The painful pursuit of weight-loss pleasure in The Biggest Winner 4 | Intellect Skip to content
1981
Volume 15, Issue 2
  • ISSN: 1751-9411
  • E-ISSN: 1751-942X

Abstract

The current article provides the first attempt to use Lévi-Strauss’s theory of binary opposition in the study of a reality TV programme, which is the Arab version of the American reality format . The major aim of this article is to reveal the stigmatization of obesity and the promotion of the thin body type in MBC’s . To reach this aim, a qualitative content analysis is applied to the journeys and fourteen episodes of the programme, whereby the utterances and behaviours of the different participants are coded in search of themes related to fatness and thinness using NVivo 12. The analysis comes to unveil the existence of two levels of dual reconstruction. The first superficial opposition exists between fatness and thinness, and the second binary opposition is established between pain and pleasure, which involve the opposing feelings associated with the first binary opposites of fatness and thinness. The two levels of binary opposition evidence that the narrative of the programme is predicated on building a contradiction between the pain of fatness and the pleasure of thinness to add drama to the reality show and distance Arab viewers from overweight bodies. The major finding of the study is that , despite being localized and given an Arab flavour, still echoes the same anti-fat rhetoric of the original American format and serves to promote the American cultural ideal of thinness in the Arab world.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/jammr_00050_1
2022-10-01
2024-04-26
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Ahmad, H.. ( 2016;), ‘ Working the pear-shaped body. ’, Arab News, 20 April, https://www.arabnews.com/food-health/news/912941. Accessed 10 October 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Al Husaini, K., and Ahmad, A.. ( 2007;), ‘ A secret struggle between the contestants of The Biggest Winner in the third episode on MBC. ’, Al Riyadh Magazine, 9 November, https://www.alriyadh.com/292650. Accessed 20 June 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Aliouat, A.,, Sharma, A.,, Al Theeb, A.,, Taher, A.,, Abdulkarim, B.,, Jamal, K.,, Bu Samra, M.,, Allahham, N.,, Karjalainen, N., and Al Muheisen, S.. ( 2016), Arab Media Outlook 2016–2018: Youth, Content, Digital Media, Dubai:: Dubai Media City;.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Anon. ( 2017;), ‘ Claude Lévi-Strauss: Structuralism theory. ’, Media Studies @ Guilsborough Academy, 15 June, https://guilsboroughschoolmedia.wordpress.com/2017/06/15/claude-levi-strauss/. Accessed 6 July 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Aplin, S. H.. ( 1981;), ‘ A structural analysis of television advertising. ’, MA dissertation, Denton, TX:: North Texas State University;.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Atwood, S. B.. ( 2015;), ‘ Understanding myth and myth as understanding: An interdisciplinary approach to mytho-logic narration. ’, MA dissertation, Logan, UT:: Utah State University;.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Aydede, M. A.. ( 2018;), ‘ Pain and pleasure. ’, in A. Scarantiono. (ed.), Routledge Handbook of Emotion Theory, London:: Routledge;, pp. 122.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. The Biggest Winner 4 ( 2009, Riyadh:: The Middle East Broadcasting Center);.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Cherian, V.. ( 2007;), ‘ MBC’s biggest winner. ’, Arabian Business, 25 March, http://www.arabianbusiness.com/mbc-s-biggest-winner-147436.html. Accessed 6 September 2021.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Chunmei, Y.. ( 2018;), ‘ Analysis on the binary oppositions of Django Unchained. ’, International Journal of Humanities Social Sciences and Education, 5:2, pp. 10812.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Domoff, S. E.,, Hinman, N. G.,, Koball, A. M.,, Storfer-Isser, A.,, Carhart, V. L.,, Baik, K. D., and Carels, R. A.. ( 2012;), ‘ The effects of reality television on weight bias: An examination of the biggest loser. ’, Obesity, 20:5, pp. 99398.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Forrest, M.. ( n.d.;), ‘ Representations of the fat male body in The Biggest Loser. ’, https://www.athabascau.ca/humanities-and-social-sciences/_documents/forrestm.pdf. Accessed 12 September 2022.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Hammond, A.. ( 2005), Pop Culture Arab World: Media, Arts and Lifestyle, Santa Barbara, CA:: ABC-Clio;.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Katz, L. D.. ( 2016;), ‘ Pleasure. ’, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pleasure/. Accessed 27 August 2020.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Khaled, S.,, Shockley, B.,, Qutteina, Y., and Kimmel, L.. ( 2018;), ‘ Testing western media icons influence on Arab women’s body size and shape ideals: An experimental approach. ’, Social Sciences, 7:142, pp. 124.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Kubic, K. N., and Chory, R. M.. ( 2007;), ‘ Exposure to television makeover programs and perceptions of self. ’, Communication Research Reports, 24:4, pp. 28391.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Messer, R.. ( 1986;), ‘ The unconscious mind: Do Jung and Lévi-Strauss agree?. ’, Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford, 17:1, pp. 126.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Mitchell, C.,, Dinkha, J.,, Knononova, A., and Matta, M.. ( 2014;), ‘ A body of dissatisfaction: A study of the effects of media imperialism in Kuwait. ’, American Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2:1, pp. 7687.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Moore, D. D.,, Cooper, C.,, Williams, T., and Zwierstra, K.. ( 2017;), ‘ Life after NBC’s The Biggest Loser: The experiences and perspectives of former reality TV contestants. ’, Qualitative Report, 22:3, pp. 683711.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Musaiger, A. O.. ( 2013;), ‘ Body size references among young women in five Arab countries: A cross-cultural study. ’, International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 26:3, pp. 15.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Musaiger, A. O.,, Zaal, A. A., and D’Souza, R.. ( 2012;), ‘ Body weight perception among adolescents in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. ’, Nutricion Hospitalaria, 27:6, pp. 196672.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Myers, P. N., and Biocca, F. A.. ( 1992;), ‘ The elastic body image: The effect of television advertising and programming on body image distortions in young women. ’, Journal of Communication, 42:3, pp. 10833.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Nchoe, M. A.. ( 1998;), ‘ The binary oppositions in a Setswana short story: O Nkutlwe by R. M. Malope. ’, MA dissertation, Potchefstroom:: Potchefstroom University;.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Raisborough, J.. ( 2016), Fat Bodies, Health and the Media, London:: Palgrave Macmillan;.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Rasheed, P.. ( 1999;), ‘ Overweight status: Body image and weight control beliefs and practices among female college students. ’, Annals of Saudi Medicine, 19:4, pp. 36569.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Roost, A. C.. ( 2016;), ‘ Losing it: The construction and stigmatization of obesity on reality television in the United States. ’, Journal of Popular Culture, 49:1, pp. 17495.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Silk, M.,, Francombe, J., and Bachelor, F.. ( 2011;), ‘ The Biggest Loser: The discursive constitution of fatness. ’, Interactions: Studies in Communications & Culture, 1:3, pp. 36989.
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Solikhah, U.. ( 2015;), ‘ Reading binary opposition in Frozen movie. ’, BA graduating paper, Yogyakarta:: Islamic State Sunan Kalijaga University;.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Wikipedia ( 2020;), ‘ The Biggest Winner. ’, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Biggest_Winner. Accessed 20 September 2021.
  30. Letaief, Rim. ( 2022;), ‘ The painful pursuit of weight-loss pleasure in The Biggest Winner 4. ’, Journal of Arab & Muslim Media Research, 15:2, pp. 26785, https://doi.org/10.1386/jammr_00050_1
    [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1386/jammr_00050_1
Loading
/content/journals/10.1386/jammr_00050_1
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error