Made in Chelsea, often abbreviated to MIC, is a BAFTA award-winning, structured-reality television series broadcast by E4 in the United Kingdom. The programme chronicles the lives of affluent young people in the West London areas of Belgravia, Kings Road, and Knightsbridge as well as their travels to other locations including Dubai, Finland, Marrakech, Verbier, Saint-Tropez, Venice, New York, Barbados, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and the South of France.
I watched the first episode of the programme to identify the portrayal of class and evaluate the stereotypes featured. The programme opened with a narrated introduction to the programme which immediately sets the tone of the show and it's apparent 'reality' content:
“You may have heard rumours that Chelsea is an exclusive world of royals, aristocrats and playboys. Where the gossip is as startling as the prices. Well it’s all true, and I’d know. I’m Caggie Dunlop and this is my world. You might say that we’ve got it all, but having whatever you want can make choosing that much more tricky. In Chelsea the truth is more fabulous than fiction. This is our life.”
From the outset, the programme establishes the upper-class tone-of-voice that is undoubtedly to run throughout the show's lifetime. This 'reality' representation of the upper classes shows superiority in class, with a certain pride attached to it - celebratory of the middle and upper class lifestyle. The show's winning of a BAFTA from the people’s choice category also shows the power and popularity of the television show. However, what is televised is a range of exaggerated stereotypes of the south, which undoubtedly impacts viewer's ideologies of the demographic. Although London is largely populated by working class people, the Made in Chelsea lifestyle and ideology creates the illusion that London as a whole is dominated by the middle and upper classes, this exacerbating division not only between the diverse population of the city itself, but of the north and south of the country as a whole.
Viewers believe that these representations are genuine and true, when in actual fact the scenarios and story-lines featured on the programme are to some extent dramatised and structured for the audiences own entertainment and appraisal.
'Reality' television programmes such as MIC create perceptions and ideas of people, classes, and the locations they are set in, impacting dramatically on how people view these. It has a significant power over our own ideas and ultimately our views of social classes, often creating aspirational views which are for most unattainable.
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