Projectreality Tv - Fiches Eleves

7/29/2019 Projectreality Tv - Fiches Eleves

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Fiche n1

THE TRUMAN SHOW

INTRODUCTION

1. Find in the video the words meaning :

a. false (3 words):

b. real (1 word): ...

2. Summarise Christofs justification of the programme.

Use the following words in your summary: fed up with thats why even though fabricated

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OPENING CREDITS

1. This is the cast of characters. Which ones are real characters, and which ones are actors?

Tick the correct box.

real character actor

Truman Burbank

Christof

Meryl

Marlon

2. Say which characters give the following comments about the show.

Tick the correct box.Christof Meryl Marlon

Its all real, not fake, its merely controlled.

People leave the show on even at night for comfort.

The Truman show is a lifestyle, its a truly blessed life.

3. Try and explain these arguments in your own words.

Christofs: ...............................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................................

Marlons: ................................................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................................................. Meryls: ...................................................................................................................................................

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2/14

DAY .............................................

1. At home

While Truman is getting in his , a light projector from the

and crashes in the .

What explanation is given on the radio?

A lamppost was blown away by a strong wind A plane has started dropping parts

What is the real explanation?

................................................................................................................................................................

2. In the street

Describe how people behave in the street. ....

......................................................................................................................................................................

3. Truman

a. What is Trumans job?

secretary lawyer insurance salesman computer programmer

b. What is Truman doing on the phone?

He is trying to get Lauren Garlands but its

unlisted. He tries Sylvia Garland but they cant find .

c. What excuse does Truman give not to go to Harbor Island? ...........................................................

d. What is the real reason? ........................................................................................................................

e. Why? ......................................................................................................................................................

f. Imagine what really happened during this incident and why. ..........................................................

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ANALYSIS

1. What is Marlon and Meryls role in the show? .........................................................................................

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2. List the advantages and drawbacks of Trumans life.

Advantages Drawbacks

3. Do you consider Trumans life to be genuine or fake? .............................................................................

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4. Find some examples of similar reality TV shows and give your opinion about them.

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3/14

Fiche n1 (corrig)

THE TRUMAN SHOW

INTRODUCTION

1. Find in the video the words meaning :

a. false (3 words): phoney counterfeit - fake

b. real (1 word): genuine

2. Summarise Christofs justification of the programme.

Use the following words in your summary: fed up with thats why even though fabricated

The public is fed up with watching fake stories with fictional characters, thats why they prefer reality

shows. And even though Trumans world is entirely fabricated, his life is real and the viewer can relate to

him.

OPENING CREDITS

1. This is the cast of characters. Which ones are real characters, and which ones are actors?


real character actor

Truman Burbank X

Christof X

Meryl X

Marlon X

2. Say which characters give the following comments about the show.


Christof Meryl Marlon

Its all real, not fake, its merely controlled. X

People leave the show on even at night for comfort. X

The Truman show is a lifestyle, its a truly blessed life. X

3. Try and explain these arguments in your own words.

Christofs: ...............................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................................

Marlons: ................................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................................

Meryls: ...................................................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................................................

DAY 10,909


4/14

1. At home

While Truman is getting in his car, a light projectorfalls from the sky and crashes in the street.

What explanation is given on the radio?

A lamppost was blown away by a strong wind A plane has started dropping parts

What is the real explanation? Seahaven is in a dome where the lights are controlled. Projectors are used

to create sunlight, and one of them fell by accident.

2. In the street

Describe how people behave in the street. Everybody is happy, friendly, and everyone knows one another.

3. Truman

a. What is Trumans job?

secretary lawyer insurance salesman computer programmer

b. What is Truman doing on the phone?

He is trying to get Lauren Garlands phone numberbut its unlisted. He tries Sylvia Garland but

they cant find anything .

c. What excuse does Truman give not to go to Harbor Island? An appointment with the dentist.

d. What is the real reason? Hes scared of the sea.e. Why? His dad drowned during a storm while on a boat trip with Truman when he was a boy.

f. Imagine what really happened during this incident and why.

The accident was planned by Christof to give the public a dramatic event and to make sure that Truman

will never be able to leave Seahaven.

ANALYSIS

1. What is Marlon and Meryls role in the show? .........................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................................................

2. List the advantages and drawbacks of Trumans life.

Advantages Drawbacks

3. Do you consider Trumans life to be genuine or fake? .............................................................................

