Critical Theory and Reality TV
Course Description:
Critical theory gives us the language to articulate things about the world that we know to be true but can’t yet describe. Reality TV is…well….everywhere. In this class, we will use the ubiquitous, multi-faceted genre of reality television as a series of case studies that illustrate various theoretical paradigms. How can the sexual politics of prohibition and temptation on Too Hot to Handle help us understand Foucault’s concept of the repressive hypothesis? How can the seemingly heteronormative frameworks of dating shows like The Bachelor and Love is Blind illuminate queer theories of gender performativity? How can more explicitly queer shows like Ru Paul’s Drag Race help us tease out the nuances of trans studies? How does watching HGTV allow us to optimistically attach to an ideal of the good life that capitalism promises but withholds, while simultaneously letting us justify settler colonialism? And how is Survivor with its “tribes” and tiki torches still airing in the year 2025?
This class will look at a variety of genres of reality shows, including dating shows, home renovation, and survival shows alongside a complementary set of theoretical paradigms, including psychoanalytic, queer, and trans theory, Indigenous and settler colonial studies, and theories of power and capitalism. Pairing these extremely challenging so-called “high theory” texts with the supposedly “low” pop culture genre of reality TV will allow us to deconstruct some of the assumptions we make about what counts as culture, and what types of and parts of life are valid objects for critical study.
Assignments:
8 weekly discussion posts (300-500 words), discussion facilitation/presentation assignment, 2 short essays applying theoretical readings to interpret TV episodes (4-6 pages), final research paper (10-12 pages) with informal presentation of research
Possible Readings/Watchings:
Karl Marx, selected writings
Sigmund Freud, selected essays and lectures
Michel Foucault, History of Sexuality Vol 1 (selections)
Judith Butler, Gender Trouble (selections)
Frederic Jameson, Postmodernism (selections)
Hortense Spillers, “Mama’s Baby, Papa’s Maybe”
Edward Said, Orientalism (selections)
Giorgio Agamben, Homo Sacer (selections)
Walter Benjamin, selected writings
Eve Tuck and K Wayne Yang, “Decolonization is Not a Metaphor”
Jack Halberstam, Female Masculinity (selections)
Lauren Berlant, Cruel Optimism (selections)
Maile Arvin, Possessing Polynesia (selections)
Karen Tongson, Normporn (selections)
Arielle Zibrak, Guilty Pleasures
Eva Hageman, selected essays
Hannah Manshel, “Settler Fantasies, Televised”
TV Shows (selected episodes)
Alone
Are You the One
The Bachelor
Couples Therapy
Fixer Upper
House Hunters
Love is Blind
The Real Housewives of…..
Survivor
The Biggest Loser
Too Hot to Handle
Win the Wilderness