What may be the differences in relation to factuality and truthfulness between a documentary and a 'reality tv' programme. Discuss with an example from each.
The past years have seen a rapid rise of reality programmes, which has exposed audiences preferences of realism over fiction. Both documentary and reality television are based on real lives and events. However, it is important to acknowledge that reality shows are often subjected to criticism due to their apparent lack of factuality and instead being riddled with 'constructed reality'. The idea that reality television is built with entertainment at the forefront raises the question, 'what are the differences in relation to factuality and truthfulness between documentary and reality television?'
With reality television being so popular it comes as a surprise that it is often subjected to a lot of criticism and is often regarded as a negative form of entertainment. It is stated that documentaries are considered the sober genre, (Nichols, B. 1991) with a strong representation of the 'real world' whilst reality television is a questionable one. The rise of hybrid formate see the lines between the two constantly blurred, with documentaries concentrating on entertainment and reality on social aspects.'New hybrid versions of documentary and reality television produce a new kind of public sphere in which shared knowledge and the experience of the every day take centre stage' (Bignell. 2005:71).
The increase of interest in reality television has seen the boundary, between private and public, collapse. Audiences appear to gain pleasure by being inquisitive about other people's lives and everyday occurrences and with the explosion of reality television this has become much more acce...
... middle of paper ...
...ted version of the reality that is actually happening. Events that happen are scripted by professionals who create the plots and situations house-mates find themselves in.
The truthfulness that documentaries provide will always interest different audiences than reality television, reality television provides a type of entertainment where audiences can laugh at other peoples misfortune. However it is when these two formats create the afore mentioned hybrids, the lines of truthfulness become blurred. Straight forward documentaries will always be more truthful than reality television mainly due the different audiences the two attracts wanting different things from their entertainment programmes. It is on only when the hybrids are created that the truth is not as obvious in documentaries, especially in docu-soaps such as 'The only way is Essex.'
(WORD COUNT: 1920)
May 04, 2012. This article talks about the fascination of reality vs. illusion. The article examined the media’s current fascination with manufactured reality. The article said “in our modern world where every channel seems to have its own version of a reality show, we are inundated with the media’s version of what is real. There is a reason why there are so many of these shows on the airwaves, and that is viewers can’t seem to get enough of them.”
As documentary by its very nature introduces itself as factual, concerns exist as to where the boundary between the truth of subject and the fiction produced by its creator emerges. As anything that has been edited has by definition removed certain aspects and enhanced others, there must be at best an innocent naturally occurring bias formed from individual perception, and at worst purposefully manipulated misinformation. Through researching various sources, I intend to discover the difference (if any) between these two methods making factually based programmes, to determine any variables that lie in the ‘grey area’ between the two extremes, and to ascertain the diverse forms of conduct in which truth (and in turn documentary) can be presented to an audience, and to what effect?
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,
Documentary is a term that stresses a broad category of expression that is based on the attempt to ‘document’ reality. The classification of documentary includes formally structured or seemingly unstructured films that are either non-fictional or entirely fictional. From around 1921, early films captured real people with everyday situations and filmmakers edited these footages to create a structure with either a story or an argument. By 1932, John Grierson had formulated a definition that distinguished between documentary and other factual forms of cinematic journalism, travelogue and scientific or nature films. Grierson found documentary beyond arrangement and description because it used a ‘creative treatment of actuality’. This shaping offered
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...
Reality television shows dominate many television networks today. There are reality television shows enjoyed by virtually every age-group. However, many people are unaware of the truth behind reality television shows. They are unaware of the planning and prearranged situations that occur in most "reality" shows. Reality television shows pose some important detriments for society, which include presenting contrived situations as reality, promoting unethical values, and presenting humiliation as a form of entertainment.
If T.V. news or radio have morphed into reality shows, then it is only a reflection of the viewers. As a former news reporter, the author should understand that the success
While these distinctions that help differentiate each documentary have merit, the outright classification can provide an inaccurate idea that documentaries classified as being objective provide a more realistic presentation of the subject matter compared to documentaries classified
This is the reason that Phillips refers to documentaries as ‘Mediated Reality’. A documentary film is biased and cannot be objective. It may be perceived as truth by viewers, but there is a difference between the genuine footage that was recorded and the censored scenes that were developed in editing.
In today 's society, television is one of the greatest entertainment, and currently reality televisions have become the most commonly watched television programs. Reality tv, beside being entertaining , it has effected society in a negative
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).
Lehmann, Carolin. “Reality TV: A Blessing or a Curse? An Analysis of the Influence of Reality TV on U.S. Society.” Academia. Edu 5 Nov. 2012. 29 Nov. 2013.
2. Nichols, Bill. ‘Documentary Modes of Representation (The Observational Mode).’ Representing Reality: Issues and Concepts in Documentary. Bloomington & Indianapolis; Indiana University Press. 1991. 38-44