Cultural Theory and Popular Culture

production of regimes of truth, we should not assume that we are really outside the
reach of the standards and norms that Big Brother promotes and legitimates. In other
words, it might be possible to argue that the gaze of Big Brother is reciprocal; it disciplines
us as much as the contestants we watch being disciplined: we are in the cells
and not in the inspector’s tower.
The increasing number of celebrity surveillance magazines, such as Reveal, Closer,
Heat and New, work in a similar way. Celebrities are monitored and scrutinized, especially
in terms of body size and sexual and social behaviour, for our supposedly anonymous
pleasure and entertainment. But again, the norms and standards that are used to
criticize and ridicule celebrities are the same norms and standards that can be used to
discipline us. Similarly, in ‘make-over’ and ‘talk-show’ surveillance programmes such
as The Jerry Springer Show and The Jeremy Kyle Show, and What Not To Wear and Ten
Years Younger, advice is freely combined with abuse and ridicule, as subjects are encouraged,
often aggressively and to the smug self-satisfaction of the presenters, to embrace
self-discipline in order to comply with currently accepted standards of aesthetic and
behavioural normality. 26 The fact that we are on the other side of the screen does not
mean that we are safe from the demand to conform, or safely outside of the panoptic
machine.
Further reading
Further reading 133
Storey, John (ed.), Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: A Reader, 4th edition, Harlow:
Pearson Education, 2009. This is the companion volume to this book. It contains
examples of most of the work discussed here. This book and the companion Reader
are supported by an interactive website (www.pearsoned.co.uk/storey). The website
has links to other useful sites and electronic resources.
During, Simon, Foucault and Literature: Towards a Genealogy of Writing, London:
Routledge, 1992. Although the focus is on literature, this is nevertheless a very
useful introduction to Foucault.
Eagleton, Terry, Literary Theory: An Introduction, Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1983.
Contains an excellent chapter on post-structuralism.
Easthope, Antony, British Post-Structuralism, London: Routledge, 1988. An ambitious
attempt to map the field. Useful chapters on film theory, cultural studies, deconstruction
and historical studies.
Hawkes, Terence, Structuralism and Semiotics, London: Methuen, 1977. A useful introduction
to the subject.
McNay, Lois, Foucault: A Critical Introduction, Cambridge: Polity Press, 1994. An excellent
introduction to Foucault’s work.
Norris, Christopher, Derrida, London: Fontana, 1987. A clear and interesting introduction
to Derrida.