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Viewing The Biggest Loser : modes of reception and reflexivity among obese people
journal contribution
posted on 2015-01-01, 00:00 authored by K Holland, R W Blood, Samantha ThomasSamantha ThomasThis article builds on previous reception research and scholarship on makeover TV through an analysis of obese people's views of The Biggest Loser (TBL). TBL involves obese people competing to lose weight as personal trainers push them through dietary and physical activity regimes. We articulate four themes characterizing responses to TBL: “That's not reality,” “Public ownership and judgment of the fat body,” “The lure of the transformation,” and “A guilty pleasure.” We consider how these themes are reflected in participants' movement between mediated, discursive, transparent, and referential modes of reception. While some were adamant in their rejection of the program, others were ambivalent in accepting and identifying with the desire for weight loss but questioning TBL's aesthetic dimensions and moralizing undertones. We argue that the reflexivity of viewers complicates appraisals of TBL as governing at a distance and offer some alternative readings of the impact and appeal of the program.
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Journal
Social semioticsVolume
25Issue
1Pagination
16 - 32Publisher
Taylor & FrancisLocation
Oxford, Eng.Publisher DOI
ISSN
1035-0330Language
engPublication classification
C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal; C Journal articleCopyright notice
2014, Taylor & FrancisUsage metrics
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