Week 11 had us delving into a subset of reality television shows: the transformation narrative. The subject of the transformation or makeover is changed to reflect social ideals more closely through a transformation of appearance, lifestyle or possesions.

The subjects of many transformation reality shows are portrayed as having undesirable or unproductive lifestyles, and the change that occurs brings them further in line with the social ideal of that time or culture. Shows like these offer people the chance to become a ‘better’ version of themselves, and the value of their lives is dictated by the ideas of perfection held by the audiences. This is the reason behind the multitude of transformation shows that focus on physical appearance, whether its weight, dressing or even cosmetic surgery. In a society where being ugly or unfashionable is an undesirable trait, reality TV shows play up the unhappiness associated with the ‘before’ in order to convince more people to aspire to the ‘after’, which is the social ideal. Reality transformation shows engage the audiences by using the participant as an analogue for the viewer, urging the audience to view themselves in their place and to see how ‘easy’ the transformation is. The hosts or ‘experts’ of such shows will often adress the audience directly to walk them through their process, sharing the steps of the transformation in an effort to help the audience achieve it themselves.

As each show has a particular aspect or aspects of lifestyle that they focus on, they employ professed ‘experts’ in these fields to help participants and provide the commentary and guidance for the show. Because many of these shows focus on aspects of lifestyle such as fashion, makeup, appearance, homemaking or cooking, many of the ‘experts’ have no formal training or study in their fields of expertise, and their personas make up a large part of their appeal. By combining practical knowledge with a charming persona they are able to create a sense of authority on the subject that allows them governance over their participants and audience. The popularity of shows such as ‘Better Homes and Gardens’ illustrates the desire from audiences for experts in matters surrounding the home and homemaking such as interior design, gardening, cooking and others. This could be a reflection of our societies changing of ideals, as homemaking skills were no longer being viewed as essential skills for a ‘succesful’ life, especially for women, the passing on of this knowledge faded away. And yet these skills are still needed so they are now conveyed in a new medium that conveys skills to a larger and more varied audience. While the predicted audience for transformation reality TV shows is still largely female, there are shows designed for men, such as ‘Queer Eye for the Straight Guy’ (2003-2007) a fashion advice show for men, and the previously mentioned ‘Better Homes and Gardens’, which contained instruction on a range of traditionally masculine and feminine tasks, which could mean they are presuming a larger spread of men and women watching homemaking shows, or attention to the fact that these tasks cannot be assigned to a particular gender. Either way the shows have transformed the preconceived connections between lifestyle and identity.

The basis of these transformation reality shows is the link between lifestyle and identity that the show is built upon. The shows ‘reduce social issues to questions of individual lifestyle choice’ (T. Lewis 2009, p.12) and redefine the participants identity in terms of their lifestyle. Peoples leisure activities and way of lives will often be shown to the exclusion of other aspects of their life, reducing them to their one hobby or trait. This is especially prevalent in shows like ‘Pimp My Ride’ (2004-2009), when the theme for a participants care will be decided according to one of their traits, which is itself often exaggerated through editing. One participant of the show reported that the show over exaggerated his weight and love for food, just to provide reasoning behind putting a fairy floss machine in the boot of his car. Always the idea of lifestyle is treated as ‘reflexively open to change in light of the mobile nature of personal identity’ (A Giddens 1991, p. 81).

The transformative narrative utilises the social ideals of the audiences to generate interest in the metamorphosis of its participants, using experts as hosts to boost their credibility in their ability to transform identity through the altering of lifestyle.

Bibliography:

Giddens, A 1991, Modernity and self-identity: self and society in the late modern age, Stanford University Press, Stanford