The Reality of The Real Housewives of Orange County A reality television show where cameras follow affluent women as they enjoy their lavish lifestyle in Orange County, California is depicted in Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Orange County. The American reality television series focuses on the personal and professional lives of several women living extravagantly wealthy lives mostly due to their rich husbands. Over the past 5 years the success of this innovative reality TV show has allowed for an expansion of several installments of The Real Housewives franchise into various regions. Viewers have been riveted by the fictionalized version of such lavish lifestyle on television, however, The Real Housewives series has evolved as one of the …show more content…
Accordingly, its aim of presenting real people and situations fascinates audiences that may have no other glimpse into such lifestyles, which is exactly what The Real Housewives attempts to do. Viewers believe that what is happening in reality television shows mirrors the real world; however, in the hopes of good ratings, many reality television shows grossly exaggerate and script characters, thus deviating far from relatable realism. The Real Housewives of Orange County is a perfect example of how “reality TV is manipulated to be exciting, but also retain the appearance of reality”, in that it is constructed to suit the audience’s expectations, which is referred to as “hyperreality”(Jackson). The characters in this show are filmed dealing with their supposedly real life; however, this life is staged by the producer and exaggerated by the housewives to make it more appealing to the viewers. Ultimately, reality television constructs “realism through codes and conventions”, and therefore does not offer an “unbiased, objective representation of reality”(Jackson). The show is scripted to make it over the top, such as through the artificial drama contained in their personal lives. Instead of partaking in domestic chores traditionally associated with housewives, the women are attempting to signify their wealth and status, walking …show more content…
The hit show selects their newest recruits based on if they fall into a narrow niche, which depicts the stereotypical wealthy housewife and the extravagant lifestyle she leads. They furthermore almost seem interchangeable and lack diversity, because this type of character depicted was successful and thus there was no reason to introduce much diversity. The Real Housewives series holds “extensive casting calls and pointedly choose[s] specific types of people to represent reality on their show, and they structure interpersonal conflicts and friendships though serial narratives”(Kraszewski 194). The type of casting has remained consistent throughout seasons quite simply because the depiction of these similar types of woman has remained interesting to viewers and produced good ratings, leading to their representational casting decisions not evolving over time. An insider told Radar Online that fans loved one of the housewives “because she is a bit of an airhead, likes to drink and party and is a hot mess. She doesn’t care what others think about her, and producers want to cast women with similar personality traits”(Heger). Due to such characteristics and the fact that the viewers love to tune in to her antics, she remains on the show. Furthermore, the “housewives
To begin with, defining the term deviant behaviors is in order to understand the issues concerning reality shows. “The definition of deviant means to be diverse from what is considered to be morally correct or common” (Deviant. (n.d.). In other words, a person cannot act socially correct/ normal in character. “The next term to consider is behaviors meaning the manner of how one conducts themselves” (Behavior.
The location they live in for a couple of months is usually turned upside down and decorated to ensure a Hollywood, glamorous look. Usually it includes a pool table, Jacuzzi, and an aquarium, which aids as a symbol for the show. Roommates, who are being taped at all times, in their home, are perceived as fish in a fish bowl (Keveney par.11). The evolution of The Real World and reality television in general, has been dramatic. In the beginning, The Real World was criticized, until viewers fell in love with the overall concept of real people fighting real life struggles similar to their own.
Since the beginning of time itself, Television has been one the most influential pieces of media that the world has ever encountered. The beginning days of television depicted stereotypical mothers cooking and cleaning their homes for their husbands and children. Yet, as the decades passed, television took a dramatic turn, leaving the days of drama free entertainment as a vast memory. Now a day, however, when one hits the power on button to Bravo, the screen lights expand to ritzy socialites dealing with their everyday lives as “housewives”. Bravo TV’s hit number one reality television show, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, deals with the everyday lives of modern-day housewives. When speaking of these women and their family life, the reality series shows its viewers that family life in modern times is dramatic, full of misrepresentations of how people are perceived, and that fame comes at the cost of family.
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.
