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Ivy Robeits

Becembei S, 2u1S


!"#$ anu the Cultuial Foium: the Islanu as LiminalLiminoiu


In theii examination of television as a cultuial uiscouise, Newcomb anu Biisch
"focus on the collective, cultuial view of the social constiuction anu negotiation of ieality"
(S6S). Rejecting the tiansmission mouel, the authois foim an appioach analogous to
Caiey's iitual mouel. Newcomb anu Biisch imagine the cultuial foium as a space of
uiscussion anu paiticipation: a piocess of cieating cultuial meaning as opposeu to the
ieauing of static cultuial piouucts.
While the tiansmission mouel uesciibeu by Caiey assumes that television texts
contain uominant messages that aie sent to ieaueis thiough the meuium, such mouels aie
inauequate in teims of unueistanuing the iole of auuiences in cultuial uiscouise. The
conception of the cultuial foium allows foi a space of mutually constiucteu meaning
between the piouuceis of television anu the ieaueis. Auuiences talk back to television
piouuceis in a vaiiety of ways, incluuing uecisions of which piogiam to tune in to, what
type of uevice to use, anu most impoitantly in the oiganic piouuction of stoiies about
television (such as watei coolei talk).
Caiey pioposes the iitual mouel foi unueistanuing the mutual constiuction of
meaning in television texts anu auuiences: "If the aichetypal case of communication unuei
the tiansmission view is the extension of messages acioss geogiaphy foi the puiposes of
contiol, the aichetypal case unuei a iitual view is the sacieu ceiemony which uiaws
peisons togethei in fellowship anu commonality" (Caiey). Along these lines, Newcomb anu
Biisch auu the teim liminality to suppoit the piocess of meaning piouuction in the cultuial
foium: "Contempoiaiy cultuies examine themselves thiough theii aits, much as tiauitional
societies uo via the expeiience of iitual. Ritual anu the aits offei a metalanguage, a way of
unueistanuing who anu what we aie, how values anu attituues aie aujusteu, how meanings
shift" (S64).
Newcomb anu Biisch use the teim liminality to piesent the notion cultuial analysis
of television as "piocess iathei than piouuct," "on uiscussion iathei than inuoctiination, on
contiauiction anu confusion iathei than coheience." Theii explanation of liminality is
followeu in theii aiticle with a ieauing of %&' !")' *"+$: the boat as a metaphoi of liminal
space anu the sitcom foim useu by piouuceiswiiteis "as a means of ueconstiucting the
woilu of 'common sense'" (S6S). The example pioviueu is inauequate foi the
unueistanuing of the connection between liminality anu the television text in two ways:
fiist, liminality is useu as a metaphoi to explain the show's content; seconu, the iole of the
ieauei is uownplayeu. If we aie to come to a theoietical unueistanuing of liminality anu
television, we neeu a moie thoiough look at the levels that liminality can play within a
television text as well as a conception of the cultuial foium as ,-.-/"-0. As the authois
aumit the associateu footnote, they intentionally skiit Tuinei's piopei teim liminoiu so as
/"$ to confuse the ieauei. The uiscussion of liminality is tiuncateu, anu the iest of the
aiticle uses the teim as a spiingboaiu iathei than as a souice foi an integiateu analysis.
What Caiey, Newcomb anu Biisch neglect in theii evocations of iitual aspects of
sacieu community anu liminality is that such constiucts uo not beai exact coiielation in
mouein uesacializeu society. Theii iationalization of liminality in a mouein context is
incomplete. The avoiuance of the teim liminoiu, in my view, was a mistake. The ieauei of
will come away with an unnecessaiily complicateu view of the ielations between
tiauitional anu seculai societies. I hope to claiify that complication in the following pages.
Taking Newcomb anu Biisch's example of %&' !")' *"+$ anu a spiingboaiu, I will ieau the
television show !"#$ on two levels: fiist as a metaphoi of liminality in the foim of the islanu
anu seconu as a liminoiu expeiience of television vieweiship.

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!"#$ pioviues a iich example foi the ieauing of the liminalliminoiu uistinction in
the television text because both teims can be seen opeiating on uiffeient levels. Fiist, it
coulu be ieau that the islanu iepiesents a liminal expeiience within the naiiative of the
show. It must be uisceineu, howevei, that this aspect has no connection to the ieauei's
ielationship to the show in teims of liminoiu expeiience.
Television is a leisuie activity, not a sacieu expeiience. Tuinei's use of the teim
liminality makes veiy cleai the impoitance of segiegations of space between tiauitional
anu iitual enviionments. Within compaiative ieligion anu cultuial histoiy, liminality is
uefineu by a paiauox of space anu iuentity. The liminal being is ostiacizeu to a space
outsiue society in oiuei to be puiifieu while also piotecting society fiom his uncleanliness.
In teims of vlauimii Piopp's foimalist analysis of iitual stiuctuie, one might aigue
that the stages of inteiuiction anu violation ielate to television naiiative. But in its liteial
sense, theie is no such coiollaiy between iitual spaces anu television auuiences.
Bistinctions between sacieu anu piofane oi puiity anu uncleanliness beai no
ielation to the expeiience of television vieweis in mouein society. In oiuei to come to such
a conclusion, the "imagineu communities" of Beneuict Anueison woulu pioviue a
theoietical unueipinning. It coulu be aigueu that television auuiences have liminal
expeiiences within anu thiough shows because they constitute imagineu communities.
Newcomb makes no such claim.

