Description of The Green Man by Tim Burton Essay

Description of The Green Man by Tim Burton - Essay Example The irregular shapes are shown through the head, neck and shoulder parts as well as the shirt. The painting drawn on canvass with oil and acrylic used different lines and shapes to make the general form of a distorted figure of a man. Short lines were used to portray stitches on the face of the man in addition to the reddish background. The painter used the basic colors blue, red and yellow as well as secondary colors like orange and green. Darker shades were used around the image while different hues of different colors were used in the image as well as those which are very near images that the painter seemed attract the audiences’ attention to like the nose. Around it are obviously brighter shades of the background, looking like a light is directed to it. Strengthening the color of the nose and eyes, Burton used different shades of blue on the shirt, showing it to resemble clothing that had been worn for a long time. The red and white covering of the neck not only attracts the observers’ eyes to it but adds to the contrasting colors and emphasizes the use of t he basic colors. In its general form, the picture may not be pleasant to look at but its message can attract audiences to what could be conveyed through

Argument essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Argument - Essay Example Censorship discourages economic growth by hindering business development; this has a vast negative impact. This is evident when considering the number of the movies that are being banned or scrapped off due to the sole decision of an individual that the contents of the movies are said to be unfit for public viewing. This is not in order in spite of the fact that individuals may at times be dismissive of it terming it as protection (Reichman 66). The role of film classification officers is thus put into question as it is unclear why a committee is left to determine what films are watchable and which are not despite the clear fact that it is the regulators who place the age restrictions quite higher than they should actually, creating a negative impact on the business personalities. Information is power and a population that is empowered is better off than that which is denied information. This impact was seen in Ireland for example in the year 2000 on the film called, ‘The cider house rules,’ a movie which was given an over 18 certificate proclaiming that the information that it presented on abortion and incest was wrong. In issuing such restrictions, they argue that any individual who wants to have access to such a film must first possess an idea of the film contents and the message passed (Caso 172). This may be correct but the younger population should access the message communicated by the film especially with the onset of technological growth coupled with the fact that technology is and will continue to be a major pillar of economic growth. Therefore, many businesses are adversely affected when restrictions in terms of laws and regulations are put in place in such an environment (Lederer and Richard 312). In addition, censorship denies individuals their freedom of expression and access to information, since it is beneficial for one to be able to make well-informed decisions, but it is discouraging when some sectors within the society influence, and place restrictions on individuals to shape the values of the society members in terms of what they should do or not do. It is only possible to make clear and well-informed decisions when the individuals have all the necessary information to make such decisions. This is what censorship denies the population, the chance to make their own independent and well-informed choices by influencing their decisions and choices in a direction of their preference (Lederer and Richard 72). However, the fact that people should be allowed to make their own decisions does not mean the same people will invest their efforts in acts that would go against the norms of the society. The regulations placed have resulted into situations whereby individuals are not able to make critical decisions like those that involve the choice of curriculums in schools. This inability is attributed to inappropriate information that has made it extremely difficult for the school going personalities to be in the positi on of choosing extra curriculum activities and relevant collegial groups than they were able to before. Therefore, censorship should be discouraged since it even cuts

Summary Of The Da Vinci Code

Summary Of The Da Vinci Code To begin with, Da Vinci Code is a novel written by American author and journalist Dan Brown and published in 2003 by publishing house Random House. It should be noted that Da Vinci Code was a continuation of another Dan Browns popular novel Angels and Demons (2000). As a fact, the book has become an international bestseller: it is translated into 44 languages and there are published a total circulation of more than 81 million copies. The Da Vinci Code has top position in the New York Times list of best-selling magazines. Many experts consider the novel as the best book of the decade. Novel is written in the genre of intellectual detective thriller and has arisen widespread interest to the legend of the Holy Grail and Mary Magdalenes place in the history of Christianity, as described in The Da Vinci Code An Independent Book Review. It can be said that on a plot of the book its main character, Dr. Robert Langdon, a professor of religious symbology at Harvard University, should unravel the murder of Jacques Sauniere, curator of the Louvre. As a fact, Saunieres body was found inside the Louvre naked and placed in the same way as in