Real but Not Really: the Reality Tv Genre

While reading the journal Reality Bites: An Investigation of the Genre of Reality Television and Its Relationship to Viewers’ Body Image researchers utilized a unique methodological approach, this study investigated subtypes of reality television (RTV) to study the influence of exposure to RTV on body image (body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness) as compared a more traditional weekly report of RTV viewing. Young adults (N ¼ 472) completed online surveys measuring their exposure to Reality TV and perceptions of their own body image. Four types of RTV were uncovered. Regression analyses using these 4 factors demonstrated that exposure to competition-based RTV shows (e.g., Dancing with the Stars) predicted increased body dissatisfaction and drive for thinness. On the other hand, the weekly self-report of RTV viewing did not reveal any relationships between weekly exposure to RTV and body image. These findings underline the need for cultivation-based media studies that include program-based measures of genre-specific media exposure, especially when seeking to capture media effects related to RTV.

There isn’t one single reality television show or reality t.v. show star in particular that is stereotyped to a typical standard, though as reality television stars gain more popularity and try to build their brands, to have the perfect body is often the stereotype that all genders go through. Transsexual and transgendered celebrities have also spoke about the necessity to display the perfect body because they were born men, and have to exceed women, when speaking about beauty, just to fit in. Everyone loves to use the Kardashians as an example so why not. Kim Kardashian from Keeping Up With The Kardashians is known for her “perfect hour glass figure” with large breasts, a tiny waist, and bigger-than-average booty (and yes I said booty!). She is regarded as many for having the perfect body, and other women have felt the pressure to emulate her body in order to achieve the same vanity appeal.

Papacharissi and Mendelson (361) examine the notion of gratification among the audience watching reality television shows. They establish that apart from the one-off entertainment viewers get, they also gratify their psychological and social traits. Reality shows make use of ordinary people in doing extraordinary things such as surviving in harsh conditions, winning large sums of money, overcoming extreme fears among others. When ordinary people watch the actions of the participants, it becomes much easier for them to relate to them as their own representatives. Aslama and Pantti say that the shows resemble the political arena where the public vote in representatives to act on their behalf in the great stage of the nation (181).

Lastly, reality TV shows allow competitors, and the viewers realize this, to break out of their mundane lives for a brief stay in the spotlight before returning to their relative anonymity. In conclusion, the idea that these contestants are normal people, who continue living their lives after the show ends, gives viewers the belief and hope that they too have the chance to become something new. While reality TV is not real, the characters and the hope for change they create are real. Heidecker focuses on the story behind the characters on reality TV, but her reasoning behind the contestants’ lives after the show ends is flawed, which, in turn, makes her strongest point be unsound. As Heidecker states, “They [the contestants] are folks who (probably) want another life--who are taking a momentary swing at something beyond their everyday lives” (144-145).

So where did this idea of reality TV come from? How many kinds of different reality TV are out there and why is this is

Also, in many cases, the characters used in these shows are not ordinary individuals, but highly paid actors that simply recite scripts. Clearly, these shows are inaccurately labeled as “reality television,” and many individual’s time is wasted as a result. Time for many is very valuable. Wasting a person’s time because of an inaccurate description could be just as detrimental as wasting a person’s money because of an inaccurate description. Many people watch these shows to view real life situations, but what they are really viewing is the complete opposite. This cultivates confusion about what is real and what is fake.

