This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Dhoest, A. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

"The Pfaffs Are Not Like the Osbournes"

National Inflections of the Celebrity Docusoap

Catholic University of Leuven

This article investigates the ongoing importance of national culture as a context to understand variations in television formats. To this end, it uses the example of the docusoap, a recent addition to the broad category of "reality TV" that crosses the border between fact and fiction and, in particular, between documentary and soap opera. The docusoap conventions have quickly spread internationally, but national variations can be distinguished. To illustrate this point, two "celebrity" docusoaps are analyzed, the American The Osbournes and its Flemish counterpart The Pfaffs. While both shows are superficially similar, they also show many differences, which are partly related to their respective national contexts. Although eccentric, The Osbournes is typically American in several respects, referring to American myths and themes. The Pfaffs, in contrast, are presented as typically Flemish, most clearly through the emphasis on their simplicity and ordinariness. The ensuing differences in tone make the program more authentic to domestic viewers.

Key Words: factual entertainment • docusoap • national identity • The Osbournes

Television & New Media, Vol. 6, No. 2, 224-245 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/1527476404270608


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. Van den Bulck and K. Beullens The Relationship between Docu Soap Exposure and Adolescents' Career Aspirations European Journal of Communication, September 1, 2007; 22(3): 355 - 366. [Abstract] [PDF]