Daniël Biltereyst

The international telenovela debate and the contra-flow argument: a reappraisal

Latin American telenovelas are often considered an interesting case in international communication theory and research, illustrating the potential of Third World cultural industries for resistance, alternatives and even contra-flow. In this article we first shed some light on the main theoretical frameworks and empirical arguments in the international telenovela debate. In the second part we focus on the contra-flow argument in relation to the worldwide exports of telenovelas. In the case study we concentrate on the telenovela flow to Europe. Both theory and case study stress the weakness of the contra-flow argument.

Language and Culture as Ultimate Barriers? An Analysis of the Circulation, Consumption and Popularity of Fiction in Small European Countries

Television fiction is traditionally seen as the most problematic programme category with respect to dependency on foreign television material. This is especially true for television stations in Third World and small countries in general. Imported, mostly US, fiction plays a prominent role in the total programming schedule and also appears to enjoy popular success. This combination of material dependency and public approval is now a widely discussed topic in cultural debates on the protection of the indigenous identity in many countries and regions. However, very few programme flow studies have been conducted connecting systematically data on the supply and the consumption of (fiction) programmes. This article provides an international comparative study of the import flows and the (quantitative) consumption of fiction in thirteen small European countries and regions (twenty-six stations). It argues that there are noticeable differences in the supply and preferences of the importing countries. Linguistic and cultural proximity is an extremely strong generator of these differences and thus functions as a main protagonist in directing the regional television flows within Western Europe.

Slashing the Fiction of Queer Theory: Slash Fiction, Queer Reading, and Transgressing the Boundaries of Screen Studies, Representations, and Audiences

The popularity of slash fiction, a productive strand of fan fiction in which same-sex television or film characters are subversively made into queer subjects, has grown in recent years. The practice of queer readings, which is about repositioning texts outside the borders of heteronormativity, very much resembles some of the basic premises of queer theory, the post-structural theory that contests strict categorical views on gender and sexuality. Unfortunately, slash fiction as well as audience reception practices do not appear to be high on the agenda of queer film theorists. This article argues that queer-sensitive audiences cannot be ignored in research on queer representations and reception in media studies. Moreover, the authors argue for a multidisciplinary approach that includes queer theory frameworks and insights from audience and reception studies as demonstrated by queer readings of non—queer-coded texts such as slash fiction.

The X-factor of charity: a critical analysis of celebrities' involvement in the 2010 Flemish and Dutch Haiti relief shows

In our contemporary mediatized societies, philanthropy seems to be part of celebrities’ ontology, while celebrities have become indispensable for the charity industry. This has provoked both negative and positive appraisals, although the specific nature and consequences of celebrities’ involvement remain unclear. This article contributes to these debates by providing a systematic analysis of the roles celebrities play in telethons, which we redefine as charity media events, allowing us to study the shows in their full contextual complexity as ideological constructs. Applying qualitative content analysis, we have analysed two charity media events following the 2010 Haitian earthquake. In general, four distinct roles have been discerned: celebrities add an aura of exclusiveness and glamour, they render distant suffering relevant to domestic audiences, they function as principal motivators, and also contribute to the commodification of charity. Celebrities’ involvement thus reinforces charity media events’ dominant discourse of charitainment, in which a disaster is portrayed as a short term problem that can be remedied by supporting relief aid. Although this analysis does not disregard the usefulness and impact of fundraising campaigns and the contribution celebrities can make, it criticizes the oversimplified representation of complex issues and the decontextualized and depoliticized interpretations of distant suffering.

Media audiences and the game of controversy: On reality TV, moral panic and controversial media stories

Abstract This article looks at the atmosphere of controversy or the perfume of scandal around reality TV. In order to grasp the feeling of controversy, we first look at the social and moral issues treated by reality programmes, where we try to introduce some positions in the overall reality TV debate. In a second step we argue that the controversial nature may reside in the intentional production or simulation of a (possible) moral panic, where we bring in recent reconfigurations about this critical sociological concept. One of the ideas here is that the old moral-panic model — what can be seen as a spiral effect produced by the interaction of the media, public opinion, interest groups, moral guardians and the authorities — needs to be adapted to a postmodern (media) environment. In this context we make a distinction between the moral- and media-panic concept. A third, more empirically based step in the attempt to understand the perfume of scandal deals with an audience study on how young people perceive new factual television and reality TV, including ‘extreme’ or more controversial forms of it.

Attracting the un-served audience: the sustainability of long tail-based business models for cultural television content

Digital television services not only provide promise for interactive services, but also for long tail-based business models in terms of tailor-made content. As the share of culture in total linear television programming is diminishing owing to the supremacy of audience rating concerns, digital television services could act as an alternative gateway to deliver culture to a wider audience. This article presents the results of a market pilot study using the established video-on-demand (VOD) platform of Flanders’ main digital television operator for the wide-scale delivery of performing arts videos. Despite the promising pilot study results, we doubt whether the long tail principle is applicable to the delivery of avant-garde material to develop a viable digital television service.

