Big Brother, Pilgrimage and the Ndembu of Zambia: Examining the Big Brother Phenomenon through the Anthropology of Religion.
Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, March, 2006 by Dutton, Edward Croft
Edward Croft Dutton, University of Aberdeen
Abstract
This article will examine the Big Brother television series through the prism of the anthropology of religion. It will examine the ways in which Big Brother is comparable to a pilgrimage on the one hand and a tribal initiation ceremony on the other. In this regard, Victor Turner's research on these subjects, and related criticisms, will be discussed in detail. It will argue that one possible reason for the popularity of Big Brother is that it is a modern liminal phase in which contestants undergo suffering to attain the status of celebrity. This, it will argue, is pertinent because modern society prizes celebrity so highly. Thus, it will argue that the Big Brother programme appeals not only to...
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