Big Brother as a Television Event

Abstract

Big Brotheris considered a made-for-television event. It is argued that events have the same structure as stories—a beginning, middle, and end—which corresponds to the structure of the human life span. Media events elicit talk. Gossip is treated as an intrinsic feature of Big Brother and, as formally indicative of the everyday, worldly involvements and enjoyments which the program was designed to evoke from its viewers.