‘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!