Can Reality Tv still be thought of as a genre give the high level of hybridity that exists?

Reality tv suggests that what is being shown is real. Within the genre of reality tv has an expansive universe of different types of shows ranging from drama shows detailing the lives of famous people as the audience follows them through their everyday lives, we see this in shows like ‘Keeping up with the Kardashians’ to dating shows like ‘Too Hot to Handle’ and ‘The Bachelor’. To having cooking shows that can either show competitions where people face off against each other in order to win a certain prize by competing in a kitchen setting, this can be seen in shows like ‘The Great British Bake off’ or shows about cooking/baking where the audience is getting a step by step guide to recipes and a guide to making new dishes, this is seen on shows kike ‘Jamie Oliver’ and ‘Nigella’. Then we have reality shows that are adventure based like Ice road Truckers’ where we follow dangerous driving and shows like ‘Survivor’ that are contestant shows that give everyday people to show off their skills and compete for prizes.

Reality shows come in many different shapes and sizes all coming down to the fact they are for entertainment purposes.

The hybridity of reality tv is a blurred line as technology advances and the community evolves with social media, current events and world views. Most tv shows fall into multiple categories within society as genres can be mixed matched from any viewpoint as people experience and react to things differently. The idea of reality tv is to entertain the audience, yet this is mixed with factual ideas when shows with cooking and talk shows are introduced, where the audience is no longer mind numbingly paying attention and are now learning about subjects from the shows they are watching (UKessays, 2018).

Looking at reality tv and its genre we have to look at the idea that reality tv is showing what we understand is real, this can be concerned as real situations that people can find themselves in and reality shows can often show ways in which we can overcome situations. We can see evidence of this in shows like ‘Can’t Pay? We’ll Take it Away’, where debt collectors round up people who are overdue on payments and have been sent by the courts to seize assets to be able to liquidate for the amount owed. This is educating people on what happens when you get yourself into a situation such as this, that is more common than people originally believe. Then there is the opposite side of the spectrum where reality shows are like survivor (Metz) where people compete to get a prize by battling it out in the wild and trying to survive. This is a show based for entertainment purposes and shows a situation that many people will not find themselves in yet both shows are classed as reality tv even with very different subgenres.

This leads me to believe that even with such a wide range of shows and subgenres the hybridity of reality tv is valid as it all ends up classed as entertainment for an audience to watch.

References:

UKEssays. (2018). Development of Reality TV Genre. Retrieved from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/media/development-reality-tv-genre-2961.php?vref=1

Metz, W.F. (n.d). How Reality Tv Works. HowStuffWorks. Retrieved From

https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/reality-tv.htm# Dunleavy, T. (2008). Hybridity in Tv Sitcom: The case of Comedy Verité. Flowjournal. Retrieved From https://www.flowjournal.org/2008/12/hybridity-in-tv-sitcom-the-case-of-comedy-verite%C2%A0%C2%A0trisha-dunleavy%C2%A0%C2%A0victoria-university-of-wellington%C2%A0/

Can reality tv still be thought of as a genre given the high level of hybridity that exists?

While the roots of reality television stretch back as far as early 20^th century documentary making, it is only since around the 1980s and 1990s (particularly for New Zealand) that it has grown into the beast that wider society knows it as today. In her essay Heroic endeavours: flying high in New Zealand reality television, Phillipa Smith writes of the history of reality television, both abroad and within New Zealand, ‘Rupert Murdoch’s launch of the Fox Television Network in the United States in the late 1980s in the newly deregulated and fiercely competitive broadcast environment of television saw the introduction of RTV that was not only cheap to produce, but also attracted attention through dramatic raw footage using newly developed technology such as satellite cameras and mini-cams.’ (Smith, 2013) These early television shows largely focused on true crime, such as shows like Cops that followed around American police forces.

However, in the almost forty years since, there has been much evolution within the stratosphere of reality television that does bring into question whether it can now all be considered one genre, or whether ‘reality television’ as we know it has really become not merely a multi-headed beast but something else entirely. Conventionally, there have been four main ‘types’ of television programming recognized: ‘Fact’, which covers such programming as news and documentaries; ‘Fiction’, covering feature films and fictional drama programming; ‘Entertainment’, which features real people and events but for the purpose of entertainment, such as game shows and talk shows; and ‘Advertisement’, with the aim of selling and increasing the desirability of certain commodities, such as commercials and infomercials. (Wood, 2004)

