The construction of the ordinariness of kevin skinner as the victor of an america’s talent quest program, America’s Got Talent season 4

Oleh :
Syaiful Danang Sulistyawan - C0307053 - Fak. Sastra dan Seni Rupa

This research aims to examine how America’s Got Talent constructs the ordinariness of Kevin Skinner, the winner of this show, and uses it to sustain the beliefs and values of American Society. America’s Got Talent is one of the most popular reality TV shows in America. Reality in America’s Got Talent is not a real reality but a construction. As it is constructed, all the elements in it must also be constructed, including the ordinariness of Kevin Skinner. This is a descriptive qualitative research. The 4 videos containing the cuts of the shows in America’s Got Talent season 4 are used as the source of data for the research. It containts two kinds of data, they are primary data and secondary data. The primary data are in the forms of shots, sounds, lightings, edittings, and languages. The secondary data were taken from journals. This research was done under the framework of American Studies. As American Studies is an interdiciplinary studies, it could involve various theories and approaches. Related to this research, the researcher uses popular culture theory to understand the nature of Reality TV as one of the products of popular culture. The researcher also employs semiotics theory and socio- cultural approach in order to answer the questions of the research. 1 College student S1 English Department NIM C 0307053 2 Lecturer I 3 Lecturer II In the analysis of the research, it is found that the ordinariness of Kevin Skinner in America’s Got Talent is constructed as the guarantee of authenticity. The producer of America’s Got Talent employees the elements in the delivery of the 4 stages of the show and in the construction of the individual images indicating the ordinariness of Kevin Skinner to empower it. It is found also that the construction of the ordinariness of Kevin Skinner is not only used to guarantee authenticity but also used to help sustaining particular beliefs and values of American society, in this research to sustain the myth of American success. The sustaining of the myth of American success in America’s Got talent had particular significance for American society. Through the sustaining of it, the producer aims to fulfill the needs of the American audiences to the revival of the spirit of the myth of American success. The success of the program showed that the producer had successfully sustained the myth of American success and engaged the spirits of American audiences. Finally, the spirits of them could lead to the commercial success of the production of this show