Big Brother, Survivor, The Apprentice, and The Bachelor: all these programs have one thing in common. They are classified as reality TV shows. This list is just a representative of the literally hundreds of reality TV programs that have eclipsed the TV scene. Reality TV programs have become a popular genre today due to two major reasons. First, they are much cheaper to produce because they do not require expensive actors like fictive drama series. The second and the major reason is that they are believed to depict purported or actual reality thereby assuring their audience that they are seeing life as it really is, without artifice and storytelling expertise. But, how real are Reality TV programs? How real is the reality that they depict? This paper argues that the authenticity of the reality in Reality TV shows is questionable. Although examples of Reality TV can be found throughout the history of television, reality programs arrived en masse in peak time television schedules during the 1990s. The first wave of reality programming was based upon the success of crime and emergency services reality TV, better known as infotainment and travelled from America to Europe and beyond in the late 1980s to early 1990s (Hill 16). The second wave of reality TV shows was grounded upon the success of popular observational documentaries known as docu-soaps, and lifestyle programming involving house and garden makeovers, and traveled from Britain to Europe and beyond in the ,id to late 1990s (Hill 16). The third wave was grounded upon the popularity of social experiments that paced ordinary people in controlled environments over an extended period of time, or reality game shows, and moved from Northern Europe to Britain America and other parts... ... middle of paper ... ... Works Cited Falzone, Diana. Real Housewives Reportedly Faked Scenes: Is Anything on Reality TV Real? 30 August 2013. FoxNews.com.Web. 4 December 2013. Hill, Annette. Reality TV: Factual Entertainment and Television Studies. Oxon: Routeldge, 2005. Print. Isenberg, Robert. How Real Is Reality TV? The Laughably Far-Fetched, the Totally Sincere and Everything In Between. MSN.com. 2013. Web. 4 December 2013. Jacobs, Tom. Reality TV May Warp Viewers’ Perception of Actual Reality. Pacific Standard. 13 September 2013. Web. 4 December 2013. Ouellette, Laurie. Reality TV Gives Back: On the Civic Functions of Reality Entertainment. Journal of Popular Film and Television 2010: 67-73. Taylor, Jim. Reality TV Is Not Reality. Huffington Post.com. 2011. Web. 4 December 2013. Torre, Nestor. How Real Is Reality Television? 6 August 2013. Web. 4 December 2013
Reality shows sent a much-needed lifeline to the television networks industry. These shows have found a new way to bring much needed viewers, and even more important they brought in much needed money. The money came rolling into CBS after premiering Survivor, which brought in a profit of around $30,000,000 to the network. Even though Survivor is the must costly reality show, costing close to one million dollars to produce and hour of programming. In comparison to other shows, which cost far more like CBS’s series “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” which cost over 1.6 million to produce per hour. With the amount of money coming in such large sums to networks have had to close monitor how much is being spent. Clearly’ the reality shows have brought in much needed assets to the flattering television networks.
Television viewers have more viewing choices than ever before in deciding how to spend their time with television. In recent years, reality television has become a popular genre for viewing audiences. According to Nabi (304), reality television programs, "film real people as they live out events (contrived or otherwise) in their lives.” One popular subgenre of reality television is romance-based competition shows. These shows typically follow a contestant on their search for love and as they choose between a group of attractive suitors. Over the course of an entire season, the lead contestant eliminates the group of suitors until only one-suitor remains and the couple becomes engaged.
Untasteful, feral, depraved viewing; Euphemism for palpable voyeurism; Is spelling the end of decent, moral society - Slagging out reality TV from a high culture standpoint is as easy as taking candy from a blind, paralysed, limbless baby. Reality TV is a significant part of popular culture in the current settings of mainstream Australian society. Counting the number of reality television shows on two hands is now a physical impossibility. But what impact is this concept having on society now and into the future?
