Term Paper on "Television's Hit Series the Apprentice With Donald"

Term Paper 3 pages (1203 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Television's Hit Series "The Apprentice" with Donald Trump: The Hegemonic Reinforcement of Corporate Values, Capitalism, and Competition in the Guise of Reality Television Show 'Entertainment'

The popular television program "The Apprentice," starring millionaire (though often bankrupt) real estate developer Donald Trump, and his various groups of "fired" or "not fired" "Apprentices" provides an interesting mass media-sponsored example of hegemonic reinforcement of corporate values, in the guise of reality TV show "entertainment." "The Apprentice" and its star offer implicit support for, and even a sort of general advertisement of the "rewards" to be taken from the corporate world, that is, should one be smart, lucky, young, good-looking, and play the game "right." The not-so-implicit message of this supposedly merely fun and entertaining weekly series is that if one manage to become a corporate champion, like Trump's "winners," one will likely be handsomely rewarded in the end, much like the winning contestant on this show, e.g., with a plumb job (like those sparingly handed out by Trump himself on the show), and all the spoils that accompany it: material success, prestige, recognition. On the show itself, the winning "Apprentice" receives a six-figure job for a year, national recognition for being a rising star of American capitalism (at least on television, but television is very convincing), and enough national exposure, including name recognition, that yesterday's obscure nobody need now never worry about being unemployed (or underemployed) or about having to "sell himself/herself" based on anything less than top-level corporate experience (and lots of public demonstrations of his or her business "skills." "The Apprentice" functions as a sort of Cinderella story for the business world (or TV's version of it), with the grand prize being not a handsome prince (or princess) but a handsome job. All the while, enviable aspects of such a prize are strongly reinforced on the show.

As for the payoff for the audience, a significant part likely remains unconscious, or at least covert. On an overt level, though, viewers feel "entertained" by the action at hand: that of bright, attractive, well-dressed, ambitious, industrious contestants scrambling to be the best. Second, again overtly the backdrop of who will be "fired" at the end of the show provides suspense. Third and more covertly, however, one may implicitly assume, without even thinking about it, that he or she is learning valuable lessons about corporate life, and may therefore become successful, or more successful, just by watching the show. What the show is really "teaching," however, is that corporate values, and corporations themselves, are good, beneficial, and admirable, and that a job within one is not just a good, but a glamorous career to which to aspire, especially if one can turn oneself into a "corporate winner" like some of those on TV. Fourth, again largely unconsciously, viewers experience a presentation of implicit values with which they likely already agree (since no one is forcing them to watch the show). These include material capitalism, acquisitiveness, a winner/loser mentality; and the validation of competition and individualism: all of them reinforced and rewarded.

A fifth key reason "The Apprentice" remains popular with so many people is that they can vicariously identify with contestants participating in a staged version of dog-eat-dog corporate life, for the hoped for opportunity of a plum job (in a corporate sense, something like being crowned Miss America; being named the American Idol of the Year, or being the last survivor on a deserted island. In essence, then, one voyeuristically experiences a top-echelon corporate scramble (where only "big dogs" play) without needing to actually qualify (or participate). The unconscious result is a sort of… READ MORE

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