1. How real is reality TV?
Reality TV is often questioned for its authenticity. Ranging in subgenres and such as sports, technology, survival, competitions, and social environments to name a few, reality TV is known to be televised around people’s lives. Thanks to media sensationalism, reality TV in the twenty-first century revolves more around dramatized scenarios and footage of participants in apparent ‘structured situations’(Hill, 2005). The emergence of reality tv circa 1950s were subgenres of documentaries, game shows, and crime shows. Until 1980s reality TV remained true to its name before it become a global sensation. In the early 2000s, novel subgenres such as docusoaps, dating shows, and celebrity-like series, as a mixture of American and European cultures, emerged which began to blur the line between the real and the fake. This indistinction led to audiences and critics questioning the popular genre’s credibility.
The factor of authenticity in reality tv lies in its structure and audience perception (Hill, 2005). Key attributes of reality tv include unscripted dialogues between actors, on camera and off camera which is captured through surveillance on sets (Biressi & Nunn, 2005). Much of the situations that are captured live are oftentimes dramatized; simple scenarios such as disagreements between participants are dramatically enhanced with exaggeration of tone and intensity in dialogue delivery (Killborn, 1994). Another factor that contributes to the apparent ‘realness’ is structured environments. Programs such as Big Brother and Temptation Island place participants in simulations in order to test cooperation and compatibility (Bell-Jordan, 2008; Escoffery, 2014). Under the subgenres alike crime, technological, and medical programming, for example Diesel Brothers, Mythbusters, Hoarders to name a few, footages are often authentic as real life issues and challenges are captured and people of the show attempt to solve or apply techniques to approaching an issue (Killborn, 1994; Parton, 2018).
Critics have often approached Reality TV with arguments that probe with foundations of various programming. Bell-Jordan (2008) argues that modern reality TV programmes have become breeding grounds for dispute between participants, which contribute to the apparent display of ‘realness’. More grave than the heightened drama is the representation of struggle and disagreements that occur when participants cohabit; the site of negative situations become a language, or a type of perceived reality for young viewers (Bell-Jordan, 2008; Biressi & Nunn, 2005). Mundane interactions are often over edited or the passing of time in situations are cut short to intense moments, as producers often emphasise that the factor of civility is removed to expose the ‘truth’ of human life under cohabitation (Bell-Jordan, 2008). Audience perception is key possibility throughout modern reality programs as they indirectly invite audience judgment and inference into certain situations that are set up (Killborn, 1994). One example is Crimewatch UK, wherein crime scenes held in public are dramatically heightened to elicit public response; this attribute can also be known as experimentation as actors of the show interact with the oblivious public to witness true and unscripted reactions (Killborn, 1994).
Modern Reality TV is constantly critiqued for its portrayal of over glamorous lives of participants despite the attempt to display ‘real’ scenarios. Moreover, many such programs have become sites of unnecessary disputes that are overtly distressing for viewers, but are still on the run as drama attracts attention from the viewing public.
References
Bell-Jordan, K. E. (2008) Black.White. and a Survivor of The Real World: Constructions of Race on Reality TV. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 25(4), 353-372. doi: 10.1080/15295030802327725
Biressi, A. & Nunn, N. (2005). Real Lives, documentary approaches. In Reality TV: realism and revelation. (pp. 35-58) London: Wallflower.
Escoffery, D. S. (Ed.). (2014). How real is reality TV?: Essays on representation and truth. McFarland.
Hill, A. (2005). Reality TV: Audiences and popular factual television. Routledge.
Kilborn, R. (1994). ‘How real can you get?’: Recent developments in ‘reality’ television. European Journal of Communication, 9(4), 421-439. doi: 10.1177/0267323194009004003
Parton, J. (2018). 8 fakest reality shows. https://screenrant.com/reality-tv-shows-fake-real/
Pop Genres 2020 