- Can reality tv still be thought of as a genre given the high level of hybridity that exists?
Reality TV today is far from its name, considering the emergence of several of its subgenres that have begun to blur the distinction between authenticity and traditional television programs. Various plots, styles, and situations are crossbred to create hybrid programs in reality TV which confound the attempt to singularise reality TV as a popular genre (Hill, 2005; Wood, 2004). Reality television that ranges from lifestyle to game shows are known as unscripted programs. However the mix and match of such programs also raises the question of whether or not such hybrid televised programs are credible.
The emergence of reality TV was initially concerned with portrayal of ordinary life situations; with time the genre developed subcategories such as factual programming, fictional programming, entertainment, and advertisement (Wood, 2004). Characteristics of each create a distinct world in which events take place; with such differences can the origin of hybridization in reality television be recognised (Wood, 2004). Kilborn (1994) also defines hybridised reality TV as ‘a hybrid mix of presenter talk, verité material, dramatic reconstruction and various forms of audience participation’. The conjuring of real situations accounts for losing details that prove authenticity, and with time this genre has witnessed intense hybrid versions of televised reality (Wood, 2004). It is argued by Wood (2004) that televised reality as a genre have merged traditional subgenres in order to sustain media sensationalism and survive in the transient nature of traditional television. With the change in peaks in television programming, reality TV has transformed into sites of pure entertainment, such as re-enactments, which are dramas based on ‘real’ people, and diversions that show ‘unseen’ footages of occupational and domestic lifestyles of elite or celebrities (Wood, 2004).
Factual programming in modern day reality television has changed from simple broadcast of news, current affairs, and documentaries to name a few, to imaginative portrayals that digress from factual information and rely more on features in event that have the potential to elicit public response and demand (Wood, 2004). Fictional programming consists of characters and a world within its own confines; its events are conjured to mirror reality (Wood, 2004). Entertainment as a hinge has taken over the aforementioned subgenres, and variations in modern reality TV tend to structure around the element of entertainment. Lastly with advertisements, the traditional form of its television are simple 30-60 seconds of marketing a product (Wood, 2004). On the contrary, modern hybridisation has caused a change in the manner of marketing products on air; the birth of infomercials encompass more elements of pleasure and testimonials about the product rather than factual discourse of the product (Wood, 2004).
It would seem futile to attempt to singularise reality television into a definable genre, as we can see multiple origins of its hybridisation that have confounded critics and analysts. Nonetheless reality television remains at the top with other televised programs and would perhaps continue to incorporate elements of reality.
References
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
Wood, B. (2004). A world in retreat: the reconfiguration of hybridity in 20th-century New Zealand television. Media, Culture & Society, 26(1), 45-62.
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