KJCKorea
Journal Central

This study analyzes the narrative structure and strategy of <Mystery Music Show – King of Mask Singer>, the catalyst to the wide proliferation of music variety shows, and based on the conclusions, aims to determine its implications to discover how the TV text was conformed to the request of the audience and the current sociocultural context. The analysis revealed that the main plot of <King of Mask Singer> is that all participants are masked, hiding their age, appearance, popularity, and occupation from the audience and compete solely with their singing abilities. This narrative was faithfully realized as members of boy bands and girl groups, who are often subject to the prejudice that they lack singing abilities, defeated well established singers and crowned King of Mask Singer. The study also showed that the process of ‘detecting’ the identity of the masked participant and the enjoyment derived from the ‘surprise twist’ from an incorrect guess, are key subplots that differentiate <King of Mask Singer> from other music variety shows and increase its entertainment value. In addition, with the use of kitschy masks and costumes and the comical hosts, the show has employed a narrative strategy that is unlike existing reality audition shows by denying authority and focusing on strengthening the entertainment value. In conclusion, the success of <King of Mask Singer> can be attributed, intratextually, to its differentiated narrative strategy, and extratextually, to its convergence of and accordance to ‘public sensibilities’ of the users who cannot become a part of ‘winner take all’ neoliberal society order and the users’ desire for ‘fair competition’ triggered by the ‘spoon class theory’.

discourse, music variety shows, narrative analysis, story