[Culture Headlight]

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[Culture Headlight]

Male Dominated Broadcast Circles

by Son Hee-jeong, Society Reporter, shjshj88@mju.ac.kr

Let’s think about popular TV programs these days. Superman Comes Back,Leave Alone, Infinite Challenge, etc. Did you find anything in common with them? All they have in common is the main cast members are men. At one time, we could rarely see a program that is focused on women, and programs that are focused on men are preponderant these days. Now, let’s take a look at the male dominated phenomenon in the broadcast circles.

Male-centered programs that portray their own stories are predominantly being broadcasted. The main character who leads the program is almost always male, and the few women that appear on the programs do not play major roles. Also, considering that the women-centered programs (such as Infinite Girls and Youth Never Lose) did not make a splash, the successful TV entertainment programs are all male-centered. It’s a simple reason why. In the case of variety shows, most of them require long shooting times and a high output of physical energy, so producers naturally prefer men. Compared to men, it is not as easy to put women in a variety show.

It seems that the golden days of male casts will continue, despite the indication that there are too many male centered programs. So, is it hard for them to produce women-centered programs? For this question, Jung Hee-seop, who is CP at KBS entertainment said, “Chances of success are much higher when we gather male casts. Female casts have a limitation in reality shows because they are concerned about their appearances.” And another entertainment program PD said that when viewers watch the female cast’s behavior without pretense, they think their behavior is pretentious. Also, he adds that because female viewers are interested in male reality shows, men-centered programs are comfortable ways to get stable ratings. Furthermore, an interested person of SBS entertainment said, “Male cast’s behavior is dynamic even though their behaviors are trivial. So that’s why we prefer male casts.”

The golden days of male casts are related to the viewer’s thoughts and opinions. The production crew usually sets women as the main viewers. Women seek men-centered programs which are unfamiliar to them rather than women-centered programs which are familiar. Production crews fully understand women’s emotions. We can mention one example for this, we can mention ‘Dad Where We Go?,’ which is the first male childcare variety show. In modern society, the father’s role in the family is to take responsibility of the household economy. This parental role causes problems of not having enough time to spend with their children. As a result, dads hanging out with kids have decreased. According to an investigation of employment conditions, our society’s average working hours is about 72hours per week. It makes it difficult for fathers to spend time with their children. So women have considerable longing for a family man, and the production crew includes a show that focuses on family men. That is what women want to see the most, but cannot find easily in everyday life. Finally, it brings about a vicarious satisfaction for women, and can also act as an indirect experience about childcare.

The attention of women viewers reached its peak with ‘Grandfather over Flower’ and ‘Real Man’. These programs are focused on ‘newness.’ In ‘Grandfather over Flower’, four gray-haired old men are traveling all around the world together. It gives viewers both the longing for travel and impressions. Older men taking a trip, which can’t be seen easily, drew the attention of women viewer’s. In fact, more than half of the total viewers are women viewers. ‘Real Man’ is focused on the basic interests of women about men. Women who have no knowledge of the army can see what men have to deal with in the army and it feeds their curiosity about the world of men. Also, more than half of the total viewers of this program are women.   

Additionally, entertainment programs are focused on what viewers want to see and what viewers starve for. In other words, TV programs are mirrors of society and enable us to look back at our society’s basic values. Watching the process of dads who have no time hang out with their children and the process of four gray-haired actors traveling all around the world, viewers satisfy their desire of how to enjoy their second life. Consequently, to remind us of the absence of the ideal male image, most entertainment programs are producing male-centered programs. Also, producers are well aware of how to express things and what to represent. Of course, in a situation where male-centered programs have prevailed, it is hard to take the initiative for female-centered programs. However, if society’s consciousness were to change, as TV programs reflect society, we could expect female centered programs to also have their golden days.

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