‘Why do you watch that trash?’ – Podcast episode

https://soundcloud.com/maddie-date/why-do-you-watch-that-trash-podcast-episode Hi there, and welcome to a very special, one-off episode of 'Why do you watch that trash?' Over the past few months, I have conducted an autoethnographic study trying to answer the question: why do I like to watch The Bachelor? You can have a look at the pitch for my project here. If …

Research Project Journal – observing the world of The Bachelor Australia

This is the journal for my autoethnographic research project asking why people watch reality television shows like The Bachelor. (You can view the project pitch for this research here). https://gph.is/2RkvH5J Essentially, this is a dump of my research observations, containing my reactions to a range of Bachelor-related content sourced from the show's official social media, …

Will you accept this pitch?

Sarah Wall (2006, p.5) likens autoethnography to being “sent into the woods without a compass”. Despite learning the sheer truth of this statement as I have developed my research project over the last few weeks, I have narrowed down my ideas and planned out my work.  Now, this is my pitch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBN-YiYN9Sc I will conduct …

Research and Ethics – the final project planning hurdle

Although reality television has emerged as a leading genre in recent years, academia on the subject remains somewhat scarce. On the other hand, there is an abundance of work on mediated audience theories and the public sphere (the theoretical frameworks I mentioned in my previous blog post) in countless communication journals. When doing some background …

Activating defence mode – research plan for The Bachelor Franchise

When sitting down, eating dinner, and watching Bachelor of Paradise two nights a week, I never thought that I’d be knee-deep in the complex web of its media network less than two months later. What began as a guilty pleasure has evolved into an exploration of a large mediated sub-cultural group with a variety of …

A Constellation of Reality Stars – Mapping the field site of The Bachelor Franchise

During his lecture this week on Qualitative Research and Ethnographic Skills, Chris Moore made a statement that’s truly at the crux of ethnographic research as a whole:  Your voice is important but it is not the definitive voice, it is one voice among many.  This has stuck with me throughout the week as I have …

Hi, my name’s Maddie and I love The Bachelor

Everyone has a guilty pleasure, whether it’s secretly listening to boybands (guilty), doing hundreds of Buzzfeed quizzes (guilty), or Colin Firth movies (my Mum’s guilty).  But rarely can you say that your guilty pleasure has exploded to permeate various aspects of your media consumption and everyday life. It probably turns into a hobby at that …

BCM212 Research Project – Reflection

Before starting this research project, I thought I had a pretty good understanding of what to expect over the next few months. As university students, we are constantly surrounded by research – theories and concepts taught to us by our lecturers, academic journals that we plough through for assessments, and our own thoughts and findings …

Social events for university students living on campus: are they important?

Whether it is for convenience or necessity, thousands of students across Australia choose to live in on-campus accommodation for at least one year while studying at university.  On-campus living boasts many benefits such as proximity to campus and city centres, and all-inclusive rent. Yet, it is the opportunity to socialise with a diverse range of …

Research Proposal: Are social events crucial to the overall experience of students living in UOW Accommodation?

A large number of students who attend the University of Wollongong (UOW) come from all over Australia and the world. The majority of these students choose to live in on-campus accommodation for at least their first year of study. UOW Living frequently coordinate social and cultural events within their residences. Acknowledging the desire of many university …