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Week 4 - Reality TV and Fandom

Nowadays, more and more reality shows are introduced to the public. Collins dictionary defines ‘reality TV’ as a program that illustrates how naturally people act in daily life or in some situations created by the producers of the show (2022). Like other types of entertainment, reality shows also gain a great amount of popularity and fandom. In OnePoll 2016’s survey, 39% of people reported watching some kind of reality TV. Korea is one of the leading countries in producing reality shows, creating a tradition of watching them in every Korean family.

And when mentioning Korean shows, it is impossible to leave ‘Running Man’ out. The show was first aired on July 11, 2010, with the main cast of Yoo Jae Suk, Ji Suk Jin, Kim Jong Kook, Gary, Haha, Song Joong Ki, and Lee Kwang Soo (Running Man Wiki 2022). It is a reality-variety show featuring the main cast and famous Korean entertainers. In each episode, the players are given different missions and whoever wins gets the special treat, while losers must go under some kind of punishment. Throughout the last 12 years, the show has gained a remarkable number of loyal audiences and fans. The show was declared to be ending in February 2017, however, due to the support of local and international fans, the show is continued (IMDb 2022). The #runningman on Tumblr is currently having roughly 9,000 followers, having pictures, GIFs, and memes related to the shows upload every day. This truly proves how big and enthusiastic the fandom can be with only a reality show. The official Running Man account on Instagram, @sbs_runningman_sbs is also followed by 2.6 million people globally (Instagram 2022). And to show their appreciation for the fans, each year, since 2013, the Running Man show has been doing tours and fan meeting in different cities.

References

Collins 2022, Definition of Reality TV, Collins, viewed 1 April 2022, <https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/reality-tv>.

OnePoll 2016, The reality TV habit, OnePoll, viewed 1 April 2022, <https://onepoll.com/blog/2016/02/01/the-reality-tv-habit/#:~:text=So%20who%20watches%20reality%20TV,twenty%2Dsomethings%20party%20in%20Magaluf>.

IMDb 2022, Running Man. Trivia, IMDb, viewed 1 April 2022, <https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2185037/trivia/?ref_=tt_trv_trv>.

Instagram 2022, sbs_runningman_sbs, Instagram, viewed 1 April 2022, <https://www.instagram.com/sbs_runningman_sbs/>.

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How does Tumblr function as a digital community?

Launched in February 2007, Tumblr has become one of the most popular social media platforms with nearly 543 million blogs existing (Tumblr 2022). By becoming a user, people can upload blogs regardless of the length and access others’ content (Rose & Melissa 2017). It allows people who have the same interests to connect and have their own ‘fandom’ or community. So, a common belief has appeared: Is Tumblr a digital community? 

In order to answer this question, let’s take a look at what ‘digital community’ means. Nancy Odendaal (2009) has claimed ‘digital communities’ are those communities that rely on digital technologies to communicate and disseminate information. Tumblr itself claims that it is “where your interests connect you with your people.”, creating space so people can be and express themselves and have a network with others (2022). 

And how would Tumblr be a great choice? In an interview with Amanda Brennan - Head of Content Insights and Social of Tumblr in 2017, Allison McCracken has found out some of the characteristics that differentiate it from other social media. The main reason why so many young people enjoy posting on Tumblr is that anyone can be anonymous while on other platforms, you can be “tracked” by your friends or followers (Brennan 2017). In most anonymity studies, participants showed that they tend to divulge secrets and personal information more easily when their identity is hidden (Dawson 2018). Thanks to that, Tumblr is a perfect public sphere, where people have equality and no limitation in accessing information and no interference from other third parties (Kruse, Norris & Flinchum 2018). No matter who one is, they can find related information about what they are interested in. For example, when clicking on #CrashLandingOnYou, one can be drowned with numerous posts including GIFs, videos, and pictures showing love towards that K-Drama. They might not know each other but they share one common point, their passion for a Korean series. Not only full of entertainment content, but Tumblr is also a platform for social activism. A great example is Black Tumblr, which promotes positive images of Black poeple like successful athletes, activists, or politicians (Calhoun 2020). It has been so blooming that Tumblr even includes the Blackout images on the login screen. This has been a great opportunity not only for the Black community but also for other communities to spread broader and gain more freedom. 

References: 

Brennan, A 2017, ‘Going Down the Rabbit Hole, Interview by McCracken, A, a tumblr book, pp. 37-48. 

Calhoun, K 2020, ‘Blackout, Black Excellence, Black Power, Strategies of Everyday Online Activism on Black Tumblr’, in A McCracken, A Cho, L Stein & IN Hoch (eds), a tumblr book, pp. 48-63.

Dawson, J 2018, Who Is That? The Study of Anonymity and Behavior, Association for Psychological Science, viewed 11 February 2022, <https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/who-is-that-the-study-of-anonymity-and-behavior>. 

Kruse, LM, Norris, DR & Flinchum, JR 2018, ‘Social Media as a Public Sphere? Politics on Social Media’, The Sociological Quaterly, vol. 59, no. 1, pp. 62-84. 

Odendaal, N 2009, ‘Creating an Analytical Lens for Understanding Digital Networks in Urban South Africa’, in M Foth (ed), Handbook of research on urban informatics : the practice and promise of the real-time city, Hershey, Pa. : Information Science Reference, pp. 17. 

Rose, A, Melissa, T 2017, ‘What people study when they study Tumblr’, Journal of documentation, vol. 73, no. 3, pp. 528-554. 

Tumblr 2022, About, Tumblr, viewed 11 February 2022, <https://www.tumblr.com/about>.