the famous drawing by Leonardo Da Vincis Vitruvian Man, with an encrypted inscription on his torso. This inscription indicates that the key to the mystery of the murder is hidden inside the famous works of Leonardo Da Vinci. As a result, analysis of such works of Leonardo as Mona Lisa and The Last Supper greatly helps in solving this puzzle. In the meantime, Robert meets the granddaughter of Jacques Sauniere Sophie Neveu. All her family (mother, father, brother, grandmother) had died in a car accident. Now, Sophie and Robert will unravel many secrets and mysteries. However, Captain Fache is from police, and believes that Langdon had killed Jacques Sauniere. It can be said that Robert a nd Sophie will have to prove his innocence. The protagonist of the novel will address two main puzzles: what a mystery was defended by Sauniere and why he was killed? Who killed Sauniere and who had planned this murder? According to Book Review The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (Author of The Da Vinci Code), it should be noted that unraveling the mystery requires the solution of a series of puzzles. The secret of the Holy Grail location is known to a secret society, the so-called Priory of Sion and the Order of the Knights Templar. The Catholic Church organization Opus Dei also plays an important role in the plot. The novel has several parallel plot lines involving the various characters. At the end of the book all the story lines come together and are resolved in the Rosslyn chapel. It should be noted that the novel could be unnoticed by various Christian religious figures, if it had not had such success, and if on the first page of the book was not asserted the truth of the events that were described in the novel. As a fact, the criticisms draw attention to the large number of inaccuracies in the presentation of history, the interpretation of historical facts, and use all sorts of unsubstantiated legends. Consequently, Archbishop Angelo Amato, who is the second man in the Vatican after the Pope called on all Catholics to boycott the film Da Vinci Code. Archbishop Amato called Browns book: stridently anti-Christian, full of calumnies, offenses and historical and theological errors regarding Jesus, the Gospels and hostile Church, and called its success by extreme cultural poverty of a large number of Christian believers. Amato urged Christians with great zeal to reject the lies and cheap slander. He also said that if such lies and slanders were directed at the Qu ran or the Holocaust, they rightly would have caused a world uprising, while the lies and slander against the Church and Christians, remain unpunished, as described in Book Review: Exploring The Da Vinci Code: Investigating The Issues Raised by The Book and Move. As a fact, Amato suggested that Catholics around the world should begin organized protests against the book and the film Da Vinci Code exactly the same as there were protests against Martin Scorsese The Last Temptation of Christ in 1988. However, it can be said that opposing Da Vinci Code by representatives of Christian church not only fuels the hype of the novel, and raises its rating, but it is consistent with the content of the novel, in which the Church seeks to hide some kind of truth, which is presented in the novel, as stated in Book Review: Exploring The Da Vinci Code: Investigating The Issues Raised by The Book and Move. In my opinion this is a great novel and I like it very much. To be more precise, the novel has dynamic plot, which is based on one of the most interesting historical mystery. It has vivid characters, a detailed narrative that fully immerses the reader in the atmosphere of the novel. As a fact, for the Dan Browns Da Vinci Code these terms were enough to become one of the most famous bestsellers in recent years. Moreover, in America, Da Vinci Code has literally revived the genre of historical detective, giving it such popularity, that this genre works have not previously received. It can be said that for high-performance sales, and many laudatory reviews of hiding bad, there is a nice detective, which in an accessible form tells the reader about some mystery hidden in the works of Leonardo Da Vinci. Revealing the mystery, the protagonist of the book with his head is dipped into historical investigation, the results and details of which both look shocking and realistic. In my opinion, this realism, combined with the availability of exposition and narrative detail, is one of the main virtues of the book. Valiantly twirled plot complements the cocktail, condemning the novel to succeed. On the other hand, the novel has weak sides, among them is a pretty weak syllable of the author many critics consider that the author has a rustic style of presentation. On the other hand, the audience of the novel is so broad that a simple style of presentation has not spoiled the novel much- rather on the contrary; thanks to this, Da Vinci Code is a book that is understandable and accessible to everybody without exception. To sum it up, Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown can be characterized as one of the most urgent must have books of the recent decade. And everybody should read this book not only because it still remains one of the most fashionable pieces Da Vinci Code is a really interesting, exciting and at the same time sufficiently intelligent, revealing the multiple storylines prose. Work cited Book Review: Exploring The Da Vinci Code: Investigating The Issues Raised by The Book and Move. 15 February 2011. Julian Price. 2009. The Da Vinci Code An Independent Book Review. 15 February 2011. Pascasio Felisilda. 2009. Book Review The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (Author of The DaVinci Code). 15 February 2011.

