Can reality tv still be thought of as a genre given the high level of hybridity that exists?
Reality TV first emerged throughout the late 19th century and is ever changing with the amount of different categories that it is made up of. Reality tv is described as a genre that is made up of many other components which is why many people would call it a hybrid genre. The question that comes up when thinking of reality TV is, can it still be considered its own genre even though it has a high level of hybridity. Reality tv is commonly made up of two existing genres known as fiction and non-fiction. A lot of the time, reality tv is known to sell the idea that most of its shows are based around the truths of life and the people on these shows are supposed to be real instead of being actors. The reason that reality tv seems to be increasingly popular today is because many of the viewers watching see it as a factual experience that is non-scripted. Hill (2007) says that reality tv was renamed to reality entertainment and is more related to the factual end of the realism spectrum.
According to Wood (2004), television is separated into four different categories known as Fact, Entertainment, Fiction and Advertisement. Fact refers to television shows that share factual evidence such as the news and documentaries. Entertainment refers to a theatrical type of reality where people act as ‘themselves’ throughout. Examples of entertainment are singing shows, game shows and many different talk shows. Fiction refers to television shows that are primarily for the imagination of the audience and examples of these include drama and different forms of comedy. The fourth and final category is advertisement and this refers to short commercials that are shown in between the actual shows; these advertisements are supposed to entice the audience to buy them (Wood, 2004).
Wood (2004) explains that many professionals look at the hybridity of television as a corresponding genre. This would mean that even though reality tv is looked at as a hybrid of other genres, it should still be considered as its own genre. When looking at television categories, most people would consider reality tv its own genre along with drama and comedy. In the world today, there exists a vast amount of hybridity throughout many different media platforms, but just because hybridity tells us it is more than one thing, does not mean it can not still be classified as a genre. Aslama and Pantti (2006) describe reality tv as a complex concept that is made up of subcategories and different television programs, but although complex, it can still be considered its own genre even if it is a vast range of categories.
References
Aslama, M., & Pantti, M. (2006). Talking alone: Reality TV, emotions and authenticity. European journal of cultural studies, 9(2), 167-184.
Hill, A. (2007). Restyling factual TV: Audiences and news, documentary and reality genres. Routledge.
Wood, B. (2004). A World in Retreat: The Reconfiguration of Hybridity in 20th-Century New Zealand Television. Media, Culture & Society. DOI: 10.1177/0163443704039709
Pop Genres 2020 