......................................................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................................................

4. Find some examples of similar reality TV shows and give your opinion about them.

......................................................................................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................................................................

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5/14

Fiche n2

REALITY TV SHOWS

Title ..

Type / Nationality ..

Contestants ..

Aim ..

Winner / Prize ..

..

Development ..

..

..

Elimination process ..

..

Reasons for popularity Criticisms

..

..

..

Title ..

Type / Nationality ..

Contestants ..

Aim ..

Winner / Prize ..

..

Development ..

..

..

Elimination process ..

..

Reasons for popularity Criticisms

..

..

..


6/14

Fiche n3

Why Reality TV Is Good for Us

By JAMES PONIEWOZIKWednesday, Feb. 12, 2003

For eight single professional women gathered in Dallas, it is holy Wednesday the night each week that

they gather in one of their homes for the Traveling Bachelorette Party. Munching snacks and passing a

bottle of wine, they cheer, cry and cackle as their spiritual leader, Trista Rehn, braves heartache, indecision

and the occasional recitation of bad poetry to choose from among her 25 swains. Yet something is unsettling

Leah Hudson's stomach, and it's not just the wine. "I hate that we've been sucked into the Hoover vac of

reality TV," says Hudson, 30. "Do we not have anything better to do than to live vicariously through a bunch

of 15-minute-fame seekers?"

There you have the essence of reality TV's success: it is the one mass-entertainment category that thrives

because of its audience's contempt for it. It makes us feel tawdry, dirty, cheap if it didn't, we probably

wouldn't bother tuning in. And in this, for once, the audience and critics agree. Just listen to the raves for

America's hottest TV genre:

"Ridiculous and pernicious! Many kinds of cruelty are passed off as entertainment!"--Washington Post

"So-called reality television just may be killing the medium!"--San Francisco Chronicle

It may ruin reality producers' marketing plans for a TV critic to say it, but reality TV is, in fact, the best

thing to happen to television in several years. It has given the networks water-cooler buzz again; it has

reminded viewers jaded by sitcoms and dramas why TV can be exciting; and at its best, it is teaching TV a

new way to tell involving human stories.

A few concessions up front. First, yes, we all know that there's little reality in reality TV: those "intimate"

dates, for instance, are staged in front of banks of cameras and sweltering floodlights. But it's the only

phrase we've got, and I'm sticking with it. Second, I don't pretend to defend the indefensible: Are You Hot?

The Search for America's Sexiest People isn't getting any help from me. And finally, I realize that comparing

even a well-made reality show with, say, The Simpsons is not merely comparing apples with oranges; it's

comparing onions with washing machines no reality show can match the intelligence and layers of well-

constructed fiction.

On a sheer ratings level, the latest wave of reality hits has worked a sea change for the networks. And it has

put them back on the pop-cultural map after losing the buzz war to cable for years. Reality shows don't just

reach tens of millions of viewers but leave them feeling part of a communal experience what network TV

does best, but sitcoms and dramas haven't done since Seinfeld and Twin Peaks. (When was the last time CSI

made you call your best friend or holler back at your TV?) "Reality has proven that network television is still

relevant," says Mike Fleiss, creator of the Bachelor franchise.
mailto:TIME%20media%20critic%20James%20Poniewozik%20says%20don't%20listen%20to%20those%20who%20make%20you%20feel%20guilty%20for%20having%20watched%20this%20week's%20finales%20of%20%20%5BI%20%7BJoe%20Millionaire%7D%5D%20and%20%5BI%20%7BThe%20Bachelorette%7D%5Dmailto:TIME%20media%20critic%20James%20Poniewozik%20says%20don't%20listen%20to%20those%20who%20make%20you%20feel%20guilty%20for%20having%20watched%20this%20week's%20finales%20of%20%20%5BI%20%7BJoe%20Millionaire%7D%5D%20and%20%5BI%20%7BThe%20Bachelorette%7D%5D


7/14

By and large, reality shows aren't supplanting creative successes like 24 or Scrubs; they're filling in for duds

like Presidio Med and MDs. As NBC reality chief Jeff Gaspin says, "There is a little survival-of-the-fittest

thing this ends up creating." When sitcoms started cloning goofy suburban dads and quirky, pretty yuppies,

we got The Osbournes. And now reality TV is becoming our source for involved stories about personal

relationships. This used to be the stuff of dramas like the canceled Once and Again, until programmers

began concentrating on series like CSI and Law & Order, which have characters as detailed and

individuated as checkers pieces. By the time Survivor ends, you know its players better than you know Law

& Order's Detective Briscoe after 11 years. Likewise, the WB's High School Reunion, which brings together

classmates after 10 years, is really asking whether you're doomed to live out your high school role--"the

jock," "the nerd" or whatnot for life. Last fall two scripted shows, That Was Then and Do Over, asked the

same question but with cardboard characters and silly premises involving time travel. They got canceled.

