Gamla normer som kretsat kring kärlek och relationer har idag försvunnit och kärleken har, likt samhället, moderniserats. Relationer har blivit friare och partners har blivit utbytbara. Den känslomässiga investeringen har därmed kommit att bli svårare i moderna relationer. Men trots detta söker människor efter sin perfekta match och ett långvarigt förhållande. Gift vid första ögonkastet är ett samtida realityprogram där deltagare som längtar efter kärlek ska gifta sig med en främling. Programmet ger insyn i hur par, från att aldrig ha träffat varandra, ska gifta sig och under ett par veckor bo ihop som hustru och man. Under programmets gång ska de bygga en relation för att vid programmets slut bestämma om de vill vara fortsatt gifta eller om de ska skilja sig. För att se hur moderna relationer och känslomässig investering förmedlas i reality-TV utgår den här studien i observationer av det svenska och amerikanska Gift vid första ögonkastet. Studien visade att kärleken i Gift vid första ögonkastet utgjordes av ett stort frihetsbehov och att kommunikation både möjliggjorde och skapade problem för den känslomässiga investeringen. Det var när deltagarna visade att de var redo att släppa på delar av sin frihet och värderade tilltro till sin partner som det känslomässiga engagemanget kom att kommuniceras som allra tydligast. / Old norms that revolve around love and relationships have today disappeared and love has, like society, been modernized. Relationships have become freer and partners have become replaceable. The emotional investment has thus become more difficult in modern relationships. But despite this, people are looking for their perfect match and a long-lasting relationship. Married at First Sight is a contemporary reality show where participants who long for love are about to marry a stranger. The program provides insight into how couples, from never having met each other, gets married and live together as a wife and husband for a couple of weeks. During the program they will build a relationship so that they in the end of the program can decide whether they want to remain married or whether they want to divorce. To see how modern relationships and emotional investment are conveyed in reality TV, this study is based on observations of the Swedish and American Married at first sight. The study showed that love in Married at first sight consisted of a great need for freedom and that communication both enabled and created problems for the emotional investment. It was when the participants showed that they were ready to let go of parts of their freedom and valued trust in their partner that the emotional commitment came to be communicated most apparent.

This diploma thesis deals with the media representation of social classes and inequalities in the popular Czech series Most!. It focuses primarily on the conception of classes in Czech society and on aspects of the construction of everyday reality through the series. It also identifies the stereotypes, which have a potential influence on the formation of the viewer's opinions and attitudes. The thesis was created on the basis of a qualitative content analysis of the series with the aid of multimodal analysis, which focuses on linguistic and visual communication of the characters. To enrich this analysis, an element of the type was also added to the analysis. This type provides a comparison the characters with the social types in Czech society. The analysis of the paper was also inspired by the project Divided by Freedom, from the year of 2019, which divided society into several classes. The paper follows this research and class sorting and applies it to the series Most!. This diploma thesis defines social classes, the way in which they are represented and how this representation forms reality through stereotypes. Thanks to the element of type in the analysis, a set of typical characteristics was recognized which connected the series and living world.

Ce travail se penche sur les nouvelles formes de célébrité dites micro-célébrité, et plus particulièrement sur les pratiques de self-branding qui se développent dans un contexte néolibéral. Alors que les micro-célébrités, à l’instar des influenceurs, sont communément associées aux médias numériques et à la popularité croissante des réseaux sociaux, je considère que c’est en réalité les candidats de téléréalité qui sont les précurseurs de ces nouvelles pratiques et carrières basées sur la visibilité et l’image. De ce fait, je choisis d'étudier le cas particulier de Jessica Thivenin, candidate de téléréalité de l'émission Les Marseillais (2012–), et influenceuse française. À travers une analyse de contenu cross-média composée de quatre moments-clés, j’observe la manière dont Jessica Thivenin se met (et est mise) en scène afin de se rendre visible en tant que marque. En m’inscrivant dans les études culturelles et visuelles, je mobilise un cadre théorique lié aux travaux de Goffman (1959), avec des concepts tels que la performance, l’impression management et la présentation de soi. Enfin, cette recherche permet de discuter d’enjeux qui gravitent autour de la problématique, comme la représentation, l’image de la téléréalité auprès de l’audience et auprès des chercheurs, ainsi que les bad buzz. / This study investigates new forms of celebrity known as micro-celebrity, and more specifically self-branding practices emerging in a neoliberal context. Even though micro-celebrities, like influencers, are usually linked to digital media and the increasing popularity of social media, I argue that reality television show contestants are, in fact, the pioneers of these new practices and among the first to develop careers based on visibility and image. For this reason, I choose to study the specific case of Jessica Thivenin, contestant from the French reality television show Les Marseillais (2012–), who has become an influencer. Through a cross-media content analysis of four key moments in Thivenin’s self-branding career, I observe how Jessica Thivenin staged herself, and is also staged, in order to make herself visible as a brand. In this analysis grounded in cultural and visual studies, I use a theoretical framework inspired by Goffman’s work (1959), with concepts like performance, impression management and self-presentation. Finally, this research opens a discussion on several concerns such as representation, the image of reality television as seen by the audience and by researchers, as well as bad buzz.

This thesis captures and describes the stereotypes of teenage and underage mothers regularly represented in British and American reality shows, broadcasted in the United Kingdom. The task of this paper is to explore and define the most frequent stereotypes presented by these TV shows on randomly selected samples. The thesis is divided into two parts. The first part deals with the phenomenon of teenage and underage mothers in the UK as a result of underclass demonisation, poverty shaming and social stigma in the context of British culture and society. The second part of this thesis applies the theoretical findings and analyses the common stereotypes represented and displayed in particular reality shows broadcasted in the UK using qualitative content analysis.

Through exploring the use of documentary style in a selection of contemporary American comedy series, this thesis closes in on the question whether texts that stylistically differ from traditional sitcom can still be regarded as part of the sitcom genre. The contemporary American TV series that are being analyzed are The Office, Arrested Development, Modern Family, Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Michael J. Fox Show. As the series’ place within sitcom becomes apparent, the analysis ultimately leads to a critical investigation of the term “comedy verite.” Questioning the concepts applicability for the American series and their development leads to the investigation of new definitions. This analysis of contemporary televisual styles reveals a myriad of deeper issues and elucidates how stylistic developments point towards broader developments of the TV medium – towards a medium more and more defined by, or even drenched in, “reality.”