Glocalized Telenovelas and National Identities A “Textual Cum Production” Analysis of the “Telenovelle” Sara, the Flemish Adaptation of Yo soy Betty, la fea

This article examines the globalization of the telenovela format in relation to issues of adaptation, proximities, and national identities. As a case study of glocalized telenovelas, it deals with the domestic adaptation of one of the most popular Latin American telenovelas, Yo soy Betty, la fea (1999-2001), into the “telenovelle” Sara (2007-2008), which takes place in a Belgian (more specifically Flemish) context. Therefore, this article specifically asks how Flemish identities are represented through the production process of Sara. While examining the international flow of telenovelas and the cross-cultural adaptation of the telenovela format, this case study considers an additional geopolitical and cultural context, as well as confronts and combines thematic textual analysis with expert interviews. Considering the successful export of “canned” telenovelas and the adaptation of this format within the framework of national identity and identification, this article deals with the emergence of the telenovelle as a local genre that is inspired by, and modifies, the original Latin American format.

Memories of cinemagoing and film experience: An introduction:

Over the past two decades, the relationship between cinema and memory has been the object of increasing academic attention, with growing interest in film and cinema as repositories for representing, shaping, (re)creating or indexing forms of individual and collective memory. This Special Issue on memory and the experience of cinemagoing centres on the perspective of cinema users and audiences, focusing on memories of films, cinema and cinemagoing from three continents and over five decades of the twentieth century. This introduction considers the relationship between memory studies and film studies, sets out an overview of the origins of, and recent and current shifts and trends within, research and scholarship at the interface between historical film audiences, the cinemagoing experience and memory; and presents the articles and reviews which follow within this frame. It considers some of the methodological issues raised by research in these areas and concludes by looking at some of the challenges facing future work in the field.

Let's Talk about Sex: Audience Research of Flemish Teenage Television Viewers and Their View on Sexuality.

Teenage sexual identity is shaped within a complex cultural landscape in which the issue of protecting the ‘innocent’ (children/teens) from sexually suggestive images is high on the public agenda. Intimate relationships and sexuality have entered the public domain and are presented on the screen, offering audiences possible roles to play in reality. Trepidation of teenagers being ‘corrupted’ by sexualised media has urged many scholars to investigate this issue. However, sexualised, mediatised representations can also empower and emancipate teens who are often savvy, active and critical media consumers. We aim to study how young audiences (aged 14–19) in Flanders consume fictional sexual scripts, and how these scripts can help in the development and articulation of sexual identity. A qualitative approach was taken using 57 teenagers divided into eight, in-depth focus groups. Sexual norms and values, as well as the sexual double standard and sexual scripts were discussed. Talking about and watching televised sex has become less of a taboo among teens, but this does not imply their permissiveness is unlimited. Traditional norms and values regarding relationships and sexuality are still highly valued, and although most respondents are tolerant towards casual sex by others, they distance themselves from such behaviour.

Cinemagoing as a conditional part of everyday life: memories of cinemagoing in Ghent from the 1930s to the 1970s

This paper is part of the recent shift within the ‘New Cinema History’ from the attention for the film text to a broader consideration of the social and cultural history of cinema. In the last years, research did not only concentrate on the production and meanings of the pictures, but it also saw an increased interest in the distribution, exploitation and consumption of film. Interest for film as a consumable good has come from various disciples such as Cultural Studies, sociology, anthropology, political economy, geography and oral history. This study is based on oral accounts. Research on memories of going to the movies has contributed significantly to defining the spatial and social conditions of the cinematic experience. Yet this illuminating bottom-up approach of lived cinema cultures is mostly limited to the Anglo-Saxon experience of American films in English spoken film markets. As part of a larger research project on cinema culture in Flanders, 62 inhabitants of Ghent, Belgium, were interviewed concerning their moviegoing habits from the 1930s to the late 1970s. The oral history project aimed to analyze the significance of cinemagoing in a local community defined by class, language and a ‘pillarized’ society. The main research question in this paper is how particular was going to the movies in a local film market not overwhelmingly defined by American distributors or Hollywood movies and what were the sociocultural mechanisms behind moviegoing. In doing so we look at the entwinement of the experienced everyday life with the memories of choosing a movie theatre, remembering a movie and recollections of choosing cinema as leisure. Memory reclamation of local moviegoing as non-textual empirical research can define a parallel media history of cinema culture in Ghent and supplement the international research on cinemagoing experiences.