edit the show in an effort to frame a compelling, overarching storyline and complex, humanistic characters. Due to this, some characters may receive an ‘invisible edit’ for an episode or episodes at a time, and strategic moves sometimes go uncredited or are falsely accredited to a contestant in an effort to make the viewers see the contestant as strategic. Interestingly, through the use of conglomerating textuality, CBS has managed to combat the limitations of the Survivor ‘edit’. For instance, on CBS’ website after every episode, CBS features dozens of ‘insider clips’ featuring all of the contestants interacting with other contestants and providing their inner thoughts through confessionals, enabling viewers to see their favorites in action if ignored by the edit and fans of strategy to see who truly is playing a ‘good game’. In addition, by deeming it an insider clip, CBS manages to make viewers feel as if they have a special look inside of the show, making them feel more included in the ‘Survivor community’. For these three reasons, this ancillary online text of insider clips keeps viewers coming back. Similarly, contestants are frequently featured in interviews on entertainment websites (EW, Hollywood Reporter, etc.) where they shed light on their game and time on the island, providing more exclusive content for fans to access and thereby, drawing their dollars back to the programming source. Interestingly, through all these different mediums, the Survivor brand is being sent across the internet, enabling expansive advertising. Overall, Survivor perfectly embodies conglomerating textuality by framing one convergence texts consisting of television episodes, insider clips, and online interviews that provide a full, realistic depiction of contestants’ games and lives on the online in a way that draws viewers’ money back to the programming.
Survivor also displays Caldwell’s element of programming textuality (stunting/sweeps). After twenty seven seasons, Survivor is struggling to maintain ‘freshness’. Thus, in an effort to maintain ratings, Survivor has relied on two types of stunts: returning players and new formats. By bringing back players, Survivor captures old audiences who are fans of returning all-stars and makes the season feel more dramatic and important, due to the label of all-stars. New formats include Heroes versus Villains (pitting the villains of the show versus the heroes), Blood versus Water (pitting family members against each other), and Survivor A versus Survivor B (placing two rival, returning players on separate tribes in a season that focuses on their rivalry). All of these formats provide a ‘fresh’ version of the game that promises new types of drama that may capture new audiences. Thus, due to its age and its struggle to stay relevant, Survivor has engaged in various stunts, such as returning players and new formats, to maintain ratings.
Overall, the CBS program Survivor perfectly embodies Caldwell’s notions of programming textuality and conglomerating textuality.
The elements of conglomerating textuality (convergence texts) and programming textuality (stunting/sweeps), two of John Caldwell’s five elements of convergence television from his paper “Convergence Television: Aggregating Form and Repurposing Content in the Culture of Conglomeration”, can clearly be seen in the CBS program Survivor.
ReplyDeleteConglomerating textuality (convergence texts) is described by Caldwell as using “ancillary channel [to] promise to further engage and activate the audience, thereby bringing more of the viewer-user’s dollars back to the programming source” (Caldwell). Survivor, as an edited, one hour reality game show, requires producers to heavily edit the show in an effort to frame a compelling, overarching storyline and complex, humanistic characters. Due to this, some characters may receive an ‘invisible edit’ for an episode or episodes at a time, and strategic moves sometimes go uncredited or are falsely accredited to a contestant in an effort to make the viewers see the contestant as strategic. Interestingly, through the use of conglomerating textuality, CBS has managed to combat the limitations of the Survivor ‘edit’. For instance, on CBS’ website after every episode, CBS features dozens of ‘insider clips’ featuring all of the contestants interacting with other contestants and providing their inner thoughts through confessionals, enabling viewers to see their favorites in action if ignored by the edit and fans of strategy to see who truly is playing a ‘good game’. In addition, by deeming it an insider clip, CBS manages to make viewers feel as if they have a special look inside of the show, making them feel more included in the ‘Survivor community’. For these three reasons, this ancillary online text of insider clips keeps viewers coming back. Similarly, contestants are frequently featured in interviews on entertainment websites (EW, Hollywood Reporter, etc.) where they shed light on their game and time on the island, providing more exclusive content for fans to access and thereby, drawing their dollars back to the programming source. Interestingly, through all these different mediums, the Survivor brand is being sent across the internet, enabling expansive advertising. Overall, Survivor perfectly embodies conglomerating textuality by framing one convergence texts consisting of television episodes, insider clips, and online interviews that provide a full, realistic depiction of contestants’ games and lives on the online in a way that draws viewers’ money back to the programming.
Survivor also displays Caldwell’s element of programming textuality (stunting/sweeps). After twenty seven seasons, Survivor is struggling to maintain ‘freshness’. Thus, in an effort to maintain ratings, Survivor has relied on two types of stunts: returning players and new formats. By bringing back players, Survivor captures old audiences who are fans of returning all-stars and makes the season feel more dramatic and important, due to the label of all-stars. New formats include Heroes versus Villains (pitting the villains of the show versus the heroes), Blood versus Water (pitting family members against each other), and Survivor A versus Survivor B (placing two rival, returning players on separate tribes in a season that focuses on their rivalry). All of these formats provide a ‘fresh’ version of the game that promises new types of drama that may capture new audiences. Thus, due to its age and its struggle to stay relevant, Survivor has engaged in various stunts, such as returning players and new formats, to maintain ratings.
Overall, the CBS program Survivor perfectly embodies Caldwell’s notions of programming textuality and conglomerating textuality.