‘Formatted’ authenticity: Genre, national culture and the Finnish version of Connected
Heidi Keinonen D.Soc.Sc.University Lecturer
School of Communication, Media and TheatreUniversity of Tampere, Finland
Media Across Borders Conference, London June 9th, 2012
Analysing Iholla• Finnish version of an Israeli programme format
Connected• Research questions
– How does the programme combine different generic characteristics?
– How are the generic categorizations communicated to the audience?
– How is the international programme format adapted to the national culture?
• Empirical material– Iholla episodes and related websites
Generic categorizations: explicit and implicit
• Murray (2009): rhetorical framing• Iholla website: avoiding generic categorizations• Rhetorical framing by a discourse of ‘real’ ->
expectations of documentary-like authenticity
Authenticity in the Iholla episodes
• Documentary characteristics are creating a sense of authenticity– Emotional contemplating in front of the
camera, uniqueness of a moment– Hand-held camerawork, direct address
->
Cultural adaptation: authentic Finnishness?
• Straubhaar (2007): cultural proximity
• Framing the programme as Finnish: the use of Avainlippu symbol
• Internationalism and multiculturalism: challenging the traditional conception of Finnishness
Conclusions
• While relying on the documentary characteristics and the sense of authenticity, Iholla is a generically and culturally ambivalent television text
• As such, the programme raises questions about genre system and cultural adaptation
• Thank you!