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The effects of reality TV shows on society
The effects of reality TV shows on society
The effects of reality TV shows on society
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There was once a time when there were more simplistic views on life; where truth and justice prevailed above all and the main concerns of society were much more primitive. However, those times have long vanished and have now been strategically replaced by the commodity that celebrity culture fully encompasses. Guy Debord writes in The Society of the Spectacle, that the “spectacle is not a collection of images, but a social relation amongst people, mediated by images” (Debord, 4). By this, he simply means that the spectacle is constructed by the daily images devised by celebrities, reality television, and pseudo-events. And those images have altered and strongly influenced the way people perceive themselves and others, as well as the social …show more content…
We see that even celebrities are like this, so it becomes socially acceptable to be selfish or sociopathic. This is because “[reality shows] tell us that existence is to be centered on the practices and desires of the self rather than the common good” (Hedges, 32). The goal of a reality show is to acquire the sought after fame and wealth. Regardless of the method used to get to the end goal, people will do whatever it takes to reach it. This is why reality shows immensely influence the social relations we make in life. Seeing people on television doing these unnecessary and malevolent actions, it urges us to do the same; as if doing so, will help us reach our own end goal. And this is precisely what happens in the reality show “Survivor,” as Tina, Mad Dog Maralyn’s best friend, casts her vote to eliminate her, despite their friendship. It didn’t matter how strong their friendship was, when it came to winning, Tina paid no heed to Mad Dog. She states after her vote, that “it [had] nothing to do with [Mad Dog]. This vote has everything to do with a promise I made. I love you" (Hedges, 32). This sort of backstabbing betrayal is only further intensified by the magnitude of competition. Tina clearly could not prioritize her friendship with Mad Dog in a setting in which winning meant everything. She was blinded by the temptations of greed and the desire to be a celebrity. Another way to put it, is that “human beings [have] become a commodity in [the] celebrity culture… They are objects, like consumer products” (Hedges, 29). As a society, individualism has been cruelly thrown out for the pristine image celebrities are presented to us by the media. No longer do we value the unique individuals, we all want to become celebrities; manufactured to the point where we do not have an identity of our own. Celebrity images are essentially reflections of
“A Spectacle in Color: The Lesbian and Gay Subculture of Jazz Age Harlem” by Eric Garber discusses how the Great Migration to Harlem was not only significant for blacks but for gays and lesbians as well. Garber argues that Harlem’s gay subculture was at its peak in the 1920’s and declined to shell of its previous self after the Stock Market crash in 1929. He goes on to discuss how in black communities, specifically Harlem, there were troubles of segregation, racism, and economic despair, but that being gay in Harlem added new troubles.
As celebrities stand distinctively among the masses and cast out their halos of personality charm and strong suits of skilled abilities, the controversies about them are unavoidable shadows created from their fame. With the popularization of celebrity culture, information synchronization, and communication technology, their lives are publicly exposed and various forms of media (depending on eras) record their flaws. Tough information transmitted to audiences are frequently biased, evidences of objective reality remains, even in the remote past.
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 of 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.
It disclosed people’s despair, fears, cowardice, as well as other negative feelings in front of difficulties and challenges, and exposed their stupidity by illustrating their ugliness and laughter as they watched wrestlers sabotaging one another and good friends turning against each other. Chris Hedges depicted a pseudo-world where people tend to seek comfort from other people’s misfortunes and care about nothing but fame and money. Under the “enormous positivity” created by the spectacle, the reality is actually a dead end. As it is said, “The modern spectacle depicts what society can deliver, but within the depiction what is permitted is rigidly distinguished from what is possible.” In the celebrity culture, fame and money are the images, pursued by the public, forming numerous social networks among people engaged. People will get lost alongside the road, yet he/she may not notice, because as it is said, “the spectacle is both the outcome and the goal of the dominant mode of production.” Images are unlimited goals, coming with countless outcomes. The spectacle keeps developing itself, as more and more people need no realities but more detailed
With nearly global use of the television; it has become a preferred method with which to influence and regulate people’s thinking, creating an unreal and idealistic, hypothetical reality which people strive to emulate. This is accomplished through shows and movies; the majority of which emphasize a perfect world, entirely free of corruption and poverty; where everyone is physically attractive, emotionally stable, and economically wealthy; a distorted reflection of our own world. This leads real people to attempt to create this imaginary world, only to fail; thus generating in themselves a sense of unworthiness, which in turn prompts them to try harder, to stop being individuals and become uniform.
celebrity may be found in the words of one of America’s Founding Fathers, John Adams, who wrote, ‘‘The rewards . . . in this life are steem and admiration of others—the punishments are neglect and contempt. The desire of the esteem of others is as real a want of nature as hunger—and the neglect and contempt of the world as severe as a pain.” (Price, 463). The author suggests that fame is not at all w...
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.
era of political spectacle, image is all and negative images can produce critical views of
In 1957 a movement had started comprised of avant-garde artists, intellectuals and political theorists. Their main goal was to attempt to fuse the fields of theoretical disciplines into a modern and in depth critique of mid-20th century advanced capitalism. This movement was named “Situationist International”. One of the leading founders of this movement was Guy Ernest Debord, who was a writer, Marxist theorist and filmmaker. Debord was responsible for writing what was seen as the handbook for the Situationist movement, it was named Society of the Spectacle.
Looking the historical moment we are living at, it is undeniable that the media plays a crucial role on who we are both as individuals and as a society, and how we look at the...
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.
This book report is on the society of the spectacle by guy Debord. It is a theory that our society is dominated by images and characterizes and drives our consumer society. The images we see are seen through various methods such as Advertisements, television and other media outlets along with banners and signs. People in consumerism see images of things for them to buy and they go and but things and the reality that the world makes becomes what they are about. Regardless if the people have the money or not they can get credit and pay for it with money they don’t have. This idea of credit for everyone helps the people with power to attain more money and power. The more technology progresses the easier it becomes to enhance the consumer society and move into new market areas and continue to move forward with the new way of life in American and the world.
We are prisoners to our perception. It is a common saying that things are not always as they seem .This philosophy is abundantly true when it comes to the subject of fame, celebrity, furtune and impact. The way we see things is responsible for the set up of our individual ideologies.”Evidence “by Kathryn Schultz refers to ideology as a “conceptual framework” (Schultz, page 373).We see fame as the greatest achievement that one could accomplish in their lifetime. We idolize and fantasize how the wealthy are free of the burdens of life and that they are faced with little to no misfortunes. As pointed out several times throughout this writing, this is a counterfactual way of looking at fame. Schulz’s essay further states that “to exist, to deal with reality, we need a conceptual framework; theories that tell us which questions to ask and which to not, where to look and where not to bother.”(Schulz, page 373).This quote relates to the subject matter because I also feel that individuals tend to overlook the cons of fame and focus too much of the glitz and glamour associated with fame.Basically,some people see what they want to see and ignore what they don't want to accept and
In my research project I would like to discover what other forms of false consciousness surround us on a daily basis. I would also like to discuss how social media and celebrities enforce social classes and why we let them. In that topic I would also reflect on how celebrities have become the ultimate class to be apart of. Social medias like You-Tube and Instagram have brought in a whole new idea on what it means to be famous and in my personal opinion, being famous is the new American
When asking yourself which media outlet continues to offer the most influential presence on our culture the answer is obvious. Television serves as the leading unifying media instrument in our society. Television has always reflected cultural changes and the increasing popularity of certain networks is due to reality television. This genre of television creates the concept of the “instant celebrity”. One example of a reality show that literally promises its participants fame and fortune is Project Runway.