Elie Wiesel’s Night and Corrie Ten Booms The Hiding Place Essay

Elie Wiesel’s Night and Corrie Ten Boom's The Hiding Place Many outsiders strive but fail to truly comprehend the haunting incident of World War II’s Holocaust. None but survivors and witnesses succeed to sense and live the timeless pain of the event which repossesses the core of human psyche. Elie Wiesel and Corrie Ten Boom are two of these survivors who, through their personal accounts, allow the reader to glimpse empathy within the soul and the heart. Elie Wiesel (1928- ), a journalist and Professor of Humanities at Boston University, is an author of 21 books. The first of his collection, entitled Night, is a terrifying account of Wiesel’s boyhood experience as a WWII Jewish prisoner of Hitler’s dominant and secretive Nazi party. At age 16 he was taken from his home in Sighet, Romania and became one of millions of Jews sent to German concentration camps. At the Auschwitz and Buchenwald, Wiesel witnessed the death of his parents and sister. In 1945, the latter of the camps was overtaken by an American resistance group and the remaining prisoners freed, including the drastically changed man in Wiesel. The once innocent, God-fearing teenager had become a lonely, scarred, doubting individual. Corrie Ten Boom (1892-1983), a religious author and inspirational evangelist, traveled and spread Christianity throughout sixty-one countries, even into her eighties. Her autobiography, The Hiding Place, is an account of her inner strength found through God in the midst of the physical and emotional turmoil of German concentration camps. During World War II, the Ten Boom family took action against the Nazi movement and began an underground hiding system, saving over 700 Jewish lives. (Contemporary Authors, 470) They were discovered and sent from their Haarlem, Holland home to Scheveningen, a Nazi prison. Ten Boom, in her 50’s, was placed on trial for leading the underground system and sent to a German work camp. There she witnessed her father and sister’s death as well as the birth of her inner strength and hope for the future. Upon release from Ravensbruck, Ten Boom began caring for victims of the war and Holocaust and used her powerful speaking ability to share the trials and triumphs of her life. Together, these two powerful authors relive the horror and pain of the Holocaust to educate the unaware world. They teach of the past, warn of the future, an... ...n & Co., Inc., 1962); excerpted and reprinted in Contemporary Literary Criticism, Vol. 3, ed. Carolyn Riley (Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1975), p. 526. Alvarez, A. â€Å"The Literature of the Holocaust† (Random House, 1968); excerpted and reprinted in Contemporary Literary Criticism, Vol. 3, ed. Carolyn Riley (Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1975), p. 527. Appendix II. Popular World Fiction. Vol. 3. Washington, D.C.: Beacham Publishing, 1987. II-35. â€Å"Christians Who Helped Us To Get Started† (Praise Outreach). May. 1996. http://www.wolsi.com/~kitb/influ.html. (5 Dec. 1996). Contemporary Authors. Vol. 111, ed. Hal May. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1984. p. 470. Douglas, Robert E., Jr. â€Å"Elie Wiesel’s Relationship with God.† 3 Aug. 1995. http://www.stsci.edu/~rdouglas/publications/suff/suff.html. Encyclopedia of the Holocaust. Vol. 3, ed. Israel Gutman. New York: Macmillan, 1990. p. 1281. Sidel, Scott. â€Å"All Rivers Run to the Sea: A Review of the Memoirs of Elie Wiesel.† 1995. http://www.netrail.net/~sidel/reviews/wiesel.html. (5 Dec. 1996). Ten Boom, Corrie. The Hiding Place. United States: Bantam Books, 1971. Wiesel, Elie. Night. United States: Bantam Books, 1960.

Mt. Hood Furniture Pps Sampling Problem

(Mt. Hood Furniture—PPS sampling problem) You have been assigned the task of testing the accuracy of the final inventory compilation for Mt. Hood Furniture. You may assume that you have separately observed the inventory and that you are satisfied that the inventory was accurately counted. However, you need to test that quantities were accurately transcribed to the final accumulation and valuation of inventory and that the inventory is correctly priced and accumulated. The table beginning on page 617 presents the audited values associated with Mt. Hood’s pricing and accumulation of all items in inventory.The book values will be given to you by your professor. You may assume that you have performed the tests to determine the proper pricing for raw materials, work in process, and finished goods. The student should understand that the auditor will normally obtain this information only for the items included in the sample. Required 1. Identify the audit objectives that are a ccomplished by this test. 2. Determine sample size based on the following audit judgments. a. Tolerable misstatement is assessed at $325,000. b. The risk of incorrect acceptance is assessed at 37 percent. c. Anticipated misstatement is assessed at $100,000. . Develop a scenario that is consistent with setting the risk of incorrect acceptance at 37 percent. 4. Select a PPS sample of the above inventory population using the sample size determined in (2) above. 5. Explain the tests that you would perform to test the correctness of pricing of raw materials, work in progress, and finished goods. (The student may wish to consult Chapter 16. ) 6. Determine the amount of projected population misstatement based on your sample. 7. Considering your quantitative and qualitative results, develop a statistical conclusion and an audit conclusion based on your sample.

