An
article co-written by
Dr Angela Smith in collaboration with
Dr Michael Higgins (University of Strathclyde),
Professor Martin Montgomery (University of Macau) and Professor Andrew Tolson (De Montfort University) is to be published in the
International Journal of Cultural Studies. It is called
'Belligerent broadcasting and makeover television: professional incivility in Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares'. 'Belligerent broadcasting' is a broadcast style that offers as spectacle expressions of anger or impatience, or the exercise of intimidation, against an on-screen interlocutor. Focusing on the performances of Gordon Ramsay, the article analyses the management of on-screen confrontation between participants occupying asymmetrical positions of power and perceived expertise. The article looks at how the face-threatening component of belligerent talk is ameliorated by strategies of authenticity and its representation as a productive force within the narrative of the programme. Finally, we assess the relevance of arguments that this broadcasting style might be seen as part of a ‘new incivility’ across media discourses.
