The Influence of Masks on Behavior and its Consequences: Panopticism and Neoliberalism in Below Deck Down Under
Open Access
Author:
Strunk, Alexandra
Area of Honors:
English
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Christian P Haines, Thesis Supervisor Claire Mary Colebrook, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Panopticism Neoliberalism Panoptic Neoliberalism Below Deck Below Deck Down Under
Abstract:
This piece discusses how the Below Deck Down Under production crew promotes destructive behavior and cuts clips that promote unsettling moments to create a reality show an audience wants to watch. In the show, many factors influence how each star decides to act while they are working for guests on the yacht versus when they are working strictly for the camera crew, on a night out. Camera crews and hidden cameras create a panoptic environment that allows the audience to judge each star on how they react to each situation, especially when decisions are made only in the interest of the individual. The neoliberal nature of two crew members causes harm to the rest of the crew, leading to extreme measures to be taken that seem to be in the interest of the crew. The panoptic neoliberal views in the show encourage the audience to watch out for the entertainers who are not entirely focused on making money to further their power in their current group rather than furthering their power in our self-motivated society. However, the question remains if the decisions chosen were to help crewmembers, the reputation of the captain, or the production company. With eyes watching constantly, it is hard to understand the nature of everyone’s choices and if they are making each decision knowing there will be a larger audience watching every moment, that is entertaining enough to make the final cut, later on.
