‘A Thousand Diamonds’: Gypsies, Romanies and Travellers and ‘Transgressive Consumerism’ in Reality Television

This chapter explores the ways in which contemporary Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller identity is reconstructed in mainstream media as a transgressive relationship to late capitalism, identified by uncivic economic activity and conspicuous low-taste-high-cost consumption. Texts include newspaper and magazines, whilst the ficus is on reality and post-documentary television including the  Big Fat Gypsy Weddings, Thelma’s Gypsy Girls, and Big Fat American Gypsy Weddings. The article builds on emerging schlarship in Media and Television studies relating to Gypsy, Roma and Traveller peole, as well as addressing the lack of attention paid to contempoary media in traditional Romani Studies.