Reality TV is referring to television show or programs genre, shows that are unscripted, documenting real people in real situations, so not fictional and no professional actors.
According to Kilborn (1994) TV shows started to get group into this ‘Reality Programming’ genre in 1980s. No matter if its fictional shows or factual shows, television has become a lot more into notion of realist enterprise. The audience has also seemingly gain insatiable desired for ‘real life’ TV shows. Reality TV shows have a wide range of human activities, which are the basic elements of this genre, the main point of this is that the audience should be able to always relate to things that there are watching or seeing on screen. As this is the appeal of this genre, the sense that the things they are watching can happened to them or people whom are sitting at home watching the show. “Thus, those candid camera sequences featuring members of the public caught in compromising or embarrassing situation are popular with viewers” (Kilborn, 1994, p. 424). This not just because they find it funny but because they know have the sense that they could be perhaps become the next star of the show. Example of Reality TV shows are documentary, competition and survival shows, etc.
There are many types of different format, content or certain feature of the Reality TV shows, but they all has the same claims that their show are the authenticity real life situation and event. However, reality TV shows might not be as ‘REAL’ as they want the viewers and audience to believed. Sometimes viewers were deceived due to the techniques and the technologies the shows used, as traditional cinema and television makers set the way viewers perceive reality on screen. Such as if the camera technique being used is ‘hand held’ or technologies being used is hidden camera, then can deceive viewers to presume what ever they are seeing on screen as real.
According to Parton (2018), reality TV shows that are not ‘real’ is ‘Matchmaker’ and ‘Love island’. ‘Matchmaker’ is a Canadian dating show, where people meet and go on blind date, and decide if they hit it off or not. Behind the scene. DomashnaRakija a Reddit website user claimed their cousin were on the show, they actually met with their soon to be ‘blind date’ before the camera began rolling, and producers tell them what they should do. Questions and answers which should be from the people on the show were not, it was scripted by the producers as well. ‘Love island’ is quite like ‘Survival’ show, but people were forced to couple up for romance, money and opportunity, even dialogue were scripted.
So, reality TV are not always about real people in real-life situations, as many shows are scripted and being manipulate by producers, to make sure their get the product that is what the audience want, even though they had to fake it.
References:
Kilborn, R. (1994). `How Real Can You Get?’: Recent Developments in `Reality’ Television. European Journal of Communication. http://doi.org/10.1177/0267323194009004003
Parton, J. (2018, February 16). 8 Fakest Reality Shows (And 8 That Are Totally Real). Screen Rant. https://screenrant.com/reality-tv-shows-fake-real/
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