The Sensationalized Reality: A Critical Analysis of the Depictions of Pinoy Big Brother

The Sensationalized Reality: A Critical Analysis of the Depictions of Pinoy Big Brother

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for

COMM 105 – Communication Theory

Submitted by:

Chelsea Jane B. Magtoto

Submitted to:

Asst. Prof. Dairen P. De Luna

Faculty-in-Charge

June 4, 2020
 The Sensationalized Reality: A Critical Analysis of the Depictions of Pinoy Big Brother

Introduction:

Reality TV shows, including game shows, in the Philippines was present starting from the
1950s with the first an original version of Tawag ng Tanghalan which is now adopted as a segment
in ABS-CBN’s noontime show, Its Showtime. Ever since then, various original-Filipino reality
and game shows emerged in the Philippine Television as well as adaptations and recreations of
numerous foreign shows which, all together, created a norm for the inclination and patronization
of Filipinos to reality and game shows and even of different genres.
In a blog by Kara Tree, she stated that, “Reality television is a genre of television
programming the present’s purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents or
actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors in a contest or
other situation where a prize is awarded” wherein she further emphasized that the portrayals in
such shows display “a modified and highly influenced form of reality, utilizing sensationalism to
attract viewers and so to generate advertising profits” (Media Effects and Theories: Reality TV
Shows, 2010). This supports the questionable nature of reality shows contrary to most audience’s
font of entertainment wherein various forms of reality are exploited and objectified (Marcuse, H.
in Marshall, D. (2012). The Frankfurt School).
Viewers that prefer reality TV/shows are characterized or are often associated with the
tendency of voyeurism wherein people enjoy having the chance to see/watch “what they can
otherwise see” when “the curtains are left slightly open.” (Whitbourne, S., Ph.D., (2013)).
Whitbourne (2013) added that reality shows also serve as an example and a chance for audience
to compare themselves with. Therefore, reality shows such as Big Brother/PBB, with participants
such as ordinary people or non-celebrities, audiences tend to feel a connection and appeal towards
the ‘real and normal’ impression/presentation (Tree, 2010). Analyzing the contents and purposes
of reality shows allows for a wide array of explanation and understanding of its implications in the
society, particularly in the Philippines, considering that there are depictions that critically tackles
societal norms and overall perception and attitudes towards the ‘real’ reality.
However, contrary to the claims of reality shows inciting the habit of voyeurism towards
the audience, John Perritano on his article, “What is TV’s influence on culture?”, he emphasized
that instead of voyeurism, preferring reality shows has a direct implication to one’s self. And
though pessimistically, he supported that, “According to Ohio State University psychologist,
Steven Reiss, some people watch reality TV because it makes them feel superior. Others watch
because they want to see other people humiliated.” (Perritano, J. (2011)).
Pinoy Big Brother is the reprise of the Dutch TV series, Big Brother, reality game show
created by John de Mol. Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) follows the same format as the original version
wherein aspiring contestants will be chosen through audition and interview wherein official
contestants will be called ‘housemates’ and will live in one house where they are under
surveillance as multiple cameras are installed in various parts of the house. Big brother, or in
Filipino, “Kuya”, serves as the all-knowing and supreme authority that the housemates revere to
as they become disconnected to the outside world upon entering the house. The show presents the
various happenings inside the house, including their daily tasks can challenges, where the actions
and behaviors of housemates are monitored by the audiences. The authenticity and variety of
‘natural’, ‘raw’, and ‘real’ situations, characteristics, responses, and behaviors of people are also
depicted and revealed through ‘unscripted’ reality. Many viewers are fascinated and convinced
with the show’s revelation of reality through the rawness of ordinary people and many are
constantly intrigued or unconvinced about the depiction of reality of PBB.
This paper is centered on critically analyzing the depiction and construction of reality of Pinoy Big
Brother and how it exploited and objectified the ‘housemates’ and their life stories. Moreover,
implications of voyeurism and other factors on the audiences are to be analyzed under the context
of the constructed reality of PBB.

Objectives

This study aims to critically analyze the depiction and construction of reality as well as how the
show ‘utilized’ the housemates in the reality show, Pinoy Big Brother. This paper aims to answer
these following questions:
1. What kind of reality did Pinoy Big Brother depict in the show?
 The Sensationalized Reality: A Critical Analysis of the Depictions of Pinoy Big Brother

2. How are the housemates exploited and objectified through the format of PBB?
3. What implications does the depictions and situations inside the house bring to the
audience?
4. How can the audiences’ reaction and response to such reality shows be interpreted and
related on how they perceive their own ‘reality’?