Reality television has already been identified as a unique hybrid of several, if not all of these modes of television programming. It has also been previously suggested that reality television could then de divided into ‘subgenres’ of theme, ‘everyday dramas of courage, talk about feelings and civic action’. As argued by Brennan Wood, however, ‘these thematic unities do not distinguish hybridized reality from many other sorts of television content’. (Wood, 2004)By it’s nature of blurring reality with fiction, to the point where the difference is unrecognizable to some, a reality television show focused around any of those themes can have a far different impact than a clearly fictional drama about the very same themes, or a news report on them, etcetera. As an example, one could compare the soap opera Coronation Street (1960-) to E! Network’s reality television show Keeping Up With the Kardashians (2007-). From a purely thematic point of view, both shows focus upon similar themes surrounding the drama of various relationships with family and friends, love and heartbreak and parenting. However, they are both wildly different in terms of aesthetics, audience, and, most importantly, reach and influence – Keeping Up With the Kardashians has turned the entire Kardashian-Jenner household into incredibly wealthy and powerful cultural influencers and celebrities, for better or for worse, which no star from Coronation Street, past or present, has come close to touching. This is a clear example of how further hybridized reality television shows are from even the fictional drama shows such as Coronation Street, and why there is a need for more in-depth classification of them.

However, television in general has changed in large amounts since the rise of reality television. More and more, there are television shows that focus on and blend themes and genres otherwise not seen together previously (such as The Good Place (2016-2020), a comedy series with a particular, if subtle focus on philosophies around life and death, and Sense8 (2015-2018), which combined a supernatural/sci-fi concept of interconnected humans with strong queer themes). There is also the problematic existence of ‘fake news’, such as what is seen on the Fox Network, which has heavily influenced world politics with ‘news reports’ heavily sensationalized to the point of being outright false. This then suggests that it is perhaps not just reality TV that has become increasingly hybridized, but television as a whole, and that the system through which we previously categorized and assessed television has become outdated and in need of an overhaul in the new, 24-hour, interconnected digital age.

References

Smith, P. (2013). Heroic endeavours: flying high in New Zealand reality television. In N. Lorenzo-Dus, & P. Garces-Conejos Blitvich, Real Talk: Reality Television and Discourse Analysis in Action (pp. 140-165). Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

Wood, B. (2004). A World in Retreat: The Reconfiguration of Hybridity in 20th-Century New Zealand Television. Media, Culture & Society, 45-62.

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

As I mentioned in previous blog Reality television has a wide range of areas which I cover from the competition today in the live shows. What I will be discussing in this blog I whether reality tv can still be thought of as a genre given the high level of hybridity that exists.

To begin one must first define the genre of reality television. However, as mentioned in my previous blog the definition of reality television is vague. Philippa smith “the only thing they have in common are the so-called “real people” doing real things. Rather than fictional people doing made-up stuff,” (Smith, 2020) at the same time Richard Kilborn’s definition of reality television “primary aim” was to showcase the shared experience or lived reality (Kilborn, 1994). If we focus on these definitions, then one can see very clear examples of this in the early years of reality television with shows like the early ’90s show real-world first few seasons. It followed regular people from different walks of life who moved into a house together and just lived their lives (Bunim, & Murray,1992) and in 1993 -1994 the series followed cast member Pedro Zamora an activist who opened up about his battle with HIV(Bunim, & Murray,1993). Zamora was a real person battling with a real disease, this was at the time the aids crisis was devastating America, having a person battling HIV and battling aids was something very educational as aids wasn’t a subject broached, the previous president of the US had slowly assisted in a time when fast action could save lives (Stack, 2018). So having an opening out a member of the LGBTQ community live his life allowed opportunity for education as well as providing empathy as it placed a face to the devastating crisis. Meaning it met the definition of Kilborn and Smith.

But as the years went by Reality television just as Philippa stated in the week 12 lecture “cannibalizing itself in order to survive” (Smith, 2020) and real word slowly lost its authenticity the later seasons being more criticised (Smith, 2020). Resulting in the almost spin-off show the challenge (Bunim, & Murray, 1998). An MTV series that would take cast members from other MTV series Like the real world. Something showing the cannibalization of reality television is the fact that many of the original members of the real world would then appear in the challenge series cast members to the point that the series second season title of the show title was Real World/ Road Rules where MTV stars from those two shows faced off against each other (Bunim, & Murray, 1999)  a complete example of hybridization. Blitvich and Lorenzo- Dus made a good point when they stated that “it started out as a genre, but it has certainly evolved into a discourse,” because of the differences between the shows catagorized under the genre reality television (Blitvich., & Lorenzo-Dus, 2013). It is reasonable to agree with this as while the real world began with the idea of people from varying background gathering together while living their semi-normal lives the challenge is a completely different environment far removed from the show that wanted to look at human interaction as contestants have admitted to being isolated from the real world and instead are in a compact space every couple of months with the same people, as often they rotate who participates in the season rather than introducing a new cast, with no real outside contact (Regalado, 2018). This isolating experience based around the idea of battling people you know for money is so different from the real world where quite a few of the cast members originated from. This difference provides an argument against the idea of reality television being a genre.