High School Reunion got a second season.

In Britain, where reality has ruled Britannia's (air)waves for years, TV writers are starting to learn from

reality's success. The sitcom The Office uses reality-TV techniques (jerky, handheld camera work,

"confessional" interviews) to explore the petty politics of white-collar workers. Now airing on BBC America,

it's the best comedy to debut here this season, because its characters are the kind of hard-to-pigeonhole

folks you find in life or on reality TV. On Survivor and The Amazing Race, the gay men don't drop Judy

Garland references in every scene. MTV's Making the Band 2 a kind of hip-hop American Idol gave

center stage to inner-city kids who would be portrayed as perps or victims on a cop drama.

But aesthetics aside, the case against reality TV is mainly moral and there's a point to it. It's hard to

defend the deception of Joe Millionaire which set up 20 women to court construction worker Evan

Marriott by telling them he was a multimillionaire as hilarious as its fool's-gold chase can be. Others are

concerned about the message of meanness. "There's a premium on the lowest common denominator of

human relationships," says James Steyer, author of The Other Parent: The Inside Story of the Media's Effect

on Our Children. "It's often women degrading themselves. I don't want my 9-year-old thinking that's the

way girls should behave."

The social criticisms of reality TV rest on two assumptions: that millions of other people are being taken in

by reality TV's deceptions (which the critic himself or herself is able to see through) or are being led

astray by its unsavory messages (to which the critic is immune). When a reality show depicts bad behavior,

it's immoral, misanthropic, sexist or sick. When The Sopranos does the same thing, it's nuanced

storytelling. We assume that viewers can empathize with Tony Soprano without wanting to be him; we

assume they can maintain critical distance and perceive ironies between his words and the truth. Why?

Because we assume that people who like The Sopranos are smarter, more mature better than people

who like The Bachelorette.

And aren't they? Isn't there something simply wrong with people who enjoy entertainment that depends on

ordinary people getting their heart broken, being told they can't sing or getting played for fools?


8/14

Indeed, for all the talk about "humiliation TV," what's striking about most reality shows is how good

humored and resilient most of the participants are: the American Idol rejectees stubbornly convinced of

their own talent, the Fear Factor players walking away from vats of insects like Olympic champions. What

finally bothers their detractors is, perhaps, not that these people are humiliated but that they are not.

Embarrassment, these shows demonstrate, is survivable, even ignorable, and ignoring embarrassment is a

skill we all could use. It is what you risk like injury in a sport in order to triumph. "What people are

really responding to on these shows is people pursuing their dreams," says American Candidate producer

R.J. Cutler. A reality show with all humiliation and no triumph would be boring.

And at their best, the shows offer something else entirely. One of the most arresting moments this TV

season came on American Idol, when a single mom and professional boxer from Detroit flunked her

audition. The show went with her backstage, with her adorable young son, as she told her life story. Her

husband, a corrections officer, was murdered a few years before. She had taken up boxing her ring name

is "Lady Tiger" because you can't raise a kid on waitress money. Her monologue went from defiance

("You'll see my album. Lady Tiger don't stop") to despair ("You ain't going nowhere in Detroit. Nowhere") to

dignified resolve for her son's sake ("We're never going to quit, are we, angel?"). It was a haunting slice of

life, more authentic than any ER subplot.

Was Lady Tiger setting a bad example for her son on national TV? Or setting a good example by dreaming,

persevering and being proud? American Idol didn't say. It didn't nudge us to laugh at her or prod us to cry

for her. In about two minutes, it just told a quintessentially American story of ambition and desperation

and shrinking options, and it left the judgment to us. That's unsettling. That's heartbreaking. And the reality

is, that's great TV.