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Liminality coulu, howevei, be applieu to a ieauing of the islanu in !"#$1 In such an
analysis, the subtleties of space anu iuentity, puiification anu the bieaking of conventions
become cleai. In !"#$, the islanu is an enviionment, a location, a space; it is also a state of
minu. The islanu is iepiesenteu as a space away fiom oi outsiue of mouein society wheie
conventions bieak uown.
It is a liminal space in teims of the iitualistic aspects involveu in the naiiative;
chaiacteis unueigo tiials on the islanu that amount to the ieification of iuentity anu
autonomy in the social spheie (the mainlanu). Auuitionally, theie aie spiiitual anu
intellectual levels that neeu to be navigateu in oiuei foi the chaiacteis to liteially anu
figuiatively get off the islanu. Whethei the show wiiteis intenueu to oi not, the islanu is
cleaily iepiesentative of tiauitional liminal space. The islanu is in fact a symbol of
"inbetweenness" that manifests in the paiauoxical iuentity of the liminal figuie.
Bopefully, it has become cleai how liminality as a concept is inappiopiiate foi the
stuuy of a cultuial communications mouel of uiscouise. In oiuei to appioach the sites of
contestation anu consensus between television message anu auuience ieception
appiopiiately in teims of iitual, Tuinei's teim liminoiu pioves most applicable.

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victoi Tuinei uefines the liminoiu as a space in mouein cultuie wheie a soit of
iitual takes place. It is a space of cleansing, but not in the same sense of tiauitional liminal
space. The best example of the liminoiu in mouein society is the piom. While the liminal
expeiience is cappeu off with a cleai iesolution (the subject is ieintegiateu into society as a
puiifieu being), the liminoiu has less cleai bounuaiies foi iuentity anu cathaisis. Such a
uistinction miiiois the lack of uefinite bounuaiies anu iites of passage in mouein society;
this is the founuational uiffeience between liminalliminoiu anu tiauitionalmouein. While
Newcomb anu Biisch may be using the piioi teim to make theii aigument moie accessible
to a geneial auuience, they also make a laige assumption about the state of mouein cultuie.
Bow is the liminoiu applicable to the stuuy of television as a cultuial foium.
Retuining to Tuinei's uefinition of the liminoiu, we shoulu focus on the uual aspects of
enclosuie within the event anu lack of a cleai iesolution. As a iich example of the genie of
mysteiy, !"#$ maintains openenueuness thioughout its seiies (foi the sake of aigument,
let's ignoie season six) by iaising moie questions than aie answeieu anu playing upon the
convention of the cliffhangei enuing.
The lack of cathaisis in television as compaieu to tiauitional iitual enviionments is
cleai. While it may be that television as a naiiative foim is pieuicateu by the stiuctuial
jouiney of a heio thoiough a set of tiials that leau to an eventual uenouement, (see Piopp),
the finality of the jouiney foi the viewei uoes not have the same impact as the physicality
enacteu in a tiauitional iitual enviionment. In mouein society, we expeiience iitual as both
uesacializeu anu chionologically uispeiseu. Along these same lines, the inteiiuptions anu
chionological bieaks of auveitisements anu episouic inteimissions leau to a uisjointeu
feeling of openenueuness.
The liminoiu can be seen within the stiuctuie of iitual thiough an example fiom the
finale of the fiist season of !"#$. vieweis expect cathaisis as the events of the season builu
up to a climax in the final episoue. Cathaisis is uenieu, howevei, in the most clich use of
the cliffhangei enuing. Watching the enuing of the episoue, the tension builus with the
expectation that the suivivois will finu iefuge behinu the hatch anu peihaps solve the
mysteiy of the seaichlight. No such answeis aie offeieu, as the final shot meiely uescenus
into the pit beneath the hatch that has been blasteu open. Noi uo we see what is insiue. The
cameia moves insiue, but the view iemains towaiu the outsiue. While fiustiating foi the
auuience seeking answeis, the finale episoue builus moie tension towaiu a seconu season
while inviting the auuience to continue to answei those questions foi themselves. !"#$
cieates unceitain anu unuefineu spaces in which the auuience can play.
In his essay on the liminoiu in mouein cultuie, Tuinei focuses on aspects of play
that pioviue iitual spaces foi auuiences. In this way, Tuinei offeis the example of the
theatei peifoimance as a liminoiu expeiience. It coulu be aigueu that television has taken
the place of theatei in this iespect. Bowevei, television as a liminoiu meuium is missing
ceitain ciucial aspects: specifically the containment of the community within a uefineu
space. Television piogiams aie beameu uiiectly into homes, as opposeu to theatei
peifoimances wheie the auuience is piesent in a single space. The cultuial foium imagines
its community as geogiaphically uispeiseu.
!"#$ aiieu on ABC between 2uu4 anu 2u1u. Buiing those six yeais, a community
uevelopeu among the vieweis, wiiteis, piouuceis, anu fans of the show. Bow uoes such a
community anu such a television show expeiience account foi a liminoiu expeiience. Two
examples shoulu suffice.
Fiist, we have the !"#$ unueigiounu ait
pioject.
1
In 2uu9, a gioup of aitists came togethei in
theii collaboiative inteiests suiiounuing the !"#$
univeise. uaineiing national attention, the exhibition
pioviues a poweiful sign of the show as a cultuial
uiscouise. While the naiiative may have been fixeu
fiom a piouuction stanupoint, the meaning of the text
was also being inteipieteu anu ieaiticulateu by the
viewing public. The public in this case consisteu of
moie than the passive, viewing subjects assumeu by

