Who is the fairest of them all? Gendered Readings of Big Brother 2 (UK)

Big Brother is one of the key cultural phenomena to mark the move into the twenty-first century. Both scandal and commercial hit, it has revolutionised television practice, changing the status of live multimedia events and challenging cultural theory. Big Brother International: Formats, Critics and Publics tells the story of its international impact. It chronicles many of the most striking moments of the show’s global career, from the sexual exploits in Italy, near bans in Germany and Africa and the cheating of Nasty Nick, to American attempts at sabotage, putting these events in perspective by linking them to their respective cultural contexts and media audiences. This multinational volume includes essays on Big Brother Africa, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, Uruguay and the US. Media scholars from around the world have collaborated to compose an integrated view on Big Brother as a first step in our relationship with media culture in the twenty-first century.