Abridged from time.com


9/14

Fiche n4


Scan the article and find out all the different TV programmes mentioned by the journalist. Classify them

into two columns. For each programme, summarise its content in one sentence. Use your own knowledge

or find the information on the internet.

Reality TV Fiction

Now scan the article again and find out all the arguments in favour of reality TV and against reality TV.

Advantages of reality TV Drawbacks of reality TV


10/14

Fiche n4 (corrig)


Reality TV Fiction

The Bachelorette

Competitive show in which one woman tries to find a

husband among 25 participants.

Are you hot? The Search for Americas sexiest peopleReality TV show in which a panel of judges evaluated

the contestants on their physical appearance.

The Bachelor

Competitive show in which one man tries to find true

love among 25 participants.

The Osbournes

Show featuring the domestic life of heavy metal

singer Ozzy Osbournes dysfunctional family.

Survivor

Show where the contestants are trapped in the

wilderness and must compete to be the last one left. High School Reunion

Documentary-like show where members of the same

class are reunited after ten years.

The Amazing Race

Show in which teams of two people race around the

world in competition with other teams.

Making the Band

Competitive show in which 25 contestants compete

for a place in a new music band.

American Idol

Competitive show seeking to discover the best singerin the country.

Joe Millionaire

Show in which a man who pretends to be a millionaire

tries to find a wife among the contestants, then

reveals to the winner that he is in fact poor to see if

she will stay with him or not.

Fear Factor

Show in which contestants have to perform the best

stunts to win a cash prize.

American Candidate

Political show in which the contestants have todebate on political matters and face elimination until

the winner is found.

The Simpsons

American animated sitcom which follows the life

of a typical American family in a satirical way.

SeinfeldAmerican sitcom following the life of Jerry

Seinfeld and his eccentric friends.

Twin Peaks

Investigative and strange serial drama which

followed the investigation of an FBI agent into

the murder of a teenage girl.

CSI

Crime drama series following the investigations

of a team of Las Vegas forensic scientists as they

unveil the circumstances behind mysterious

deaths or crimes. 24

Action drama series depicting a 24-hour period in

the life of Jack Bauer, who works with the U.S.

government and fights terrorist threats.

Scrubs

American comedy-drama series set in a teaching

hospital.

Presidio Med

American series set in a San Francisco hospital.

MDs

Medical drama series set in a San Franciscohospital.

Once and Again

American drama series following the family of a

single mother and her romance with a single

father.

Law & Order

American police procedural which follows the

professional lives of several police officers and

prosecutors.

That Was Then

American drama series in which the centralcharacter travels back to the past to change his

life.

Do Over

American drama series in which the central

character finds himself back in the past and tries

to change his life.

The Office

Documentary-style British sitcom set in an office.

The Sopranos

American drama series revolving around mobster

Tony Soprano. ER

Medical drama series set in the emergency room

of a fictional Chicago hospital.


11/14

Advantages of reality TV Drawbacks of reality TV

Its exciting. (5)

It tells involving human stories. (5)

It makes the viewers share a communal

experience. (7)

Fiction and reality TV shows deal with the same

topics (walks of life, personal relationships). (8)

Detailed characters and questions about social

roles. (8)

It helps to get rid of stereotypes. (9)

Life stories are more genuine than in fictional

shows. (14)

Watching reality TV makes us feel tawdry, dirty,

cheap. (2)

Everything is staged. (6)

Some shows are indefensible. (6)

Its not as intelligent as good fiction. (6)

It can be deceptive. (10) People are degrading themselves, especially

women. (10)

It gives people bad examples. (10)

Some shows depict bad behaviour. (11)

Its humiliating for the participants. (12)


12/14

Fiche n5


By JAMES PONIEWOZIKWednesday, Feb. 12, 2003

For eight single professional women gathered in Dallas, it is holy Wednesday the

night each week that they gather in one of their homes for the Traveling Bachelorette

Party. Munching snacks and passing a bottle of wine, they cheer, cry and cackle as

their spiritual leader, Trista Rehn, braves heartache, indecision and the occasional

recitation of bad poetry to choose from among her 25 swains. Yet something is

unsettling Leah Hudson's stomach, and it's not just the wine. "I hate that we've been

sucked into the Hoover vac of reality TV," says Hudson, 30. "Do we not have anything

better to do than to live vicariously through a bunch of 15-minute-fame seekers?"

