Discussing the Life of the Others: Doing Ethnography in the Brazilian Big Brother Fan Community

The aim of this paper is to present some of the initial results of ethnographic research conducted in early 2008 with 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. Beyond the gossiping, and the more immediate talks about behaviors and game strategies of the Big Brother housemates, these forums sometimes trigger exchanges about Brazilian society at large, and the role of television broadcasting in general. Nonetheless, a closer inspection reveals how the debates found in the community are themselves permeated by the participants' struggle for status.