A home improvement reality : exposing the myths and ideologies in budget 'home and garden' programs

Abstract

There is a culture industry deeply invested in alerting consumers to what is “trending” in virtually every element of our lives today, especially with regards to the home and how it is meant to look. This study focuses on how budget ‘home and garden’ programs are promoting and naturalizing neoliberal cultural myths about the “North American dream.” By conducting an audience analysis of 25 Southern Alberta Institute and Technology students and staff who regularly watch home improvement shows. This study found that viewers’ image of the good life is aligned with the encoded messages of consumerism and unlimited accumulation, and other assumptions connected to capitalist notions of economic prosperity. Audiences have given over control to home improvement shows to define and determine the standard of home aesthetics.