Media producers all around the world have discovered that so called “Reality Television” programs are the key to maximising viewer bases and therefore profits. It is undisputed that Reality Television makes money. This has resulted in immense amounts of these programs being plastered across our screens. While these programs line the pockets of producers and companies, they are not necessarily beneficial to their audiences and the society we live in. Reality Television programs of today promote schadenfreude, which is “the joy or pleasure derived from the plight and misery of others”. Are suffering and conflict some not of the main themes in the Reality Shows we watch today? Schadenfreude plays a huge role in the unscrupulous yet incredibly addictive nature of the genre. The sad fact is, the majority of us spend “roughly one third of our spare time watching television and Reality Shows make up 67% of this”. These shows are aired on nearly every channel simply because we watch them. We like to watch others suffer. So what is it in our nature that causes us to derive pleasure from watching others suffer? There is undoubtedly catharsis involved but surely that can be achieved through fiction. So if not catharsis, could it merely be the fact that we are able to escape the reality of our own mundane lives and feel better about ourselves? Or maybe, just maybe there is something wired deep within us all that simply likes to watch others suffer; an evil vein, a genetic predisposition. This could link back to the caveman times when life revolved around “survival of the fittest” and therefore ridding society of the weak. But let’s face it, we are not cavemen anymore. Though we like to think we are sophisticated, moral people, the human rac... ... middle of paper ... ...licly exploit, suffer and humiliate themselves and the rest of us can just sit back and laugh at their idiocy what is this saying about society today? Where do our morals and principles truly lie? Perhaps we deem this type of behaviour acceptable because it is packaged up and shoved through our screens. But the fact is it is not acceptable, especially if people are really going to mimic the behaviour and attitudes shown on Reality Television shows. If people are going to cheat and lie, pick fights with whoever will react and intentionally exploit the privacy of others, society is headed towards one steep, downward spiral. Should “Reality” Television not be portraying themes and behaviour from reality itself, instead of the other way round? If that is not the case then Reality Television is becoming less and less “Television” and essentially more just our “Reality”.
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.
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...
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...
In conclusion, reality shows are honestly the worst type of entertainment. They are cheap, fake and utterly pointless. Producers are simply using type of programming to make easy money since it does not require many funds. The way these shows provide information to the public is concerning since most of it is not thought provoking or in any way intelligent. In fact, it shows you how not to act in a public place. It provides an adverse affect on how people should be thinking. It is incredibly unhealthy for the mind to be watching those types of shows. Most Americans do not realize or understand this. There is no stopping the flow of media. Everything is becoming illiterate and translucent. Do you know what is good for your brain? When you put together a thousand piece puzzle.
Can you believe that reality television has actually been around since 1948? Most of us may have thought that this idea of real television just came about in the last decade but actually it’s been around for quite some time. In 1948 Candid Camera was the first reality show to be broadcasted on television. Many considered this to be the “granddaddy” of the reality TV genre (History of reality TV). This show actually began in radio broadcasting. Allen Funt was the man in charge of this whole new production. He started by simply taping complaints of men in service and broadcasting them over the Armed Forces Radio. This is what later became known as the television show, Candid Camera. Candid Camera was known for “catching people in the act of being themselves” (History of Reality TV). Funt passed away in 1999 and his son, Peter has now taken over for him to continue these series.
Television does much more then entertains its viewers. Reality shows has given the American people a bad reputation. The reality shows that Americans watch every day are also shown all over the world. For example, shows like Jersey Shore, The Real House Wives, Keeping up with the Kardashians, Hunny Boo Boo, and Duck Dynasty is representing Americans. The rest of the world sees Americans as childish, aggressive, spoiled, rich, dumb, disgusting, or/and as red necks.
...sold worldwide. This makes teenagers and other young adults do unruly things to try and gain their own spot in the limelight. Even though reality television is supposed to be this great source of entertainment and may make us happy at the moment, if not watched carefully and really thought about it could ruin someone’s life with its negative values.
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.
In interviews taken with Taya Flores, she discovered that critics say "verbal and relational aggression in these shows have an effect on viewers." As she was interviewing, she asked questions pertaining to the actions found in viewers who watched more aggressive reality television shows. The people who do watch these types of shows tend to imitate the behavior shown on screen, thus becoming more "dysfunctional" and "hostile" (Flores 1). Another article reiterates the fact that reality television does have an impact on behavior. This article states that violence will eventually be accepted as normal behavior if the viewer watches enough of that show (Thomas 1). If this isn 't concerning enough to the general public, then nothing will be. Effects of imitating the way actors behave on screen could have chaotic and disastrous effects. Civilians may lash out for no reason and may bring unnecessary attention to themselves. This type of behavior would eventually take a toll on a community 's peacefulness and would eventually crumple to a dangerous
I suspect that people's ability and willingness to take pleasure in such things may stem from the increasing separation we experience from others around us. The more distant we are from each other, individuals, the more readily we can selfishly bully each other and fail to experience sympathy and empathy when others around us suffer. The fact that we are witnessing events not in front of us but rather on television, where everything is an unreal and fictional air about. it, probably aids in this process as well. I'm not saying that you should never watch reality TV programming, but the motivations behind being a viewer are ethically suspect.
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).
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)
The creation of television broadcasting changed the way the world interacted, making it one of the most successful and important innovation. The Entertainment industry brought Reality TV to America, changing and evolving along with the changes in society. The concept of Reality TV is to show the struggles of real people or actors without scripts, surprising, and terrifying many of its viewers. The television content has changed over the years reflecting the changes in society; the Reality Shows are becoming more obscene, controversial, and competitive.
One of the main reasons for watching reality TV is to provide people with entertainment. To an extent, the majority of society has a desire to explore what goes on in the world around them. People like watching drama that occurs on public television. “Insults, temper tantrums, selfishness, gross behavior, and plain old stupidity- these are the main ingredients for most of today’s reality TV shows. Guess who is watching them? Millions of viewers just like you” (Cohen). “Viewers cannot seem to get enough of the torture, embarrassment, temptation, and above all, drama of other regular, everyday people being placed in unrealistic settings and manipulated for the world to see” (Pontius). These two quotes state that the reason that the majority of our society watches these shows, is that they are entertained by the supposed reality that is portrayed.