Daytime TV’s Vulture Culture

Recorded on location at the 2016 Cultural Studies Association national conference, host Cynthia Bemis Abrams talks with media studies experts Kathalene Razzano and Loubna Skalli about audience-participation shows from the 1990s and 2000s. The three media studies scholars analyzed and cataloged behaviors, host/guest dynamics and guest selection processes in their book, Vulture Culture: The Politics and Pedagogy of Daytime Television Talk Shows. This form of daytime television had “a culture that has its own logic, topicality, values, market and audiences.” Listeners will learn more about how hosts Maury Povich, Jenny Jones and Judge Judy interacted with their guests. Further, the group explores misogynistic themes about self-control, paternalism, self-esteem, victim blaming and a disregard for trauma that stems from poverty, abuse, addiction and mental health issues.

Cultural Studies Association, kathalene razzano, loubna skalli, vulture culture, daytime audience participation shows, maury povich, jenny jones, judge judy, mental health issues, self-control, paternalism, self-esteem, victim blaming and a disregard for trauma that stems from poverty, abuse, addiction, guest selection, guest behavior, daytime TV host behavior, manufactured antagonism