Bruno Campanella
Department of Communication.
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ)

Fan Communities of the Brazilian Big Brother: An Ethnographic Research

The aim of this paper is to present some of the initial results of an ethnographic research conducted in early 2008 in the online fan community of the Brazilian Big Brother (BBB). After a brief introduction to some of the challenges faced by ethnographic work on television audiences in the last couple of decades, the current piece will explore some of the main characteristics constituting this new social space. This will be followed by an account of a heated debate among fans that occurred during that edition of Big Brother as an illustration of the ways this reality show can activate discussions that deal not only with the program’s own internal narratives, but also with broader issues that transcend the BBB itself by reaching themes relevant to the Brazilian society. In addition, an even closer inspection reveals how these debates are themselves permeated by the participants’ struggle for status inside the community.