Reality Television

1641 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Reality TV show

Reality Television

When Philo T. Farnsworth invented the electric television, he probably did not think that it would be used to show people eating bugs, finding husbands based on votes of viewers, or living on deserted islands. But that is exactly what you can see any given night on television now. This newest form of television programming fad is the reality television genre. Reality television is now on every station, every night, everywhere. The web page Fact Monster credits the beginning of reality TV as beginning around 2000 when a little reality game show called Who wants to be a Millionaire hit television screens. Millionaire saw the rebirth of game shows but also started the most popular television genre in years. Some say that MTV’s The Real World was the first popular reality based show, but until Millionaire there were no popular reality shows on networks or primetime.

Fact Monster cites is CBS’ Survivor as the next show to that rose to TV stardom “boasting out-sized ratings, out-sized egos, out-sized personalities, and out-sized conflicts” where contestants are stranded on a desert island and kicked off one by one each week. As with anything that seems to get ratings, soon there were many knockoffs to follow. In 2001 reality TV continued to dominate the airwaves. Fact Monster refers to how “for the first time in eight years, NBC's “Must-See” Thursday night lineup did not reign in the ratings. Survivor II: The Australian Outback consistently beat Friends.”

In their article “‘The Osbournes': Genre, Reality TV, and the Domestication of Rock 'n Roll” Rick Pieto and Kelly Otter define the reality TV genre, saying “that it is in essence one that finds its most valuable content in the unabashed display of individuals willing to be put on display as they part with their privacy, dignity, and composure. The genre is fairly clear, yet the formula in the shows varies so as to keep it fresh and increasingly bizarre to maintain its audience. Young women compete for a husband on camera by attempting to win the affection of a bachelor in six weeks; individuals compete for money by conquering their fears and consume live insects or allow themselves to be submerged under water for as long as possible; and couples test the strength of their relationships by subjecting themselves to the temptation of desirable strangers. Love, fear, and confli...

... middle of paper ...

...ey will do next, in what way they will push the envelope. Some go too far, Fox’s show Married by America (a show where contestants are chosen spouses by telephone voters) was recently fined by the Federal Communication Commission for a broadcast that aired sexually charged scenes. Others are turning to a more feel good approach, like ABC’s The Biggest Loser, a weight loss challenge show that is receiving high ratings.

While I disagree with some of the tactics used by reality television shows, it appears that they around to stay. Networks are adding more and more reality programming to their lineups, and I suspect they will run the trend into the ground before they give up on it. Like with any form of television I believe people just need to take everything they see open eyes and realize that it has been edited and made to look a certain way. Still, it can be terribly entertaining at times.

Works Cited

"Infoplease Television Timeline." Fact Monster.

© 2000–2004 Pearson Education, publishing as Fact Monster.

28 Nov. 2004 .

“The Osbournes': Genre, Reality TV, and the Domestication of Rock 'n Roll.”

Pieto, Rick and Otter, Kelly. Counterblast.org.

28 Nov. 2004 .

Show More
Related

  • Kraszewski's Chapter 'Country Hicks And Urban Cliques'

    1797 Words  | 4 Pages

    Nevertheless, regardless of ratings, the finale and Survivor as a whole, ultimately altered the future of television. “In a matter of 13 weeks, CBS significantly launched the reality craze and had other producers and networks scrambling to find shows starring real people.” Network executives across Hollywood were swamped with pitches, writers, and regular people looking to make their big break on reality television. “A little show called Survivor came along and turned primetime television on its ear. Not only was the show a success, it became a cultural phenomenon. The audience has spoken and they have demonstrated that they have a huge appetite for this type of non-scripted

    Read More

  • The Networks Surviving With Survivor

    2625 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Identifying with Romance-Based Reality Show Characters

    2048 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Techniques used in Reality TV in Australia

    1478 Words  | 3 Pages

    Do the treacherous, backstabbing ideals of reality TV shows such as Survivor, Dog Eat Dog and Big Brother actually promote and legitimise their anti-social behaviour and ideals in society, or is it merely a frivolous form of entertainment, providing an emotional outlet for the typical, stressed individual? You could argue either way.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Reality Television: Oxymoron By Jack Perry

    894 Words  | 2 Pages

    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,

    Read More

  • Comparing The Real World and Survivor

    1404 Words  | 3 Pages

    While MTV's The Real World places twenty-somethings in unique arrangements in which to live as they would like for several months, CBS's Survivor elicits peculiar behavior from contestants living in unusual circumstances. Despite fundamental differences, the continued success of both The Real World[1] and Survivor[2] illustrates that American viewers love to watch reality television shows with interesting locales, competitions or tasks, and natural personal relations.

    Read More

  • TV's Survivor: Heroes and Villains

    3051 Words  | 7 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • African American Stereotypes Reality Television

    1543 Words  | 4 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • The Emergence and Popularity of Reality TV

    2023 Words  | 5 Pages

    The emergence and soon popularity of reality TV in some degree demonstrates the huge market of selling “real experience” through exposing “realities” of privacy, relationship between players, etc. (Deery 2004 in TV program area.). However, reality TV may not be intrinsically “real” though almost all involved players are unprofessional actors and programs are usually highly inscribed. Players are actually selected carefully (e.g. audition or interviews) and constrained by various signed agreements and all filmed scene sections are delicately edited with special purposes, making reality TV kind of erasing reality and fiction together (Bingchun & George (2003)).

    Read More

  • Some Detriments of Reality Television Shows

    715 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Bachelor & the Bachelorette: Can’t Buy Me Love?

    916 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Factors that Contribute to the Popularity of Reality Shows on TV

    886 Words  | 2 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • How Reality TV has Affected Society

    1252 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Having Regulations On Reality T.V.

    1098 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to Shannon Kelly, reality television has the worst reputation of any type of television programming. Reality tv has gotten bad ratings and reviews due to its violence, profanity, racism, behavior, etc. if these shows had regulations, there wouldn’t be so much negative feedback upon them. “Complaints about the amount of ‘reality’ that is actually a part of reality television, is not the only issue the genre has to contend with.” (Reality TV 62)

    Read More

  • Reason why People Watch Reality TV Shows

    1267 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cohen, Ilisa “Is Reality TV Messing With Your Head?’ Scholastic Choices November 2012: 12-7. Proquest. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

More about Reality Television

Open Document