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European Journal of Communication
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Community Spirit and Competition in Idols

Ritual Meanings of a TV Talent Quest

Stijn L. Reijnders

Media Entertainment and Popular Culture at the Amsterdam School of Communications Research (ASCoR), University of Amsterdam, Kloveniersburgwal 48, 1012 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands, s.l.reijnders{at}uva.nl

Gerard Rooijakkers

Dutch Ethnology at the Meertens Institute, Joan van Muyskensweg 25, 1096 CJ Amsterdam, gerard.rooijakkers{at}meertens.knaw.nl

Liesbet van Zoonen

Media and Popular Culture at the Amsterdam School of Communications Research (ASCoR), e.a.vanzoonen{at}uva.nl

A B S T R A C T {blacksquare} The TV talent show Idols has been one of the most successful entertainment programmes internationally in recent years. In an attempt to explain the song contest's popularity, this article analyses the content of two seasons of the Dutch version of Idols, with particular attention to the ritual structure. The content analysis shows that the ritual meaning of Idols lies in the representation of harmony and ranking. By criticizing and disgracing `bad' contestants as a ritual of abjection, while at the same time glorifying the battle of the finalists as a classic rite of passage, an imaginary community is created with a fixed social order and a definable morality. Idols is thus able to serve as a platform for the articulation, representation and discussion of contemporary values. {blacksquare}

Key Words: competition • festivity • Idols • ritual • television entertainment

European Journal of Communication, Vol. 22, No. 3, 275-292 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0267323107079673
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Y. Kjus
Everyone Needs Idols: Reality Television and Transformations in Media Structure, Production and Output
European Journal of Communication, September 1, 2009; 24(3): 287 - 304.
[Abstract] [PDF]