Goodbye Stranger 2 #07

Television and the programmes produced by the studio net- works, in theory, exist as a means of connecting us with others in the world but paradoxically they also create an environment where the individual viewer remains disconnected with society. We sit in our ‘cells’ (living rooms) absorbing such programmes without realising that in the process we isolate ourselves from reality.
There is a temporality associated with modern media. This becomes visible when studio sets are often set up and disman- tled everyday. The purpose of these sets is to project a surface that is perfect, fun-filled, acceptable and above all market- able (to not only for higher viewing figures but also to bring in advertisers). The gloss of the artificial surface hides reality,
the viewer will in all likelihood never see.
My interest was initiated by two elements associated with television studio sets – the glossed-over surface and the darker reality – which seems to reflect modern society. The series has a two-fold role. Firstly, as a critique about the me- dia, distribution of mass culture, its ability to empower
the individuals/society and the merging of reality and fiction. Secondly, by actually placing real people (not actors) who are not part of the television production process within the artifi- cial setting of the real Korean network studios, I empower the individual to create their own fiction on stage.