Among the risky messages that reality television conveys is the importance of body image over ability and the complete obsolescence of education. The hit show ‘Beauty and the Geek’, is promoting the fact that it is ok if you are a ‘dumb’ blonde, because you can go onto their show and become rich and famous overnight. In fact to enter the show you need to be a high school drop out with an intellectual level lower than eighty. This promotes the uselessness of education, which would create for a really unknowledgeable group of teenagers. Reality television sends out the message to its viewers that the key to success relies solely on your image, and very little on your ability. On many shows like ‘American Idol’ and ‘Masterchef’, the contestant who proves to be the most competent loses out to another contender who has a trendier image. No one ever has the true full package that the reality shows claim to have, it is all just an illusion of reality. How can we let the media get away with

Television is no doubt playing a vital role in our lives. Today, almost every home has a television. One of the most popular genres of television programme is the reality TV. Ever since 1950s, Reality TV has evolved from radio game show and talent show to hidden camera show to dating show to documentary-style series. The genre now include unscripted dramas, makeover sagas, celebrity exposes, lifestyle-change shows, dating shows, talent show and just about any kind of possible competition. Now, reality shows are all over the peak viewing time slots on major networks and cable channels. In any night, you can watch “America’s Got Talent," "Dancing with the Stars," "Survivor," "American Idol," "The Amazing Race," "The

One study has shown good responses to a reality program relating to cosmetic surgery. Results indicated that the participants viewed the program positively and endorsed the importance of physical attractiveness. They also believed the psychological benefits and entertainment value it can bring to the reality TV show (Charlotte N, 2012). This proves that physical appearance does

TV reality shows have led to a moral decay. When reality TV shows, show people suffering and expect their audience to be entertained, it shows that they are encouraging people to continue suffering so that they can get airplay. At times, people watch these shows just for sympathy with the people, with no intentions to help them. It seems more immoral for production companies to express

To quote Matt Philbin, managing editor of the MRC Culture & Media Institute, “the problem with much of reality TV is that it isn’t about real people or reality at all. These are highly scripted, performed shows, ‘written’ like a piece of fiction and as such they need the classic conflict-driven characters and soap opera melodrama.”

It seems that you can’t turn on a television set anymore without a reality show being on. All networks have recently started to pump out reality shows left and right. And why wouldn’t they? Reality shows are highly rated, with three of them being in the top ten on the Nielsen ratings chart. In fact, these shows are becoming more popular than the sitcoms and dramas aired. New sitcoms and dramas struggle to get attention of the public when going against a reality show. Programs such as The Beast and Go Fish, which critics loved and raved about, are victims of the wrath of reality shows. These shows are now cancelled.

The cultural phenomenon ‘Reality Television (TV)’ has become an increasingly popular genre of television since its paroxysm onto the airwaves in 1945. The term ‘Reality Television’ can be defined as the genre of entertainment that documents the lives of ‘ordinary’ individuals through the exhibition of allegedly unscripted real-life scenarios, despite inquisitive inquiries disclosing Reality TV to entail facets of script. The primary objective of Reality TV is purely to entertain the audience. This genre of television is appealing to viewers due to its entertainment principle/value, the audience’s competency to correlate to the characters and their situations, and the contingency it presents for escapism and voyeurism. We can capitalise the Australian appropriation of the American popular dating Reality TV show ‘The Bachelor’ as a tool to further comprehend the purpose and appeal of Reality television. The postulations of media’s obligations to society in contrast to their current actions and media as a mirror to society - the normative theory, can also be utilised as an implement to apprehend Reality TV. Through the strict analysis of ‘ The Bachelor’ and the employment of the normative theory, the purpose and appealing factor of Reality TV can be deeply examined.

Today’s audience grabs hold of reality TV now a day. Looking forward week to week to watch these unscripted real life situation shows. In a way it 's becoming increasingly hard to avoid not watching. Some viewers see the TV show and tend to be attention seekers, and reality TV allows them to fantasize about achieving status through instant fame. Too much reality TV may lead viewers to idealize real world situations, like romanticizing dating. Like when Truman saw the girl in the library who was an actress and a fan of the show. He wanted to take her out sometime later that week, but she said it couldn’t happen because she knows what’s going on, but she had true love for him and asked to go out with him right then on a little date to the beach. As they went to the beach she was going to spill the beans and tell him everything. Then a man of the show in a car drove there to stop her acting like her father to get her before she ruined the show. It’s like most reality TV love shows on today people who audition for a show and know it’s scripted, but end up actually having a real feeling for the person.

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