Reality TV, Faking It, and the Transformation of Personal Identity

In her paper, Reality TV, Faking It, and the Transformation of Personal Identity, Joanne Morreale examines the hybrid makeover, game, and reality TV show Faking It as a cultural form that portrays the transformation of personal identity through performance. Morreale argues that the contents and performance of the show intensify the link between consumer culture and the fabrication of identity by teaching that fulfillment comes from becoming, rather than having, a commodity. In the show, participants learn to perform new selves that are perceived as better. Faking It thus puts on display the processes of fabrication whereby the self is created and is best understood through the logic of simulation rather than representation