There you have the essence of reality TV's success: it is the one mass-entertainment

category that thrives because of its audience's contempt for it. It makes us feel tawdry,

dirty, cheap if it didn't, we probably wouldn't bother tuning in. And in this, foronce, the audience and critics agree. Just listen to the raves for America's hottest TV

genre:

A few concessions up front. First, yes, we all know that there's little reality in reality

TV: those "intimate" dates, for instance, are staged in front of banks of cameras and

sweltering floodlights. But it's the only phrase we've got, and I'm sticking with it.

Second, I don't pretend to defend the indefensible: Are You Hot? The Search for

America's Sexiest People isn't getting any help from me. And finally, I realize that

comparing even a well-made reality show with, say, The Simpsons is not merely

comparing apples with oranges; it's comparing onions with washing machines no

reality show can match the intelligence and layers of well-constructed fiction.

Was Lady Tiger setting a bad example for her son on national TV? Or setting a good

example by dreaming, persevering and being proud? American Idol didn't say. It

didn't nudge us to laugh at her or prod us to cry for her. In about two minutes, it just

told a quintessentially American story of ambition and desperation and shrinking

options, and it left the judgment to us. That's unsettling. That's heartbreaking. Andthe reality is, that's great TV.

Abridged from time.com

Headline : .

.

.

First paragraph : .

.

.

Second paragraph :

..

..

Construction of each paragraph :

.

.

..

Last paragraph : ..

.

.

.
mailto:TIME%20media%20critic%20James%20Poniewozik%20says%20don't%20listen%20to%20those%20who%20make%20you%20feel%20guilty%20for%20having%20watched%20this%20week's%20finales%20of%20%20%5BI%20%7BJoe%20Millionaire%7D%5D%20and%20%5BI%20%7BThe%20Bachelorette%7D%5Dmailto:TIME%20media%20critic%20James%20Poniewozik%20says%20don't%20listen%20to%20those%20who%20make%20you%20feel%20guilty%20for%20having%20watched%20this%20week's%20finales%20of%20%20%5BI%20%7BJoe%20Millionaire%7D%5D%20and%20%5BI%20%7BThe%20Bachelorette%7D%5D


13/14

Fiche n6

THE FUTURE OF REALITY TV ?

BAD WOLF

The Doctor and his two companions, Rose Tyler and Captain Jack Harkness, are time-travellers in a ship called the

TARDIS.

1. What reality TV shows are shown in this episode?

The Doctor Rose Captain Jack

Reality TV show

Host

How the contestants areselected

Principle of the game

What happens to the

losers

What the winner wins

2. What other reality TV shows are mentioned?

Reality TV show Principle What happens to losers

3. How do you imagine the future of reality TV?

In your opinion, how could reality TV evolve in the future to suit peoples new tastes?


14/14

Fiche n6 (corrig)

THE FUTURE OF REALITY TV ?

BAD WOLF

The Doctor and his two companions, Rose Tyler and Captain Jack Harkness, are time-travellers in a ship called the

TARDIS.

1. What reality TV shows are shown in this episode?

The Doctor Rose Captain Jack

Reality TV show Big Brother The Weakest Link What Not To Wear

Host Davina-droid

(Davina McCall)

Anne-droid

(Anne Robinson)

Trine-e / Zu-Zana

(Trinny Woodall /

Susannah Constantine)How the contestants are

selected

Contestants are picked at random by the transmat beam which automatically

transports them to the game with no possibility of escape.

Principle of the game Housemates are one by

one evicted from the

house until one winner

remains.

Contestants must answer

questions right not to be

voted off as the weakest

link.

The contestant receives a

makeover.

What happens to the

losers

They are disintegrated. They are disintegrated. The contestant is

mutilated then killed.

What the winner wins Life. Money and life.

2. What other reality TV shows are mentioned?

Reality TV show Principle What happens to losers

Call My Bluff Contestants must choose between

the teams who tell the truth or

bluff.

They are shot.

Countdown Contestants have 30 seconds to de-

activate a bomb.

The bomb goes off.

Ground Force Gardening makeover show. They are turned into compost.

Wipeout Quiz game show where contestantshave to choose between right and

wrong answers.

They are wiped out.

Stars in Their Eyes Talent show where contestants

embody a celebrity.

They become blind.

3. How do you imagine the future of reality TV?

In your opinion, how could reality TV evolve in the future to suit peoples new tastes?

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