Theoretical Framework and Methodology

The theoretical framework of this study is mainly anchored on Althusser’s Theory of

Ideology, Gramsci’s Ideological Hegemony, and The Frankfurt School (specifically of M.
Horkheimer, T. Adorno, H. Marcuse, and E. Fromm).
Althusserian Marxism by Luis Althusser draws heavily on the structuralist tradition that
is anti-economist and anti-humanist (Chandler, 1995). According to David Chandler (1995),
Althusser’s work focused in viewing ideology as “itself a determining force shaping
consciousness, embodied in the material signifying practices of ‘ideolodical state apparatuses’
(ISA), and enjoying ‘relative autonomy’.” Ideology, for Althusser ‘represents the imaginary
relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence’ (cited in Stevenson 1995:37, in
Chandler, 1995, Marxism in Media). Althusser’s Ideological State Apparatuses explains that
concepts are reproduced, as well as power and ideology from a Marxist perspective (Nguyen,
(n.d.)), through media, family, church, school, etc. This ideology is strongly associated to the
‘subjective’ experience of individuals and therefore their experiences which are influenced by
ideology, produce a “sense of reality” and in some ways, reconstructs reality or imposes a nature
(Althusser’s “On the Reproduction of Capitalism: Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses” as
reviewed by Andre Ryder (n.d.)). Ryder added that, “---he [Althusser] argues that this mediated
experience of the world is constructed according to a rational purpose, that is, to “ensure the
reproduction of the relations of production”.” Interpellation of subjects is another important
concept of Althusser’s Theory of ideology where according to Nguyen (n.d.) as she quoted David
Gauntlett, “interpellation occurs when a person connects with a media text…uncritical
consumption means that the text has interpellated us into a certain set of assumptions, and caused
us to tacitly accept a particular approach to the world.” (Gauntlett, 2002:27).
Althusserian Theory of Ideology will be mainly used in this study to critically analyze the
presentation of reality in PBB as well as the understanding of the response of the housemates in
being subjected in such environment/format of living. Through this theory as well and the ISAs,
will be utilized to address and dissect the ideologies the show poses and passes to its viewers.
Antonio Gramsci’s Superstructural Phenomenon or the Ideological Hegemony is an
opposition to Althusser’s ideology which as Tony Bennett asserts, “---failing to allow for internal
conflict” (Bennett 1982: 53). Gramsci used the term hegemony to emphasize the dominance of one
class and how they are able to “project its own way of seeing the world so that those who are
subordinated by it accept it as ‘common sense’ and ‘natural’.” However, Gramsci did not perceive
media consumers/audiences as passive instead, have an autonomy on their willingness and
consent. He also believed the possibility of class/political struggle where there will be a counter-
hegemony in culture and values where he further concluded that “domination of the capitalist
ideology is not an inescapable reality” (Khan, 2012).
Theorists under The Frankfurt School contributed various contexts and perceptions of mass
media drawing from a relatively leftist slant. Debra Marshall PhD., in her crash course in YouTube,
explained that Frankfurt School emphasizes a subjective take on research. She further stated that
in the ideology of Frankfurt School, “the only way we can understand reality is through our own
subjective lens and that true objectivity is a fantasy” (Marshall, 2012) which all together, “gives
to the mass media and the culture industry a role of ideological dominance which destroys both
burgeois individualism and the revolutionary potential of the working class” (Woollaccott 1982:
105 in Chandler, 1995).
On the perspective of mass media, Herbert Marcuse on “One Dimensional Man”, he claims
that, mass media utilizes various human conditions and presentations through ISAs thus making it
a “construction of the capitalist media/society”. Marcuse emphasized that the industry of mass
communication does not only deliver entertainment and information but “carry with them
prescribed attitudes and habits, certain intellectual and emotional reactions which bind the
consumers…to producers, and, through the latter to the whole [social system]” (Marcuse, cited in
 The Sensationalized Reality: A Critical Analysis of the Depictions of Pinoy Big Brother

Bennett 1982: 43). In this critical theory, Frankfurt school offers a perspective on the contemporary
society as well as the implications of the utilization and improvement of human condition through
value judgement and maximizing ‘possibilities’ of a society’s resources for social change. One
Dimensional Man further posits that the “---ideological character of the critique results from the
fact that the analysis is forced to proceed from a position “outside” the positive as well as negative,
the productive as well as destructive tendencies in society.”
Moreover, Erich Fromm of Frankfurt School’s perspective of the encouragement of self-
interest and self-internalization through Capitalism can be used as a supporting lens in the
commercialization of such formats of reality shows. Lastly, Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer
argues that, “the homogeneity of mass media interpellate passive subjects who desire reoccurring
tropes and predictable story lines which only serve to further stultify them (1979)” (Nguyen,
(n.d.)). This perspective of Adorno and Horkheimer can be used as a strong foundation for
interpretation of the audiences’ inclination and fascination towards Pinoy Big Brother.
This study is set to critically analyze the general depiction of reality in reality shows,
specifically that of Pinoy Big Brother, and how this presentation of media affects both the
participants and viewers of the show. Pinoy Big Brother’s tendency of exploitation and
objectification of individuals as subjects will be brought to light through the framework of
Althusser’s Theory of Ideology, Gramsci’s Ideological Hegemony, and Frankfurt School Ideology
mainly by Marcuse, Adorno, Horkheimer and Fromm. Implications of voyeurism and
interpretations of presentations in the reality show will be a supporting evidence to the study and
will be achieved through case studies considering the limited resources available. Methodology of
research include the aforementioned case study as well as content analysis of specific controversial
and pilot episodes of Pinoy Big Brother to draw an unbiased conclusion and inferences on the
subject matter. Altogether, the gathered data will be interpreted and decoded using the concepts
and theories above and from there, draw a critical and clear conclusion and findings of the
objectives of this study.

References:

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 The Sensationalized Reality: A Critical Analysis of the Depictions of Pinoy Big Brother

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