The Spectacle of the real : from Hollywood to 'reality' TV and beyond

Hollywood special effects offer spectacular creations or re-creations that make claims to our attention on the grounds of their ‘incredible-seeming realityвЂTM. They can appear both ‘incredibleвЂTM and ‘realвЂTM, their appeal based on their ability to ‘convinceвЂTM—to appear real in terms such as detail and texture—and on their status as fabricated spectacle, to be admired as such. At a seemingly very different end of the audio-visual media spectrum, ‘realityвЂTM television offers the spectacle of, supposedly, the ‘realвЂTM itself, a ‘realityвЂTM that ranges from the banality of the quotidian to intense interpersonal engagements (two extremes experienced in Big Brother, for example). The two also overlap, however, nowhere more clearly and jarringly than in the ultimate ‘spectacle of the realвЂTM, the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York, live television coverage of which evoked constant comparison with big-screen fictional images. Hollywood Special Effects Offer Spectacular Creations Or Re-creations That Make Claims To Our Attention On The Grounds Of Their 'incredible Seeming Reality'. They Can Appear Both 'incredible' And 'real', Their Appeal Based On Their Ability To 'convince' - To Appear Real In Terms Such As Detail And Texture - And On Their Status As Fabricated Spectacle, To Be Admired As Such. This Collection Explores A Number Of Issues Emerging From These Conjuctures Between 'spectacle' And The 'real'.--book Jacket. Media Culture And The Triumph Of The Spectacle / Douglas Kellner -- Real Time, Catastrophe, Spectacle : Reality As Fantasy In Live Media / Lee Rodney -- 'just Like A Movie'? : 9/11 And Hollywood Spectacle / Geoff King -- Reframing Fantasy : September 11 And The Global Audience / Kathy Smith -- Teratology Of The Spectacle / Dean Lockwood -- Caught On Tape : A Legacy Of Low-tech Reality / Amy West -- Love 'n The Real; Or, How I Learned To Love Reality Tv / Misha Kavka -- Looking Inside : Showing Medical Operations On Ordinary Television / Frances Bonner -- Hell In A Cell And Other Stories : Violence, Endangerment And Authenticity In Professional Wrestling / Leon Hunt / Docobricolage In The Age Of Simulation / Bernadette Flynn -- A Production Designer's Cinema : Historical Authenticity In Popular Films Set In The Past / Michele Pierson -- The New Spatial Dynamics Of The Bullet-time Effect / Lisa Purse -- 'i Was Dreaming I Was Awake And Then I Woke Up And Found Myself Asleep' : Dreaming, Spectacle And Reality In Waking Life / Paul Ward -- Cannibal Holocaust And The Pornography Of Death / Julian Petley -- Beyond The Blair Witch : A New Horror Aesthetic? / Peg Aloi -- Spectres And Capitalism / Spectacle And The Horror Film / Mike Wayne -- Looking On : Troubling Spectacles And The Complicitous Spectator / Michele Aaron -- The Enigma Of The Real : The Qualifications For Real Sex In Contemporary Art Cinema / Tanya Krzywinska. Edited By Geoff King. Includes Bibliographical References. Hollywood special effects offer spectacular creations or re-creations that make claims to our attention on the grounds of their 'incredible-seeming reality'. They can appear both 'incredible' and 'real', their appeal based on their ability to 'convince' - to appear real in terms such as detail and texture - and on their status as fabricated spectacle, to be admired as such. At a seemingly very different end of the audio-visual media spectrum, 'reality' television offers the spectacle of, supposedly, the 'real' itself, a 'reality' that ranges from the banality of the quotidian to intense interpersonal engagements (two extremes experienced in Big Brother, for example). The two also overlap, however, nowhere more clearly and jarringly than in the ultimate 'spectacle of the real', the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York, live television coverage of which evoked constant comparison with big-screen fictional images