How Real is Reality TV?

Reality TV Articles:

The History of Reality TV

Taking a Look at Four Popular Reality TV Shows

Reality TV and the Effects it has on the Public

Reality TV: We Just Can't Get Enough

       
       Contemporary television contains many diverse genres of programming.  One of the more recent genres, Reality TV has attracted high ratings and caused a great deal of controversy.  But how real is it?  Reality TV shows present many different “reality” situations, everything from blind dates to impulse stunts.  Many feel as though these shows contain little reality, just special effects and manipulation by producers.  Many questions surround Reality TV.  How did these shows come about?  What is the history, and how did Reality TV evolve?  What are the potential affects it has on audiences?  What problems have there been surrounding Reality TV?  Why are these shows so popular? Although reality TV earns high network ratings, it does not always rate well with the television community.
                                                                                    -Paul Morris     
                                                                                                                                                         

       CBS’s hit series Survivor, created and produced by Reality TV pioneer Mark Burnett places 16 contestants along with a host and production crew to a remote location where living conditions are far from ideal.  In each episode one contestant is voted off the show by the other contestants.  The contestants are divided into two tribes that compete head to head in strenuous games for the right to give their members immunity from being voted off.  As the show progresses, the two tribes condense into one, and individuals compete for immunity from being voted off.  The last “survivor” not to get voted off walks away with a one million dollar prize.

       Temptation Island places 26 couples in committed relationships on an island that is filled with attractive singles. As the name of the show suggests, the singles try to tempt people in relationships to break their commitments.  The ultimate goal of the singles on the island is to lure someone in a relationship away from their partner and leave the island with them once the show is over.  This controversial show upsets many people.  Many religious and other organizations protest the show, arguing that it is immoral and focuses on sex, not relationships.  A Fox Chairman defended the show saying, “This is a show that is exploring the dynamics of serious relationships” (Bowman, 2001).

       One of the first Reality Television was MTV’s Real World.  After a long casting process, seven people who have never met before are selected to move into a luxuriously furnished house located in a large city in the United States that is monitored by cameras and microphones.  Weekly highlights of how the strangers interact are compiled into half hour television programs that air several months after the strangers have moved back into the “real” real world.

       Road Rules, which also airs on MTV, uses a similar format as Real World.  Instead of strangers moving into the same house, they travel across the United States and compete in missions to try and earn points towards a grand prize. 

       
       Today, more than ever, Reality TV shows have been popping up everywhere.  According to the website, The Opinion Network (www.rateitall.com), over 71 Reality TV programs have been produced, and plans are being made for the production of many more (Namey, 2002).  Almost every network airs some form of Reality TV show.  Reality TV has been around for quite some time now, but the recent explosion of new programming and increased popularity in the shows has grabbed the attention of many people.  How has this recent craze affected our population? Has it given a false reality to people or are these programs just the same as every other TV show? 
       The website All Experts, (www.allexperts.com) tells us, “Reality TV is a show that has real people on it, not actors, or actresses.  There’s a chance for anyone to be on a reality TV show.” (Traylor, 2001)  Reality TV shows are supposed to portray real life, events that would really happen and things that people would really do.  People appearing on Reality TV shows are willing to do many things that most people would never realistically consider doing under normal circumstances.  They are willing to eat strange and horrible things, perform dangerous stunts that could be life threatening, and putting themselves through stress that people would not realistically have to go through during life.  People that are living in a house with complete strangers and expected to live in harmony or having to vote people off of a show puts people participating in Reality TV shows through unnecessary stress and paranoia.
       Getting back to reality here, how has this affected the public?  Since Reality TV shows have hit the air waves, the Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC) has been concerned with three types of content: sexual references, foul language, and violence (Bateman,2002).  These categories were then broken down into several subcategories.  The PTC reports that, “In total, there were 847 instances of sex, language, and violence logged in 89.5 hours of broadcast reality shows.  The overall rate of sex, foul language and violence was 9.5 instances per hour.”  Those results were only made for the major networks on the public television (Bateman, 2002).  Don’t worry, the PTC covered all the bases and did a study on cable networks as well.  They reported that, “In total, there were 1,060 instances of sex, language, and violence logged in 36 hours of cable reality shows.  The overall rate of sex, foul language and violence was 29.4 instances per hour, more than three times the broadcast average.” (Bateman, 2002)
       With the statistics that have been presented, how could these shows not affect the public?  TV is a very powerful tool for suggestion that in one way or the other has affected every human being.  How many times have you sat there watching TV feeling sorry, angry, or in agreement, and have told yourself that you would or would not do something because of what you saw on TV?  Take some of the age groups that watch these shows, middle school, high school and college.  These ages are the times when one is most easily influenced.  Calling a show reality and then showing beautiful women and men going out and having fun, getting drunk, smoking, and having sex sends the message to young people that if you are beautiful you will get the guy or girl you want.  It is saying that to have fun you have to drink and smoke because that is the scene that is represented in Reality TV shows.  With this suggestion that has been placed in the minds of young adults, no wonder more people are smoking at a younger age, teenage pregnancy rates are increasing, and underage drinking is increasing among high school and college students.

      
       Like thousand of other Americans, I know the reality TV schedule like the back of my hand.  I know what show will be on what channel and at what time.  After coming home from a long day, many people turn to television as an escape mechanism.  Indulging our minds into the lives of the casts of Reality TV programs helps us to believe that our dreams really can come true.  It also allows us to take our minds off of our own problems for at least thirty minutes.  In some cases, the casts of the shows seem like everyday people just like our selves. Before being on the show, they worked hard at their jobs, they have families, and they have morals.  Some reality TV fans get so wrapped up in the shows that they show emotion while watching.  They yell, cry, scream, and even get angry at the events taking place on the television in front of them.
       On the other hand, many of the reality shows on the television do not seem real.  The scenarios that they are put in are not ones that many people will experience in their lifetime.  The luxurious houses, the great jobs, living with several other peers, and having their family troubles disappear for a few months just does not seem possible.  This is the kind of life many working American’s would like to escape to, which is why many watch it.  Reality TV has become so popular because they provide an escape from everyday lives.  They take us away from reality and we can return with the push of a button.

Group 16 - Ah HA

Chris Boarts - writer
Paul Morris - writer
Cristina Venable *- writer
Joel Voorman - web page designer
Lauren Walden - proofreader
Stephanie Wammes - editor
Preston Ward - writer
Amber Wearstler - writer

*group leader

References

Bateman, J.  (2002).  Reality Television Programs Broadcasting Unreal Amount of

     Inapropriate Content [Article posted on web site Pacific Telecommunications Council

     Library] .  Retrieved October 7, 2002, from the World Wide Web: http://www.ptc.com/

     library/rtvcontent.htm

Bowman, S.  (2001) .  The Evolution of Reality Television [Article posted on web site Reality

     TV Fans] .  Retrieved October 4, 2002, from the World Wide Web: 

     http://www.realitytvfans.com/asp?id=0764811

Fenner, P.  (2001, July) .  Reality Bites.  Rolling Stone 74.

Namey, A.  (2002, January) .  Reality Programs Continue to Rise [Article posted on web site

     The Opinion Network].  Retrieved October 4, 2002, from the World Wide Web: 

    http://www.rateitall.com/realtv/index.htm 

Traylor, R. (2001, September) .  The New Face of Television [Article Posted on web site

     All Experts] .  Retrieved October 6, 2002, from the World Wide Web: 

     http://www.allexperts.com/tv/realityshows/articles/main.htm