Fiche n°1
THE TRUMAN SHOW
INTRODUCTION
1.
Find in the video the words meaning :
a. false (3 words): …………………………………………………………………………………………
b. real (1 word): …………………………………………………………………………………………...
2. Summarise Christof’s justification of the programme.
Use the following words in your summary: fed up with – that’s 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
It’s all real, not fake, it’s merely controlled.
People leave the show on even at night for comfort.
The Truman show is a lifestyle, it’s a truly blessed life.
3. Try and explain these arguments in your own words.
•
Christof’s: ...............................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................
•
Marlon’s: ................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................
•
Meryl’s: ...................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................
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 Truman’s job?
secretary
lawyer
b. What is Truman doing on the phone?
insurance salesman
computer programmer
He is trying to get Lauren Garland’s …………………………… …………………………… but it’s
unlisted. He tries Sylvia Garland but they can’t find …………………………………… .
c.
d.
e.
f.
What excuse does Truman give not to go to Harbor Island? ...........................................................
What is the real reason? ........................................................................................................................
Why? ......................................................................................................................................................
Imagine what really happened during this incident and why. ..........................................................
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ANALYSIS
1.
What is Marlon and Meryl’s role in the show? .........................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................................................
2. List the advantages and drawbacks of Truman’s life.
Advantages
Drawbacks
3. Do you consider Truman’s 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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Fiche n°1 (corrigé)
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 Christof’s justification of the programme.
Use the following words in your summary: fed up with – that’s why – even though – fabricated
The public is fed up with watching fake stories with fictional characters, that’s why they prefer reality
shows. And even though Truman’s 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?
Tick the correct box.
real character
actor
Truman Burbank
X
Christof
X
Meryl
X
Marlon
X
2. Say which characters give the following comments about the show.
Tick the correct box.
Christof
It’s all real, not fake, it’s merely controlled.
People leave the show on even at night for comfort.
The Truman show is a lifestyle, it’s a truly blessed life.
Meryl
Marlon
X
X
X
3. Try and explain these arguments in your own words.
• Christof’s: ...............................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................
• Marlon’s: ................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................
• Meryl’s: ...................................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................................................
DAY 10,909
1.
At home
While Truman is getting in his car, a light projector falls 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 Truman’s job?
secretary
lawyer
b. What is Truman doing on the phone?
insurance salesman
computer programmer
He is trying to get Lauren Garland’s phone number but it’s unlisted. He tries Sylvia Garland but
they can’t find anything .
c.
d.
e.
f.
What excuse does Truman give not to go to Harbor Island? An appointment with the dentist.
What is the real reason? He’s scared of the sea.
Why? His dad drowned during a storm while on a boat trip with Truman when he was a boy.
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 Meryl’s role in the show? .........................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................................................................
2. List the advantages and drawbacks of Truman’s life.
Advantages
Drawbacks
3. Do you consider Truman’s 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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Fiche n°2
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
………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………..
Fiche n°3
Why Reality TV Is Good for Us
By JAMES PONIEWOZIK Wednesday, 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 wellconstructed 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.
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?
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
Fiche n°4
Why Reality TV Is Good for Us
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
Fiche n°4 (corrigé)
Why Reality TV Is Good for Us
Reality TV
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The Bachelorette
Competitive show in which one woman tries to find a
husband among 25 participants.
Are you hot? The Search for America’s sexiest people
Reality 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 Osbourne’s 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 singer
in 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 to
debate on political matters and face elimination until
the winner is found.
Fiction
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The Simpsons
American animated sitcom which follows the life
of a typical American family in a satirical way.
Seinfeld
American 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 Francisco
hospital.
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 central
character 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.
Advantages of reality TV
Drawbacks of reality TV
•
It’s exciting. (§5)
•
It tells involving human stories. (§5)
•
It makes the
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)
viewers
share
a
communal
•
Watching reality TV makes us feel tawdry, dirty,
cheap. (§2)
•
Everything is staged. (§6)
•
Some shows are indefensible. (§6)
•
It’s not as intelligent as good fiction. (§6)
•
It can be deceptive. (§10)
•
People are degrading
women. (§10)
•
It gives people bad examples. (§10)
•
Some shows depict bad behaviour. (§11)
•
It’s humiliating for the participants. (§12)
themselves,
especially
Fiche n°5
Why Reality TV Is Good for Us
By JAMES PONIEWOZIK Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2003
Headline : ……………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………….
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
First paragraph : …………………………………….
……………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………….
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:
Second paragraph : …………………………………
………………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………..
…
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
Construction of each paragraph :
……………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………….
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
Last paragraph : ……………………………………..
……………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………….
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
……………………………………………………………….
Fiche n°6
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 are
selected
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 people’s new tastes?
Fiche n°6 (corrigé)
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?
Reality TV show
Host
The Doctor
Big Brother
Rose
The Weakest Link
Davina-droid
(Davina McCall)
Anne-droid
(Anne Robinson)
Captain Jack
What Not To Wear
Trine-e / Zu-Zana
(Trinny
Woodall
/
Susannah Constantine)
How the contestants are Contestants are picked at random by the transmat beam which automatically
selected
transports them to the game with no possibility of escape.
Principle of the game
Housemates are one by Contestants must answer The contestant receives a
one evicted from the questions right not to be makeover.
house until one winner voted off as the weakest
remains.
link.
What happens to the They are disintegrated.
They are disintegrated.
The
contestant
is
losers
mutilated then killed.
What the winner wins
Life.
Money and life.
2. What other reality TV shows are mentioned?
Reality TV show
Call My Bluff
Countdown
Ground Force
Wipeout
Stars in Their Eyes
Principle
What happens to losers
Contestants must choose between They are shot.
the teams who tell the truth or
bluff.
Contestants have 30 seconds to de- The bomb goes off.
activate a bomb.
Gardening makeover show.
They are turned into compost.
Quiz game show where contestants They are wiped out.
have to choose between right and
wrong answers.
Talent show where contestants They become blind.
embody a celebrity.
3. How do you imagine the future of reality TV?
In your opinion, how could reality TV evolve in the future to suit people’s new tastes?