Reality TV is a huge success to the television industry in the 1990s Essay

Reality TV is a huge success to the television industry in the 1990s. As a genre description, reality TV is widening its usage from ‘news magazine programmes based round emergency service activities’ to ‘talk shows, docusoaps’ and a variety of ‘first-person’ programmes (Creeber, 2001: 135). ‘Reality TV’ with extensive meaning becomes popular to describe ‘any factual programme based on an aesthetic style of apparent â€Å"zero-degree realism† – in other words a direct, unmediated account of events, often associated with the use of video and surveillance-imaging technologies’ (Creeber, 2001: 135). While Barnfield has criticized ‘the loose usage of the term, suggesting that over the last decade such a wide range of productions have been categorized as â€Å"Reality TV† that one wonders if the term is too general to be helpful'(Holmes and Jermyn, 2004: 3). It is true that ‘reality TV’ is not explicit enough in meaning. However, it is the best word applicable to all situations and never unilateral. It gives producers more space to innovate new programmes as to prosper this genre. Reality TV evolves with the development of new technologies. New sub-genres emerged as the hybrids of established genres. It challenges traditional documentary and changes the serious content to more entertainment elements. Every format is close to everyday life to convince the audience as ‘real’ programming. In the short history of only two decades, reality TV has evolved into various formats. I will focus on five main forms which have either had a remarkable effect on television history or unprecedented audience ratings with reference to relevant representative programmes of British television. Contested Generic Identification: Definition of Reality TV It seems difficult to issue a particular definition of ‘reality TV’ to attest to debates over it. As Su Holmes and Deborah Jermyn point out: Producing a particular definition of Reality TV is nevertheless complex. This is partly because of the fundamentally hybrid nature of the forms in question. Yet it is also because of the range of programming to which the term ‘Reality TV’ has been applied, as well as the extent to which this has shifted over time with the emergence of further permutations in ‘reality-based’ texts. (Holmes and Jermyn, 2004: 2) Jon Dovey characterised this genre by ‘reference to the dominant and original forms of Reality TV that feature police and emergency service work’ (Dovey, 2000: 80). In his opinion, as form and construction, reality TV should be: à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ camcorder, surveillance or observational ‘actuality footage’; à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ first-person participant or eye-witness testimony; à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ reconstructions that rely upon narrative fiction styles; à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ studio or to-camera links and commentary from ‘authoritative’ presenters; à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ expert statements from emergency services personnel or psychologists. (Dovey, 2000: 80) These elements are helpful in interpreting the origins of reality programmes and in understanding its sub-genres and new development. Only by bearing these elements in mind can we make reference to relevant programmes when we trace back history to discuss the evolution of reality TV. Is it American Innovation? : Historical Precedent of Reality TV There is no consensus about the first reality programme. Jon Dovey thought that ‘Reality TV is generally historically located as beginning in the US with NBC’s Unsolved Mysteries in 1987’ (Dovey, 2000: 81). While Bradley D. Clissold considered that ‘during the years that it aired, Candid Camera (US, 1948- ), arguably the first ‘Reality TV’ programme, proved itself to be one of US TV’s most memorable, enduring and popular shows’ (Holmes and Jermyn, 2004: 33). There is a consensus that the earliest reality programme came out in America. In addition to these mentioned above, other commentators like Richard Kilborn, Chad Raphael and Gareth Palmer all agreed with this conclusion (Kilborn, 2003: 55; Palmer, 2003: 21). In the commercial environment in America, technologies like cable, satellite and digital prospered reality programmes in television market. However, reality TV as a television genre has evolved into ‘a very strong Eurpoean form with regional variations in each country’ (Dovey). In mid-1980s, when surveillance technology such as CCTV (closed-circuit television) became accessible, Britain produced its own reality programmes, which revealed real accidents, crimes and emergencies. By using CCTV footage, these reality programmes departed from traditional documentary and were quickly accepted by the curious audience because of their witness techniques. They were real shows without actors and noted for low-cost which was attractive to most programme-makers. Among these early reality programmes, Crimewatch (BBC, 1984- ) was most