Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/johnband/sharpener.johnband.org/index.php:1) in /home/johnband/sharpener.johnband.org/wp-includes/feed-rss2-comments.php on line 8
Comments on: Ant and Dec’s proletarian poke in the face http://sharpener.johnband.org/2006/07/ant-and-decs-proletarian-poke-in-the-face/ Trying to make a point Fri, 25 Jan 2008 12:21:35 +0000 hourly 1 By: Donald/TheJarndyceBlog http://sharpener.johnband.org/2006/07/ant-and-decs-proletarian-poke-in-the-face/#comment-22032 Fri, 21 Jul 2006 11:17:48 +0000 http://www.thesharpener.net/2006/07/14/ant-and-decs-proletarian-poke-in-the-face/#comment-22032 I preferred the ring of God. It pushed all the right buttons.

]]> By: Merrick http://sharpener.johnband.org/2006/07/ant-and-decs-proletarian-poke-in-the-face/#comment-21884 Fri, 21 Jul 2006 00:17:19 +0000 http://www.thesharpener.net/2006/07/14/ant-and-decs-proletarian-poke-in-the-face/#comment-21884 Eeek, that should’ve started ‘good post’. Curse my sticky o key.

]]> By: Merrick http://sharpener.johnband.org/2006/07/ant-and-decs-proletarian-poke-in-the-face/#comment-21882 Fri, 21 Jul 2006 00:16:41 +0000 http://www.thesharpener.net/2006/07/14/ant-and-decs-proletarian-poke-in-the-face/#comment-21882 God post, really interesting thinking.

The one possible flaw is a presumption that the show isn’t rigged.

I live near Yorkshire TV’s studios, and so I know a few people who’ve whiled away an afternoon or three in studio audiences. One came back with quite a crush on Carol Vorderman, but that’s a whole other story.

One entered on The Price Is Right. They decided they wanted him to win – he was good looking, enthusiastic, much more telegenic than the other contestants.

So a bloke with a clipboard stood in the wings and gestured higher or lower to him as he ‘guessed’. And he won.

No point in letting the dull or ugly be on the screen for long, people will turn over, and lost ratings means lost ad revenue. It’s not about delivering shows to audiences, but about delivering audiences to advertisers.

]]> By: Donald/TheJarndyceBlog http://sharpener.johnband.org/2006/07/ant-and-decs-proletarian-poke-in-the-face/#comment-20466 Sat, 15 Jul 2006 12:46:34 +0000 http://www.thesharpener.net/2006/07/14/ant-and-decs-proletarian-poke-in-the-face/#comment-20466 Dunno, Malcolm. Everyone seemed very happy when Judith Keppel won the pot on Millionaire. The fact that she was distantly royal didn’t appear to phase anyone.

Larry: worse than that. The contestants get to meet the day before, to get the baiting and bullying warmed up before they even appear on set (Antandec remain neutral and aloof). Funny how, this week anyway, it seems they’ve all (especially other women) been picking on the fat lass.

]]> By: Larry Teabag http://sharpener.johnband.org/2006/07/ant-and-decs-proletarian-poke-in-the-face/#comment-20211 Fri, 14 Jul 2006 17:22:38 +0000 http://www.thesharpener.net/2006/07/14/ant-and-decs-proletarian-poke-in-the-face/#comment-20211 Interesting. I think it’s a little rough to say that the show’s “designed to reproduce, repackage and reinforce existing class relations”, though I agree with your argument that it will do that.

I haven’t seen the show – who told the woman to “remember the six kids”? Do the competitors get to verbally bully each other – or was it one of Ant and Dec?

]]> By: Malcolm Murdoch http://sharpener.johnband.org/2006/07/ant-and-decs-proletarian-poke-in-the-face/#comment-20198 Fri, 14 Jul 2006 13:41:33 +0000 http://www.thesharpener.net/2006/07/14/ant-and-decs-proletarian-poke-in-the-face/#comment-20198 Never really thought of the class dimensions of quiz shows before. Surely the people who need the money least are the ones who enter the show the least.

Also, the majority of people who watch the shows are from the ‘proletariat.’ The TV executives know that in order to keep the show popular, they need to show the proletariat some of their ‘own kind’ winning often.

The game may be setup to allow the ruling classes to win, but I think the TV execs know the popularity of the show depends on allowing the common man to win through.

]]>