The Rupaul experience : as estratégias do conteúdo em rede para além dos episódios em Rupaul 's Drag Race

Abstract

The reality show “RuPaul's Drag Race” (RPDR) has emerged as one of the most significant programs in the LGBTQIA+ cultural audiovisual consumption in the mainstream scenario. With a diverse fan base in the era of social media, the reality show has sought to integrate itself into the internet and enhance the experience of how it is consumed. Taking this into account, the present study examines the structure of “RPDR,” its subprograms - “Untucked,” “The Pit Stop,” and “Fashion Photo Ruview” - and the audience's network interactions with this content in order to analyze the consumption experience of this material. We rely on Juliana Gutmann's (2021) concept of “Networked Audiovisual” as our main theoretical framework, and from there, we conducted a qualitative and exploratory research analyzing moments from the program, its respective spin-offs, and fan comments on social media. As a result, we observed that the audience consumes all the content in pursuit of the complete reality experience.