Good morning everyone, we’re from the fourth group

Im michelle, and today my partners, sabtri, shafa, Hillary, and I are going to present our
understanding on this journal article written by emma price in 2010, Reinforcing the myth:
Constructing Australian identity in ‘reality TV’

The main argument that we get from this paper is that

the representation of Australian identity can be seen as the perpetuation of a cultural simulation.

So, Through the examination of the combination of the Australian beach myth and the spectacle of
‘reality TV’, which in this case is in reference to Bondi Rescue, (an Australian show about the life of
bondi’s beach lifeguards and its job)
It tells that The representation of national ideals of Australia and popular myth in ‘reality TV’ is an ‘illusory
everyday’.

Before we jump into how emma price sustain her argument throughout the paper

We need to universally understand what illusory everyday is

Illusory everyday: a mirage (something that is possible or real but is not in fact so) that accords with the norms
and pleasures of its producers and audiences.

where everything is re-presented, modelling a real that has no origin.

So now we’re talking on the supporting arguments….

the portrayal of national ideals is reinforced through a constructed performance within negotiated television
conventions.

there is an underlying tension between elements of authenticity and performance regarding programme
production and reception.

basically, in reality tv, they highlight the convergence or the combination of both fact
and fiction into one format.

the reality itself can be represented in any ways and may as well moulded and
choreographed into a content that is engaging and invites many audiences.

Because why? Because reality TV is an industry, and what makes them keep going? of
course, their audiences.

so the term fact or reality in here is fraught with epistemological/original arguments of subjectivity
and objectivity, and the nature of truth and representation.

the director of bondi rescue himself (rick mc phee in 2009) stated that as for television
production ‘reality is where you construct something, you change something, and you impose something on a
group of people’ (McPhee 2009).

reality’ formats attain their authenticity by constructing simulations, as highly selective and purposeful
productions.
2. reality TV’ is considered within the notion of realness, as a relationship between the programme and its
referent through systems of credibility for the viewer, rather than a perceived fidelity to ‘real’ or ‘fact’

and as for the title, ‘reinforcing myth’

myth and television occupy the same space of ‘intimate distance’ in attempting to identify cultural experience
through continual narratives concerned with everyday life.

myth in here has an important role within ideas of nation, where it is an essential part of cultural meaning and
maintenance.

myth and ‘reality TV’ are sites of liminality where the everyday is stretched and blurred through dominant
ideals and representation techniques,

Foundations of national ideas and values in here, are established through myth and highlighted “reality”.

 they are constantly evolving as open and ambiguous spaces of national narratives and ideals,

 Through the use of popular national myths, formats not only has the ease of recognizable symbols
and references but also an aspirational view of national ideals and values for viewer identification.

At the end of the day, we can all agree that television has an important role in fostering national
culture by promoting a ‘sense of citizenship, social identities and creating and representing a
common cultural and political core

The representation of Australian identity through both myth and construction in ‘reality TV’ is the
perpetuation of a cultural simulation.
 1. Bondi Rescue and The Beach Myth of ‘Oz’

The bondi rescue show has contributed a big input in advertising the Australian-ness

The series is distinctive to Australia and broadcast internationally, with four series produced at Bondi
Beach gaining ratings figures, on average, of 1.2 million viewers

Now, the beach has been identified as ‘central to the Australian imagination’ as a space of pleasure
and freedom in close proximity to urban lifestyles and posited as liminal, iconic and oppositional in
Australian narratives.   

the beach holds a ‘special place in constructions of national identity’ as a space of leisure and
constant return 

Bondi Rescue show portrayed the lifeguards’ characters as mythic heroes, labelled as ‘elite
watermen’ by the voiceover. This portrayal is consistent with the national type identified with the
‘sun-bronzed physique, the masculinity, the cult of mateship, the military associations, the hedonism
and wholesomeness of the beach’

The lifeguards are referred to only by nickname through the programme, which encourages a sense
of mateship and familiarity for audiences. 

the lifeguard is portrayed as ‘the regulator and preserver of all this innocent pleasure wherein,
ironically, dangers are still lurking anytime]’ 

(-) from the show:  the format’s representation also highlights its masculinity.

It is important in how this gender distinction is portrayed through the format.

this beach ‘scenery’ is also effective as ‘cultural commodities’ to market locally and abroad as
‘signifiers’ for ‘Australia’