influential. Jon Dovey said it ‘has been seen as central to the development of the form, particularly in respect of debates around criminology and the media’ (Creeber, 2001: 135). Deborah Jermyn, who is experienced in studying television crime appeal, commented on Crimewatch: Promoting the growth of crime-appeal programming in Britain – with a format where serious unsolved crimes are reconstructed, police and victims’ families interviewed, images of suspects publicized and the public encouraged to phone in and volunteer information – by this time the series had comfortably established itself as Britain’s foremost crime-appeal programme. (Holmes and Jermyn, 2004: 71) The effectiveness of Crimewatch as a detergent to crimes has been under much debate. It entertained the audience, but it was weak as a warning to the criminals. As Jermyn commented: ‘indeed some criminals have claimed that the poor-quality CCTV footage they witnessed on Crimewatch actually gave them an incentive to commit crime’ (Holmes and Jermyn, 2004: 82). ‘The use of CCTV conspicuously enhances the programme’s claims to authenticity and underlines its sense of a privileged relationship with real crime and actuality, qualities which programme-makers evidently believe to be ratings winners’ (Holmes and Jermyn, 2004: 83). In this case it is exciting for the audience to see the ‘raw’ footage without caring much about its effect of crime appeal. These early reality programmes about crime appeal, accidents and emergencies formed a new documentary format, which was the precedent of a new genre-reality TV. Later popular factual entertainment programmes are based on these elements to innovate. Their effect is remarkable in a long term. ‘Fly-Off-the-Wall’: Video Diaries Known as Access TV The 1990s was a golden era for the prevalence of reality TV. Jon Dovey points out: ‘it seems that â€Å"ordinary people†, non-professional broadcasters, have never been more present on our screens’ (Dowmunt, 1993: 163). Camera is no longer simply ‘fly-on-the-wall’ to observe and record, but closes to the object to become active ‘fly-off-the-wall’. For a long time, access TV, as new reality television, has been in a great demand. According to Jon Dovey, ‘there are some fundamental principles that identify access programming; they centre around control and power over the programme-making process’, especially ‘the authors should have control over the whole process of representation’ (Dowmunt, 1993: 165). Camcorder and video technology opened up expansive space for access TV. ‘Non-professional broadcasters’ became a leading role in making these programmes. As Patricia Holland commented on this innovative style: The video diary style, in which programmes are made with domestic video equipment by members of the public rather than by television professionals, has introduced a new way of making programmes. Low-tech, with a less polished appearance, they seem to bring the audience even closer to the realities they show. (Holland, 1997: 158) Video Diaries, produced by the BBC Community Programme Unit from 1990-1999, was a representative of access TV. From these series of programmes, Jon Dovey noted: the Unit solicits and researches ideas from potential diarists with a compelling story to tell. Once chosen, the diarist is trained in the use of an S-VHS camera and packed off to shoot their story, with support from the Unit should it be needed. In this way the diarists are given not only editorial control but also control over the means of production. They return with anything up to 200 hours of material and attend all the edit sessions, from an initial assembly which is viewed and discussed at length to the offline and online edit processes. (Dowmunt, 1993: 167) The format of Video Diaries is a development of documentary. Gareth Palmer has explained that it ‘imported the authorizing and legitimizing discourse of documentary into the personal, and in doing so it imported also documentary’s ordering principle into individual lives’ (Palmer, 2003:168). It was popular to the audience and also gained acclaim from the critics because of its flexibility in recording reality. Nevertheless there were debates that the producers had already controlled the programme by selecting the diarists, and there were also problems of quality and legality. New Observational Documentary: Emergence of Docusoap Docusoap is one form of the new observational documentary and one sub-genre of reality TV. It is a hybrid of documentary and soap-opera. It improves from serious documentary to emphasize on entertainment, especially everyday lives. ‘Developed in the UK in the mid-1990s, the docusoap enjoyed unprecedented success for roughly a four-year period (1996-2000)’ (Kilborn, 2003: 87). Docusoap combines documentary and drama. There are elements of narration, interviews and background music, and similar sequences as soap-opera. Each episode has a certain title and focuses on character, personalities, plot or situation. Technological advances promote the development of new observational documentary. New technologies like lightweight