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Activity 5.1

Why are talent competitions such as Pop Idol attractive to young adult viewers? In what ways do programmes such as this have relationships to ‘reality TV’ programmes in which ‘ordinary people’ become the focus of attention?

Activity 5.2

What examples can you find of melodramatic codes in contemporary television? Are these in programmes containing strong women characters, and/or in programmes that appeal to women viewers more than men? Is social class important to the programmes you have listed, and if so, how?

Activity 5.3

Try to find examples of ‘spoof’ or ‘parody’ documentary such as The Office. How do these programmes draw attention to the problems of documentary-making and the codes of documentary? What impact might they have on audiences’ attitudes to ‘real’ documentaries?

Activity 5.4

This case study has argued that ‘true crime’ reality footage combines the observational conventions of documentary with the narrative oppositions between ‘us’ and ‘them’ in police fiction drama. Do ‘true crime’ programmes also reassure the audience that order will triumph over deviance?