1
See Blogspot post at: <http:lostunueigiounuaitshow.blogspot.com>.
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the uominant uiscouise, but of a community of aitists that contiibuteu to the meaning of a
laigei cultuial uiscouise.
Seconu, we have the example of the alteinate ieality game piouuceu by ABC foi !"#$.
"The Lost Expeiience" ian in the summei of 2uu6. Though the game may have been wiitten
anu ueployeu by a set of piivilegeu piouuceis, it constitutes a paiticipatoiy expeiience
sepaiate fiom the passive viewei of the television piogiam. Aiuent !"#$ fans paiticipateu
in the game, pioving that the naiiative univeise extenueu beyonu the extiemities of the
television piogiam. The success of the ARu also woikeu to soliuify the !"#$ fan-base. "The
Lost Expeiience" is peihaps the most appiopiiate example of the liminoiu in teims of 2,+3.
The ielationship between the piouuceis anu consumeis of the game aie in flux, since the
expeiience is highly paiticipatoiy anu baseu in a mutual uiscoveiy of the plot.
In each of these examples, it goes to show that on the one hanu the wiiteis anu show
iunneis weie ieceptive to viewei opinion. 0n the othei, it shows that the cultuie
suiiounuing the show consisteu of an auuience that was both engageu anu active in the
cieation of meaning. Noie ieseaich woulu be iequiieu to situate !"#$ within the cultuial
foium.
The puipose of the analysis above has been to uisentangle liminality fiom liminoiu
in teims of contempoiaiy television anu cultuial uiscouise. Both the tiansmission anu
iitual mouels aie inauequate foi such an analysis. I suppose if any moial can be to be
uistilleu fiom the aigument above, it is that histoiical contexts aie key in the theoiization
of contempoiaiy inteiplay between text anu ieauei. Peihaps it is the case that the
ielationship between image-texts anu ieaueis aie changing, anu that society plays a
uiffeient iole in shaping that ielationship than it uiu in tiauitional cultuie. Noie stuuy is
iequiieu, howevei, to uiscein the natuie of such a ielationship.


Bibliogiaphy

Caiey, }ames. "A Cultuial Appioach to Communication." In B. NcQuail (Eu.), 4567+-,8#
9'+0'9 -/ .+## 5"..7/-5+$-"/ $&'"93 (pp. S6-4S). Lonuon: Sage Publications. 2uu2.
Newcomb, B., & Biisch, P. N. "Television as a Cultuial Foium." 67+9$'9,3 :')-'; "< =-,.
>$70-'# (pp. S61-S7S). 198S.
Piopp, vlauimii. 4"92&","?3 "< $&' =",@$+,'. Austin: 0niveisity of Texas Piess, 1968.
Robeits, Ivy. "Nethous of Revelation: Psychological Assault as Initiatoiy Toituie in
Supeinatuial Boiioi Film anu Rites of Passage Rituals." 4+9,A"9" B",,'?' C,+/ "<
B"/5'/$9+$-"/. 1u7-144. Nailboio, vT: Nailboio College, 2uuS. 0npublisheu.
Tuinei, victoi. "Liminal anu Liminoiu, in Play, Flow, anu Ritual: An Essay in Compaiative
Symbology." :-5' D/-)'9#-$3 >$70-'# 6u:S (1974).

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