cameras, ‘portable sound equipment’ and ‘non-linear editing system’ accelerate editing process with better quality and effect. Besides, financial benefits also attract producers to choose new technologies. ‘As Paul Hamann has commented, docusoaps already cost on average only a third of the price of the equivalent in light entertainment or sitcoms’ (Bruzzi, 2000: 77). The entertainment factor of docusoap makes it popular with audience. Driving School ‘peaked at 12.45 million’ viewers (Bruzzi, 2000: 86). It ‘focused on the trials and tribulations of people preparing for their driving test’ (Kilborn, 2003: 96). Compared to the core character of reality TV, docusoap is blamed to be less factual with aesthetic reconstruction. According to Bruzzi: The sequence most frequently cited is that in which Maureen Rees, on the eve of another attempt at her theory exam, wakes in the middle of the night and asks her husband Dave to test her on the Highway Code. The sequence is a reconstruction, and Jeremy Gibson (head of BBC Television Features, Bristol) and others have gone on record exonerating themselves from blame, commenting that, having gleaned that Maureen did get up at night ghrough panic, it was perfectly legitimate to recreate such a sequence without the film crew having to camp out in her bedroom for an entire night. (Bruzzi, 2000: 87) The producers’ intervention revealed obvious dramatic skills, which aimed at telling a complete story. In any case, under these circumstances one can never expect a totally natural performance from the character with the presence of camera. These factors make docusoap not so ‘real’, but the audience appreciate it for the entertainment value and these factors do not affect their enjoyment. However, by the end of 1990s, this new documentary format had gradually lost its popularity. Critics and executives of TV channels began to complain the similar content with in the same format between series. It was also blamed as a challenge of ‘serious’ documentary. Then new factual programmes emerged and replaced docusoap in TV schedules. Docusoap is remembered as a creative hybrid of documentary and fiction with high ratings in the history of reality TV. Serve the Public: Prevalence of Lifestyle Lifestyle is another sub-genre of reality TV, of which BBC has been one of the biggest providers (Gareth Palmer; Holmes and Jermyn, 2004: 173). It originated in the 1990s and is still popular today. It occupies a large part of TV schedule, shown usually in the daytime and prime time. There is ‘a series of choices in dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½cor (House Invaders [Bazal for BBC1, 1999-2002], Changing Rooms [Bazal for BBC1, 1996- ]), clothes (What Not To Wear [BBC2, 1999- ]) and manner (Would Love To Meet [WLTM, BBC2, 2001-3])’ (Holmes and Jermyn, 2004: 174). People now have strong sense that they are citizens and consumers. They are eager to improve their lives. Many are glad to show their private life in front of camera. For habitus, Gareth Palmer commented: ‘Britain is a nation of homeowners clutching close the belief that the home represents a sort of castle. Hence, it makes sense to produce programmes aimed at the house-proud’ (Holmes and Jermyn, 2004: 179). For fashion, according to Palmer, ‘in looking at fashion programming we come closer to seeing how the individual should ideally be styled according to the new class of experts’ (Holmes and Jermyn, 2004: 181). There is a debate as to whether fashion shows need be bitchy. Palmer has an interesting opinion: ‘fashion without bitchery, like academia without snobbery, is inconceivable’ (Holmes and Jermyn, 2004: 184). Bitchery makes fashion programming as amusement. It does happen frequently in our life, which is a factual element of lifestyle. Lifestyle programming is an innovation that television is not only observing people’s life, but also changing people’s way of life. It ‘serves the audience’ by giving instructions, which is the nature of European television, compared to ‘marketing the audience’ of American commercial television (Ang, 1991). Lifestyle is a good illustration how culture affects social life. New Interactive Reality Show: World Success of Big Brother Endemol’s ‘jewel in the crown’, Big Brother was thirty months in development and was the brainchild of co-principal, John de Mol. First broadcast on Veronica in 1999 and an immense ratings success, the programme has been adapted in over eighteen territories in Western Europe, the UK, the US and elsewhere. (Albert Moran, the Global Television Format Trade; Hilmes, 2003: 120) Big Brother, a new reality programme is based on established genres such as game show, quiz show, documentary and soap opera. It is a social experiment, in which we witness the reaction of the participants to their new environment and changing circumstances are often beyond their control. With the feature of game show, Big Brother sets its game rules as: The programme involved ten housemates interned together over a ten-week period in a specially designed hermetically sealed environment. The housemates were supplied with