Why must Roma minorities be always seen on the stage and never in the audience? Children’s opinions of reality Roma TV

Annabel Tremlett*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter (peer-reviewed)peer-review

    136 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    The rise of the Roma2 media star across Europe is said to be a “love to hate” phenomenon, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe where the traditional Roma musical entertainer has been transformed into an “admired, albeit ambiguous, celebrity” (Imre 2011, 2). The Eurovision Song Contest (broadcast across Europe and beyond), along with local versions of Pop Idol and Big Brother, have turned Roma musicians into nationwide celebrities. Furthermore, shows such as Hungary’s Győzike (2005-10, RTL Klub) and Romania’s Aventurile familiei Vijelie (The Adventures of the Vijelie Family, 2005-present, Prima TV) have linked “Gypsy” with “reality” formats to grab large audience shares in some of the most successful shows for these channels in recent times. Whilst this trend is publicly debated and beginning to analyzed and theorized, there is still one gaping hole in the discourses: who is actually watching these shows? What do the Roma audiences think of such “reality” stars? Whereas we are prepared to discuss and critique the Roma-as-performer, there has been a dearth of literature on Roma as media consumers.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationPopular Television in Eastern Europe During and since Socialism
    EditorsTimothy Havens, Aniko Imre, Katalin Lustyik
    Place of PublicationNew York
    PublisherRoutledge
    Chapter13
    Pages241-258
    Number of pages18
    ISBN (Electronic)9780203110201
    ISBN (Print)9780415892483
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2013

    Publication series

    NameRoutledge advances in internationalizing media studies
    PublisherRoutledge

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Why must Roma minorities be always seen on the stage and never in the audience? Children’s opinions of reality Roma TV'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this