The Apprentice: Commerce, Culture, and the Manufacturing of Reality

274 Pages·2016·8.49 MB·English

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Dissertations
Spring 5-2011
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Sharon Simpson Terrell
University of Southern Mississippi
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Terrell, Sharon Simpson, ""Reading" The Apprentice: Commerce, Culture, and the Manufacturing of Reality"
(2011). Dissertations. 692.
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The University of Southern Mississippi

“READING” THE APPRENTICE:

COMMERCE, CULTURE, AND THE MANUFACTURING OF REALITY

by

Sharon Simpson Terrell

Abstract of a Dissertation
Submitted to the Graduate School
of The University of Southern Mississippi
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

May 2011
ABSTRACT

“READING” THE APPRENTICE:

COMMERCE, CULTURE, AND THE MANUFACTURING OF REALITY

by Sharon Simpson Terrell

May 2011

This study examines the six original seasons of the reality television series The
Apprentice as a postmodern, cultural artifact. Grounded in Burke’s (1967) “literature as
equipment for living,” and Brummett’s (1984) consideration that televised content
constitutes literature, the theory of “televised discourse as equipment for living” provided
the guide to examine the series. Hall’s (1980) “reading against the grain” oppositional
reading technique was utilized to interrogate both the manifest and latent content. The
content of the series may indeed provide the audience with a guide to ideological beliefs
of both commerce and culture, thereby creating a manufactured reality for its viewers.
Discussions include the genre of reality television, marketing techniques that utilize
modern sponsorship with product/brand placement, consumerism, social commentary,
business discourse, and the mythos of the American Dream.

ii
COPYRIGHT BY

SHARON SIMPSON TERRELL

2011
The University of Southern Mississippi

“READING” THE APPRENTICE:

COMMERCE, CULTURE, AND THE MANUFACTURING OF REALITY

by

Sharon Simpson Terrell

A Dissertation
Submitted to the Graduate School
of The University of Southern Mississippi
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Approved:

Chris Campbell_______________________
Director

Fei Xue_____________________________

Kim LeDuff_________________________

Gene Wiggins________________________

David R. Davies______________________

Susan A. Siltanen_____________________
Dean of the Graduate School

May 2011
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank the Mass Communication and Journalism faculty of the
University of Southern Mississippi for all of its contribution to this project. I am forever
grateful for their support that allowed me to continue my academic journey. I extend a
special acknowledgement to my dissertation director, Dr. Chris Campbell, for his passion
of social and communication studies and his insight throughout this process. I also extend
my gratitude to the other members of my committee, Dr. Fei Xue, for his dedication to
the art of advertising, Dr. Kim LeDuff, for her guidance and dedication, Dr. Dave Davies,
for his dedication to historical methods, and Dr. Gene Wiggins for his Southern humor,
lightheartedness, and dedication as both professor and administrator.
On a personal note, I would like to thank my husband for his love and support
throughout many years of my pursuit of educational goals. I would also like to thank my
family and friends for their generous love and support. And lastly, I would like to
acknowledge Dr. Hazel Cole, for being a trusted friend and colleague that offered
guidance on emerging from the doctoral process, not only accomplished, but whole.

iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT………………………………………..………………………………….….ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS…………………………………………….……………….…iv

CHAPTER

I. INTRODUCTION……………………………..………...……………...1

Theoretical Grounding
Methodology

II. LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………..………..……..11

Reality Television as Media Anomaly
Ideological Analysis
The Apprentice Series

III. THE APPRENTICE AND REALITY TELEVISION COMMERCE…...86

The Apprentice Promotion Scheme
Leveraging The Apprentice Brand
Business Discourse in The Apprentice
Consumption and Trump’s American Dream

IV. THE APPRENTICE AND SOCIAL DISCOURSE…………...……….145

Gender Representations
Provocative Topics
Race and Cultural Representations
Sexual Orientation
Age Representations
Manufactured Reality
Character Creation
Oppositional Reading: Analysis of “Cruise Control”

V. CONCLUSIONS…………………………………………..……...……206

Summary of Findings
Limitations
Recommendations for Future Research
Final Comments

v
APPENDIXES………………………………………………………………………….226

REFERENCES………………………...………………………………………….……243

vi
1

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Peruse any television guide and it would be difficult to miss the sheer number of
“reality television” programs littered across the television landscape. Many critics had
believed that reality television (RTV) would most likely constitute a fad in programming,
and fall by the wayside. However, the current has proven to flow in the opposite direction
of the critics’ predictions. Viewer interest has risen in this type of programming, and
networks have adopted it with fervor. In fact, RTV programs ranked second in the top
two categories of the most-viewed types of television programs of 2009, eclipsed only by
the broadcast of live sporting events (“Reality, Sports and SciFi,” 2009). The RTV genre
has emerged as a multi-faceted phenomenon that has left an indelible footprint on
network/cable programming. It has also become a staple of postmodern American
popular culture, having been woven into the veritable American zeitgeist.
The presence of reality-based programming on prime-time television has clearly
changed the way that people watch television, and also changed what people expect to
see each night when they turn the television on (Butsch, 2006). As boundaries are
crossed, genres mixed and hybrids created, at times this can result in serious journalism
being peppered with the latest fluff details of the happenings on RTV. One such national
television broadcast reported on the latest roadside bomb that had killed eleven troops in
Afghanistan. The serious report on the nation's affairs, segued into a story about Snookie,
a character on the MTV-produced, low-brow RTV program Jersey Shore, and the fact
that she had gotten into a drunken brawl that ended in a man punching her in the face.
If one has not followed at least one RTV program over the years, be it Survivor,
Big Brother, American Idol, or a host of others, print, newscasts, entertainment news,
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and the Internet, are replete with the reporting of the minutia of the unfolding drama of
many of these programs. Because of the vast reach of these programs and the press that
they create, even if one does not watch these programs as part of their television viewing,
they probably know some of the outrageous storylines and characters. Biressi and Nunn
(2005, p. 11), refer to RTV as water cooler TV; that is, television that attracts large
audiences and becomes part of the popular discourse of everyday life. Public opinion
does vary about RTV programming, but generally they tend to be polarizing and people
either “love it” or “hate it.”
These programs are pointedly marked by their misnomer of “reality TV” as they
begin with the promise of “presenting the real,” but fall short, opting instead for a bait-
and-switch technique that results in a manufactured television reality. This creation of
RTV can be particularly troubling when the information that is presented as real to the
viewing audiences is not. The drama is cleverly positioned to deflect any suspicion of the
constructed reality that the viewers are watching. However, even if viewers were aware
that what they are watching is not real, surveys have shown that many viewers simply do
not care about the verisimilitude of what they are viewing (Murray & Ouellette, 2009).
The real danger lies in the socialization from the manifest and latent content that is
contained in the text of the program. Messages can create alignment or support pre-
existing hegemonic ideas and ideals about society. These programs may indeed set up its
own paradigm of relative RTV hegemony. This has created a need for researchers to
address the economic, visual and cultural dimensions of RTV.
At times, scholars ignore highly popularized culture media products such as RTV.
These programs may be dismissed as fad or low-brow television fare, not deserving of