Big Brother and Critical Discourse

Abstract

This essay discusses the critical discourse surrounding the reception of the first season of Big Brother in Belgium. Comments on the show varied from moral outrage, over discussions of the program's intrinsic features, to discussions of the show's cultural resonance. In general, these comments followed a trajectory similar to John Corner's description of a move from use value (social significance) to exchange value (a consumer's product), while at the same time differing from it by still trying to hang onto a separate notion of moral value (what the show should and shouldn't do). Specifically, this essay argues that the reception of Big Brother Belgium consists of three changes: a shift in critical attitude, a shift in the mode of criticism, and a shift in relationship toward the show's format. Together these three changes reflect the critics' move from a focus on moral value to one on the use/exchange value of the show, while also reflecting differences in the use of moral arguments as a link between critics' cultural concerns and their professional attitude.