The document examines the role of television real estate programs in promoting consumerism and materialism, revealing their alignment with capitalist ideologies and the myth of the American Dream. It critiques the unrealistic portrayal of real estate and the market, emphasizing how these shows perpetuate false hope and harmful social attitudes towards consumption, particularly among low-income households. Ultimately, the document calls for a reevaluation of societal attitudes towards consumption shaped by such media representations.

1. Move That Bus! Revealing
Consumerism and Materialism in
Real Estate Programs
Evan Kropp, Graduate Student
University of Hartford – School of Communication
2011

2. Introduction
 Ideologies of capitalism in modern
society and the relationship between:
◦ Television real estate programs
◦ The politics of consumption
◦ The myth of the American Dream

3. American Consumption
 Americans participate in an artificial
consumer culture
 Harder than ever to achieve even a
satisfying standard of living.
◦ Incomes have stagnated
◦ Gap between rich & poor widened
◦ Upward mobility stifled
◦ Economic growth rates reduced

4. American Consumption
 “Income Solution” is not the answer
◦ Increased income = increased consumption
and exacerbates inequalities
◦ “Adequate” income in an elusive goal
◦ Do the rich need more?
 True problem is not income, but our
attitudes towards consumption

5. Television
 TV viewership increasing
 Many shows based on theme of
“learning”
 Real Estate programs teach the
politics of consumption and reinforcing
the myth of the American dream.

6. Real Estate Shows
 Lost educational value of This Old House
 Ratings bonanza
 New program types are not realistic
◦ Flipping shows
 Changing psychology of how homes are
viewed.
◦ Homes no longer viewed as shelter
◦ Views aligned with politics of consumption
◦ Shows acted as cheerleaders for the market

7. Real Estate Shows
 Burton Jablin, Scripps Network
 House Hunters based on false reality
 Business Week Article on House
Hunters International

8. Extreme Makeover: Home
Edition
 Premiered 2003
 No educational value
 Fairy tale
 Aligned with dominant
ideologies
 Provides false hope

9. Extreme Makeover: Home
Edition
 Change in government structure to
NeoLiberal society
 Highlighted by families chosen
 But issues themselves not addressed
 Three questions of each episode:
◦ 1. What kind of people are these?
◦ 2. If these families are “All-American” why are
they living in these conditions?
◦ 3. How can this problem be remedied?

10. Extreme Makeover: Home
Edition
 Morality rewarded with material
possessions
 Myth of classless society
 Economic data:
◦ Decline in mobility
◦ 1979 ordinary income: $31,900 / 1997
ordinary income $33,200
◦ CEO pay from $3.45 million (1980) to $155
million (2001)

11. Conclusions
 What is missing from these shows?
◦ Costs
 Who benefits from these shows?
◦ Large corporations
◦ Small local organizations
◦ Networks & cable channels
◦ Show personalities
 What about the viewers?

12. Conclusions
 Harmful messages…
◦ Keeping up
◦ Low income households targets
◦ Increased work hours
◦ Decreased savings rates
◦ Decreased public funds
We must re-evaluate our social attitudes about
consumption and be aware how these attitudes are
shaped by and represented on television

13. Sources
 Campbell, C. (2008). FLIP ALL THOSE FLIPPIN’ SHOWS. Maclean’s, 121(19),
58-60.
 Gary, S. (April, 18, 2008). Real estate shows keep their value. USA Today.
Section: Life, p. 13d.
 Palmer, G. (2011). Extreme makeover: home edition. In G. Dines & J.M Humez
(Ed.), Gender, race and class in media. (pp. 37-43). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
 Palmeri, C. (2009). Real Estate TV shows can’t keep up with the plunging market.
Businessweek. Retrieved from
http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/hotproperty/archives/2009/08/real_estat
e_tv.html
 Poniewozik, J. (2008). Pimp my real estate market!. Time, 171(16),27. Retrieved
from EBSCOhost.
 Schor, P. (2011). The new politics of consumption: Why Americans want so much
more than they need. In G. Dines & J.M Humez (Ed.), Gender, race and class in
media. (pp. 205-211). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
 Stetler, B. (May 24, 2009). Realty check for real estate shows. The New York
Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/arts/television/24stel.html
 Winsolw, L. (2010). Comforting the comfortable: Extreme Makeover Home
Edition’s ideological conquest. Critical Studies in Media Communication. 37(3),
267-290.