How Reality TV affects the audience and the characters who were participating into it? Does it really give knowledge to people who were watching and supporting? Or is it just the sake of money and exposing their appearance on television? When it comes to watching television, people at home can choose which types of program they want to want for many reasons. Some people look to television for inspiration; others want to be kept informed about their surroundings and the world. In the article entitled, “Reality TV and Culture” by Jack Perry, he argues, there are some good points to how reality television are formed and offered. Perry explains that, not all of the shows are designed to encourage and promote dangerous and unrealistic. However,
In 2000, three simple words encircling a tiki torch and palm tree defined not only a television series, but a whole new culture of entertainment: outwit, outplay, outlast. When the competitive reality show Survivor first hit the air, producers Mark Burnett and Jeff Probst left sixteen Americans stranded on a tropical island, hoping only for nature to take its course and drama to ensue. No one could have predicted the phenomenon that would be a catalyst not only for reality TV, but competitive game shows set on putting people in their most vulnerable state. Now that ten years have passed, many people have begun to quickly dismiss Survivor as the Destroyer of Thoughtful Television: a show focused only on scheming, conniving, and eating bugs, all for the sake for winning one million dollars. Going even further, intellectuals argue that shows like Survivor encourage blatant discrimination, racism, sexism, and ageism - after all, the idea of the show is to form social cliques (dubbed "alliances") and vote people both out of the game and off the island, sometimes for no reason other than not “liking” them. Not to mention the fact that it always seems to magically start pouring rain the moment two people are left standing on a ten-foot pole above the Atlantic Ocean in the final challenge, introducing the controversial concept of whether or not reality TV is real at all, but merely a contrived series of events captured by a camera.
Reality based television has a broad landscape ranging from competitive game-like shows to programs following the daily lives of a group of people. Every major network now has some form of reality programming because the genre’s shows are high in viewership and require low costs for production. The genre is appealing to viewers because it provides them with a first-hand look into the lives of everyday people, which allows them to observe social behavior that helps them determine what is appropriate or not (Tyree, 2011, p. 397). Since the majority of modern reality stars start out as unknowns, frequent viewers of reality programming believed that fame is obtainable if they appear on a popular show (Mendible, 2004). According to Mendible’s evaluation of the genre in the article Humiliation, Subjectivity, and Reality TV, people enjoy reality programs beca...
It is no secret that reality television shows often present contrived situations as reality. Many producers claim that there are no scripts used in the production of reality shows. They maintain that nothing in the lives of the participants is planned purely for viewers’ entertainment, and that what is presented in the show is their actual reality. However, most people know this to be untrue to a certain degree. The events and situations in reality shows are often staged, re-enacted, or cleverly edited to make them appear more dramatic, thereby more interesting, than they are. Elizabeth Larkin writes, “After so many “reality” programs, we can discern a pattern of “characters” that isn’t very far different from the stock characters found in fictional programming. There’s the sweet and naive person from a small town looking to make it big while still retaining small town values. There’s the party girl/guy who’s always looking for a good time and who shocks those around them—and the list goes on” (Larkin 290). Participants in reality television shows are often looking to gain wealth and fame, and they are willing to do anything necessary to achieve that.
Reality based television has a broad landscape ranging from competitive game-like shows to programs following the daily lives of a group of people. Every major network now has some form of reality programming because these programs are high in viewership and require low costs for production. The genre’s shows provide audiences with a first-hand look into the lives of everyday people, which creates resonance among viewers because they feel like they can relate to the characters on screen (Hasinoff, 2008). Since the majority of modern reality stars start out as unknowns, frequent viewers of reality television have essentially bought into the belief that they too can achieve overnight fame by appearing on a popular show (Mendible, 2004). According to Mendible’s evaluation i...
Can you believe that reality television has actually been around since 1948? Most of us may have thought that this idea of real television just came about in the last decade but actually it’s been around for quite some time. In 1948 Candid Camera was the first reality show to be broadcasted on television. Many considered this to be the “granddaddy” of the reality TV genre (History of reality TV). This show actually began in radio broadcasting. Allen Funt was the man in charge of this whole new production. He started by simply taping complaints of men in service and broadcasting them over the Armed Forces Radio. This is what later became known as the television show, Candid Camera. Candid Camera was known for “catching people in the act of being themselves” (History of Reality TV). Funt passed away in 1999 and his son, Peter has now taken over for him to continue these series.
