blog eleven

How real is reality tv?

The reality programme is particularly popular in contemporary cultures due to its entertainment purposes. However, how many people know that that popular reality tv programme is blended with facts and fiction? The original reality tv programme is from the United States in 1987, and soon the advantages of these types of tv programme have been discovered (Kilborn, 2011). Firstly, in views of commercial investment, the cost of production is cheap and thus companies do not need massive budget plans to start. Secondly, a large range of audiences. The competitive tv programme soon significantly increased between companies in the United States. According to Kilborn (2011), most reality tv programme does not follow the exclusive and planed footage due to the need to ensure that programme has adequate resources to attract viewers’ attention to follow their shows. More specifically, sufficient entertainment material is a crucial requirement for the contemporary reality tv programme, and this is also an imperative factor that caused many companies to collect resources from people and then pack and present it nowadays (Kilborn, 2011).

Advanced technologies also play a pivotal role in the development of tv programme. It upgrades the reality tv programme to a new era as hidden cameras and the ‘go-everywhere’ cameras devices can be concealed in clothes, small luggage and vehicle. This change due to the new electronic devices brings viewers to a new world that they rely on and trust the programme in terms of authenticity more than their friends and family.

Benefit from the advanced development of technologies, more ideas have been brought to the reality programme. More companies and directors started to blend facts and fictions within the programme for the strong entertainment result (Kilborn, 1994, as cited in Kilborn, 2011). However, several ethical issues arise as results. There are two main issues been identified: how have those material been obtained or collected, and how to ensure the safety and privacy of filed subject (victims) once the records went public. More sub-issues associate with these two main issues, private space for example. Countermeasures toward these issues are not given as companies have their defence system.

The author predicts more new types of reality programme will show with new technologies and designs, and low-cost high rating programme may continually occupy the mainstream programme (Kilborn, 2011). Finally, the author suggests audiences must not blind to face the fact that they need to recognize commercial and entertainment needs and requirements are the dominant factors to decide about what to make for the audiences.

References

Kilborn, K. (1994). `How real can you get?’: Recent developments in `reality’ television. European Journal of Communication, 9, 421-439. DOI: 10.1177/0267323194009004003