food and drink and had access to all amenities, but were isolated from all contact with the media and the outside world; there were no television sets, radios, newspapers. Every week each housemate had to nominate for eviction two fellow-contestants; the two with the highest number of nominations would then be subject to public voting. It was the role of the public to select, by telephone vote, which of the two was to survive. By the final week there would be only two housemates remaining the winner was decided by the public, and took away a cheque for à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½70,000. (Palmer, 2003: 182) From the above description, it is obvious that this programme innovatively uses interactive voting. The audiences have opportunities to join the programme and play a crucial role in deciding the result. In early 1990s, Mike Wayne criticized programmes at that time: ‘broadcasters and programme makers have paid relatively little attention to the way in which people watch television. They have been concerned with how many people see a programme, rather than the way audiences interact with the images on the screen: what they absorb, what they challenge and what they discard’ (Hood, 1994: 43). It seems that Big Brother answers all these criticisms. Compared to the audience, the participants are powerless to control the programme. They are observed at all times and their lives are exposed to the public. ‘We’ve been looking at the housemates through the eyes of thirty-one unforgiving cameras – we have seen them at their best and also at their worst’ (Ritchie, 2001: 279). What they need is just to relax and enjoy their time. ‘For all of them, without exception, it has been an amazing experience. They have learned a great deal about themselves, and the rest of us have learned not just lots about them, but also about human nature in general’ (Ritchie, 2001: 279). However, all the participants are under much pressure exposing their lives to millions of audience. There is probably some negative effect on the psychology of most participants. Gareth Palmer calls the programme ‘a psychological experiment’. Programme experience is not always as wonderful as Ritchie’s comment in the above paragraph. In Sweden there was a suicide of a participant on a similar programme (Palmer, 2003: 185). So in Big Brother ‘a team of mental health professionals will oversee both the selection process and the psychological well being of the participants while they are in the house’ (Palmer, 2003: 185). Big Brother creates a small society for the housemates away from the outside world. There are conflicts and also friendship. The participants are competitors and also partners. As the audience watch the trivia of their daily routine, the voiceover commentary helps them understand the situations. Big Brother, a hybrid of different forms with popular interactive elements, is a new format of reality TV. It is leading a new trend of reality programming. Many independent television production companies are professional and experienced in making these new reality shows. Channel 4 and ITV, such non-mainstream commercial channels have shown many this kind of reality programmes. The audience are looking forward to more innovation of reality TV. BIBLIOGRAPHY Allen, R. C. and Hill, A. (2004) the Television Studies Reader, London: Routledge Ang, I. (1991) Desperately Seeking the Audience, London: Roughtledge Bruzzi, S. (2000) New Documentary: A Critical Introduction, London: Routledge Creeber, G., Miller, T. and Tulloch, J. (2001) the Television Genre Book, London: British Film Institute Dovey, J. (2000) Freakshow: First Person Media and Factual Television, London: Pluto Press Dowmunt, T. (1993) Channels of Resistance: Global Television and Local Empowerment, London: British Film Institute Gunter, B. and Svennevig, M. (1987) Behind and in Front of the Screen: Television’s Involvement with Family Life, London: John Libbey Hilmes, M. (2003) the Television History Book, London: British Film Institute Holland, P. (1997) the Television Handbook, London: Routledge Holmes, S. and Jermyn, D. (2004) Understanding Reality Television, London: Routledge Hood, S. (1994) Behind the Screens: the Structure of British Television in the Nineties, London: Lawrence & Wishart Limited Kilborn, R. (2003) Staging the Real: Factual TV Programming in the Age of Big Brother, Manchester: Manchester University Press Ishikawa, S. (1996) Quality Assessment of Television, Luton: John Libbey Media Livingstone, S. and Lunt, P. (1994) Talk on Television: Audience Participation and Public Debate, London: Routledge Macdonald, K. and Cousins, M (1996) Imagining Reality: the Faber Book of Documentary, London: Faber and Faber Limited Palmer, G. (2003) Discipline and Liberty: Television and Governance, Manchester: Manchester University Press Ritchie, J. (2001) Big Brother 2: the Official Unseen Story, London: Channel 4 Books Swallow, N. (1966) Factual Television, London: Focal Press Limited Winston, B. (1995) Claiming the Real: the Documentary Film Revisited, London: British Film Institute