The Reality Of Television Shows Influences The Politics And The Culture Essay

Reality TV promotes dangerous stereotypes by presenting groups of people in a negative way, having offensive material that uneducated individuals can misinterpret. One way we can make stereotypes dangerous is by avoiding certain groups of people due to our perception of them,

"Reality TV is set up to make people entertaining. A good person with values and principles is not good television" a quote by Ronda Rousey a mixed martial arts artist. Many people believe or want to believe that reality tv is true, but many other people avoid it for the fact that it is obviously fake. I personally don't watch reality tv but for the sake of this essay, I watched a few episodes of many television series to see and determine what I think about them. The point of this essay is to prove how fake reality tv is and I have succeeded in accomplishing that. Most of the reality shows have the camera crew all up in people's business or "secret" cameras placed in which people don’t know about them yet keep

In Katha Pollitt 's essay entitled "The Hunger Games ' Feral Feminism," Pollitt writes about what reality television might look like if taken to extremes. Reality television is a huge part of our culture today, and I not only agree with Pollitt 's views and ideas of what reality TV would look if taken to the extremes, but I believe that we have already gotten to that point. Today 's reality TV shows such as "Keeping up with the Kardashians", "The Bachelorette" or any of the "Real Housewives" are among many of today 's popular shows that focus on extreme aggression, bullying, physical beauty, and sex appeal. These TV shows teach us that it is not only ok to compromise morals and values, but that type of behavior accepted and rewarded. In today 's age, reality TV generally has to go negative and go to the extreme in order for it to be interesting despite the lasting impact that it may have on viewers. Reality TV has an impact on the values of their viewers and alters how they may perceive real-life situations. Therefore, it 's important to take a look at some of the standards portrayed by reality TV.

While they are both big families, they are very different. Keeping Up With The Kardashians is an American reality TV show about a crazy and loud blended family. This television show documents every part of their lives, from the silly random moments, to the most intimate ones. Since this family is living

Reality show characters are often shown in embarrassing situations and their personal matters are publicized to the world. The research found that frequent viewers of reality TV highly value revenge, competition, and achieving status and prestige (Mendible, 2004, p. 336). Mendible further discussed reality television’s strategic use of humiliation as a form of entertainment to draw in viewers (Mendible, 2004). With constant exposure to media images, audiences may be influenced by the television show’s values and subliminal messages. People use reality television as an informational tool to “people watch” and observe what is socially acceptable or not (Tyree, 2011, p. 397). The problem with using television to observe and decipher social norms with is that reality shows are not actually based on real events.

Reality TV has been programmed to “over-dramatize”. This is because some of the shows that involve drama lack a reality that attracts people to learn lessons. Many reality TV shows such as “Love and Hip-Hop”, “Bad Girls Club”, and “Basketball Wives” are targeted for a predominately African-American audience. However, those shows continue to represent the

The invention of the television has had an impact on all aspects of American's lives. It has affected how we work, interact with others, and our foreign relations. One part of American society that it has especially affected is presidential elections. Television has impacted who is elected and why they were elected. Since the 1960's television has served as a link between the American public and presidential elections that allows the candidate to appear more human and accountable for their actions; consequently this has made television a positive influence on presidential elections. But it has also had a negative affect on elections, making presidential candidates seem like celebrities at times and making it easier to publicize mistakes

The negative stereotypes that are shown among viewers in reality television shows are black women. The capitalism and consumerism makes headway, since many people are watching these reality shows, which creates high ratings and cast members are getting paid; for acting out which formulate viewers to make stereotypes about black women that can be humorous to the audience (Skeggs, 2005). Cultural capital is becoming increasingly significant in making workers more 'enterprising' more valuable, in terms of giving people more of a capacity of internalizing who are the people that are acting “abnormal.”

In order to fit in to society, some people may modify their own actions based on the perceived reality of the TV show. It is easy to reality TV programs and the way they are perceived, could affect society as a whole.

There is also the argument that reality TV actually exposes others to different perspectives and cultures, and also teaches to debunk stereotypes. “Thanks to reality shows like Shahs of Sunset, Princesses: Long Island and Keeping Up with the Kardashians, I learn all about different cultures and perspectives.” “ The Robertson family struck a chord with millions of Americans through Duck Dynasty, which avoids hicksploitation and focuses on good,clean family values. ”(Gennis). The opposition seems to overlook the countless stereotypes forced upon minorities through reality programs.

     It is 8:30 Monday night and the whole family is in the living room watching the Fox network’s primetime hit “Ally McBeal”. Suddenly, just after the program resumes after a painstakingly long commercial break, you see a man and a woman lying in bed talking to each other after having a night of hot, passionate sex. You look down and see your ten year old son or daughter lying on the floor just staring at the TV, taking it all in. You begin channel surfing, and end up on channel 3, CBS. There is a brand new sitcom being aired called “Some of My Best Friends”. Almost immediately after you and your family begin viewing this program, two men, both proclaiming to be gay, begin kissing and embracing each other.

This research will focus on the negative impact of reality TV and analyse facts and examples of influence from reality TV shows. The information provided and studies are referred from year 2000 till present hence it will be based on most recent popular reality TV shows.

1. Most girls will do whatever it takes to be skinny and look like the stars that weigh 100 pounds "...the media influence on the cultural phenomenon of dieting and the perfect body. “Commercials and reality TV shows make you feel bad about yourself so you buy into the fad," Cohn said. The diet industry earns $50 billion each year on diet pills, and $8.4 billion is spent every year on cosmetic surgery. Women -- and men, Cohn stressed -- want to be thin, because large men and women are ridiculed" (Demmel). Eating disorders continues to be problem among young girls because of their role models. Girls on reality TV shows have that 'perfect' body and girls what to be everything like them.

As one is watching their favorite television series, it is quite common for it to be interrupted with previews of new and upcoming shows. A particular preview catches one’s eye, so a mental note is made to watch the premier thinking that it will be great. The time finally arrives; the series premier. Unfortunately, it ends up that the show isn’t anything like what was anticipated. What happened? Strictly based on what was seen in the preview, it was predicted that the new television show was going to be great. In many instances, however previews are just a glimpse into the whole picture, as a way to get individuals motivated to watch. It wasn’t until the actual premier of the show was watched that one had enough information to establish the reality that it wasn’t in line with what was predicted. Just like this example, predictions are made about individuals as well, some may actually fall in line with what the reality is, yet some can just leave a perception which doesn’t mean its reality.

Can T.V. shows be the reflection of our society or influence the behavior of the members of our community? Since 1936 when television broadcasting begin, it priority was to inform and to entertain our society; subsequently, a massive amount of rules and regulations were created to control the material presented in TV, which principal goal was to safeguard the moral and ethical standards of it time. Nevertheless, from its beginning to the present home entertainment television standards contents have change; likewise, the moral an ethics values of our society have change and continuing changing from generation to generation. TV shows from the 50’s, 80’s, and the present exposed many changes in the way human role are exposed, the language