As explained in the article, the sudden disinterest in sitcoms is not only a result of their bland nature, but also the mass amounts of remakes and weak storylines. In contrast, reality shows are portraying drama-filled, human connecting stories in order to provide crazy entertainment unlike anything else seen on television before. Poniewozik points out that while they do capture the attention of tens of millions of viewers, reality shows quickly run out of time, resources, and ideas. Then, it is only a matter of time before a new reality show takes its place, simply adding to the surplus of reality television (Poniewozik). In the Time’s article, “Why Reality TV Is Good for Us,” James Poniewozik attempts to discuss the rapid growth and popularity of reality television shows, but the author’s poor organizational structure, use of dialogue, failure to unify the theme, and the presence of his point of view, leave the article sounding incomplete and without
American actress, Lisa Bonet, once said, “What saddens me is the corruption of youth and beauty, and the loss of soul, which is only replaced by money.” Today’s television shows are decaying into more polluted and inappropriate ideas, which are then presented worldwide. This is a negative influence on not only young people, but also society as a whole. How can it be expected of youth today to be appropriate role models to future generations with such corrupt influences? With the filth, dishonesty, and abuse of freedom of speech, reality television ultimately does more harm on today’s society than good.
The first effect of reality shows is the image it gives viewers. Reality shows give misconceptions of everyday life; the Real World and Jersey Shore show young adults relaxing, having a good time, and partying every day. The...
“This is the true story, of seven strangers, picked to live in a house, and have their lives taped, to find out what happens when people stop being polite, and start getting real”(MTV). This marks the beginning of MTV’s reality show, The Real World. The show takes 7 strangers, puts them in a trendy luxurious home, taping them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for about 4 months. The cameras capture petty arguments, late night hook ups, and pure laziness. How could this not be real? There are not many people that can live in an expensive home while laying around all day, and partying all night with little work involved. The Real World is a display of 18-24 year olds, typecasted to have their most extreme stereotypical qualities blown out of proportion for the world to see.
Reality television shows are unconventional but have been become the most popular shows on the television in our society. Nowadays the media wants reflects how families really are in society. There are different kinds of families with different diversity. From a very young age, the media influence us and put an image or a perception in our mind of a family. Over the years, the idea version of a family has changed.as we have noticed family dynamics have changed over time from strictly patriarchal to more of egalitarian. Both of the parents shows same responsibility. However certain family roles are still present in today. The expectation from and father and mother are still there, even today father is still expected to breadwinner
This approach believes that the effects of media are much weaker than the strong and definite effects of the magic bullet theory. The first reinforced idea would be that people with money live better and more entitled lives than those without. It is not a hidden fact that money can buy a person things that they want and need, as well as allow one to live a stable life. The show represents the upper class lifestyle as desirable in many ways. The first of which is the fact that they have a website that dedicates it’s time to reporting what they are doing with their lives.
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...
Reality TV. Ed. Karen F. Balkin, Ph.D. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2008, 58-60. Print. The. McCormick, Patrick.
This essay examines three reality TV shows: MTV's The Real World: Denver, CBS's Survivor: Cook Islands, and the FX network's miniseries Black. White. The essay argues that the reality shows promote differences in individuals. Each reality show positioned race as the main factor in the conflicts the cast members experienced while on the show. The shows put the cast members in situations that reinforced “cultural codes” (Bell-Jordan) and stereotypes. The cast members of each of the shows were put into situations that were constantly enforcing racial stereotypes, done on purpose by the producers. In the essay, the author argues that media makes the viewers have a struggle in what they choose to believe. She also states that society participates in an unconscious struggle on how to discern what they see on the television. Society is in a fight to discover what is the meaning behind what they are watching on the television. Viewers are not realizing the material being transmitted to them on the television is causing an impact on how they look at individuals of other races. An individual is unconsciously accepting all that is being transmitted to them, but they must decide how valid what is being portrayed about certain races. Producers give specific roles and place stereotypes on individuals in order to gain viewers. Producers place stereotypes on the cast of their show because it attracts attention from viewers; the producers stereotyped the models on the show Americas Next Top Model. The models were given “roles” that categorize them with a specific race. The "role" the models portray is often dehumanizing to the models and is misinterpreting to who is watching the show. The roles that the models are made to act in gives the viewer t...
Reality television has changed the world today by encouraging violent behavior, elevate imprudent personalities, and depict woman of their values. Many reality TV shows are driving young kids to be driven by money and fame. Our reality television make us seem ignorant to other countries. Young viewers of these reality TV shows do not realize that most of the shows are often scripted and are not “real”. Although the programming of reality TV can be highly entertaining, it is important to be aware of the messages, and values that these shows often portray. Since reality TV has such a strong foothold in American pop culture, it is likely not going anywhere or changing its content any time
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