Do you know the guiltiest pleasure of the American public? Two simple words reveal all—reality TV. This new segment of the TV industry began with pioneering shows like MTV’s The Real World and CBS’s Survivor. Switch on primetime television nowadays, and you will become bombarded by and addicted to numerous shows all based on “real” life. There are the heartwarming tales of childbirth on TLC, melodramas of second-rate celebrities on Celebrity Mole, and a look into a completely dysfunctional family on The Osbornes. Yet, out of all these entertaining reality shows arises the newest low for popular culture, a program based on the idea of a rich man or woman in search of the perfect marriage partner. The Bachelor, and its spin-off The Bachelorette, exemplify capitalist ideology founded on the Marxist base-superstructure model and establish the role of an active American audience.
Since the very first reality show launching in 1990, the reality genre has rapidly developed to become the most popular experience of television nowadays. A plethora of research has been undertaking in recent years to identify the origin of reality shows’ appeal which concentrated mainly on the psychological side such as the theory of human motivations called ‘16 basic desires’ which linking the most fundamental purposes of human life to aspirations with their attention to media conducted by Reiss and Wiltz (2004) or the element of mastery sense named ‘schadenfreude’ introduced by Hall (2006).
Reality Television has changed television in a way that no one could have imagined. Being the one of the most talked about genre in history, it is seen by millions of viewers. It has more ratings than any other kind of show (Breyer 16). From its start, there have been many Reality Television shows. Shows like The Real World, Survivor, Big Brother, and Jersey Shore. All of these give off a negative portrayal of reality. While Americans watch these shows, it seems that the show is real life, but in reality, no pun intended, before the show is even filmed, it’s written, edited, and produced (Breyer 21). Writers humiliate and degrade people just for the plot of the show, making their private lives public (Breyer 16).
In this day and age, there isn’t hardly a person who doesn’t watch some form of reality television. Whether it is an adrenaline pumping baking competition, a talent based show with singing and dancing, or the pure entertainment of a day in the life of celebrities most everyone watches some form of reality television. There seems to be a few different sides of reality TV that make it so entertaining for people to watch. There seems to be the shows that lure people in because of the motivational aspect, the drama, or the deep down genuine appearance. However, most people are oblivious to the fact that the screen they are watching isn’t usually what actually happens in real life. James Poniewozik explains the manipulation going on behind the camera
The United States’ longest running program is actually a news/talk show called Meet the Press. It began as a radio program in 1945, and had little changes when it was aired on NBC for the first half-hour television broadcast in November 1947. Meet the Press May have been the first talk show to be shown on television, but it wasn’t the first regularly scheduled talk show. Sylvester Weaver produced the first regularly programmed talk show called Broadway Open House from May 1950 to August 1951. Two Veteran Jerry Lester and Morey Amsterdam, who were stand up comedians, shared the hosting duties for this talk/variety program. Broadway Open House was a mixture of routines, singing, dancing and comedy, which would start a trend of new talk shows to soon follow. The Tonight Show staring Johnny Carson, which premiered October 1, 1962, was one of those shows that followed Broadway Open House. With Johnny’s little competition, appearing on his show became one of the first big breaks for many upcoming stars on the road of fame and fortune. His show became so big that Johnny negotiated a deal with NBC to give him 2 million dollars per year, while his taping schedule included twelve weeks of four shows weekly, twenty-five weeks of only three shows a week, and fifteen weeks of vacation. Some of the stars that made got their start on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson were people like Jerry Seinfield, Roseanne, and Gary Shandling. When Johnny Carson decided to retire, his show was given to comedian Jay Leno, making The Tonight Show one of the greatest and longest running shows ever.
Have you ever wondered why people are so addicted to watching their favorite shows on TV? Have you ever wondered why reality TV is so popular? This paper is an explanation of why large numbers of people watch reality TV shows. Proof and facts will be provided showing that reality TV provides entertainment, inspiration, the stirring of emotions, vicarious living, and a substitute for social life for many who watch. Here are a few examples of these statements.