Yet at the very same time, a person can say the exact opposite. Because despite being so far apart in content each almost standing at opposites of its content is still very much adheres to the description of reality television. Both shows are different and yet both show real people doing real things most, both have a sense of relatability, the real world through the showing of humans awkwardly trying to live with strangers and the challenges this brings while the challenge depicts the struggles one goes through when trying to achieve the same goal.

It’s because of these points I find myself agreeing that reality television is vast with so much content to the point where cannibalization of content occurs resulting in programs that resemble little of what the origins were. However, I feel the core of reality television programs has not changed therefore it can still be a genuine genre.

Reference

Blitvich, P., & Lorenzo-Dus, N. (2013). Real Talk – Reality television and Discourse Analysis in Action. Basingstoke, UK; Palgrave Macmillan.

Bunim, M- E (creat), Murray, J (creat). (1999). Real-world/ road rules challenge [television]. The Challenge. United States: MTV

Bunim, M- E (creat), Murray, J (creat). (1992). Real world [Television]. United States: MTV

Bunim, M- E (creat), Murray, J (creat). (1993). Real-world: San Francisco [Television]. The Real World. United States: MTV

Regalado, M. (2018). 13 surprising things you never knew about myv’s ‘the challenge’ [Television]. retieved from https://www.insider.com/the-challenge-mtv-facts-2018-10

Smith, P (lec). (2020). Reality television part 2 [Lecture PowerPoint]. Retrieved from

Smith, P (lec). (2020). Reality television part 2 [Lecture recording]. Retrieved from

Stack, L. (2018). ‘He did not lead on aids’: with bush, activists see a mixed legacy. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/03/us/george-bush-hiv-aids.html

Can reality tv still be thought of as a genre given the high level of hybridity that exists?

“The analysis of hybridized television has centred on changes in the status of reality” (Wood, 2004). Producers are mixing with fiction and non-fiction elements creating questionable authenticity. This has made it complex in categorizing TV shows into their home genre. Reality Television is presenting signs of hybridity, they are manipulating, distorting and editing videos to capture the attention of their audience. It is difficult to catergorize Reality TV as non-fiction, even though it insists it is ‘unscripted’ and ‘real’. The genuine amount of footage is unknown, thus viewers question if what they are viewing is authentic. Wood (2004) explains that hybridizations is “true stories” that bases the use of fiction upon fact or diversions that create entertaining content.

According to Wood (2004), television can be divided into four modes: Fact, fiction, entertainment and advertising. Factual programming presents shows such as ‘the news’, information that is factual and reliable to believe. Fiction programming consists of drama and films etc., things that are imaginary and not true. Entertainment programming includes game shows and talk shows etc., conveying a theatrical aspect. Advertisement programming comprises of commercials that are marketing to promote or sell. (Wood, 2004. p. 47).

Wood (2004) presents four characteristic hinges that turn the above modes upon each other: Re-enactment, diversion, absorption and infomercial. Re-enactments are defined as external world events, diversions portray displaying the individual as themselves, absorption refers to extreme situations combining facts and reality with fiction to create bigger impact, infomercials are programme long that advertise a product. Each of these use the four modes of television producing unique content.

In a South Korean reality TV show called “I live alone” a lot of hybridity can be discovered. It is very unique as it is a reality TV show within another Reality TV show. The programme focuses on the lives of a multiple individuals that live alone. Then once the shooting and producing is done they all meet together in a room where cameras all set up and the watch the episode together. The video cuts back and forth to scenes of them living alone back to scenes where they are watching and commenting on the episode with the other individuals and also jumps into confessional footage cuts. Footage scenes are added, deleted, juggled around, and also re-explained. A lot of time and effort is taken editing to create an episode that will entertain the audience.

I think that reality TV can still be though of as genre. However, when referring to reality tv it would be useful if people used sub-genres like romance, crime, informational, reality-drama, competition/game, and talent to separate the different contents. By doing this, people will be able to decide what type of reality Tv they would like to watch and it will be easier for them to to distinguish authenticity and the level of hybridity used.

References:

Wood, B. (2004) A World in Retreat: The Reconfiguration of Hybridity in 20th-Century New Zealand Television. Media, Culture & Society, 26(1), 45-62. doi:10.1177/0163443704039709

1. 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.

Reality television emerged from the rise of documentaries becoming popular forms of media in the middle of the 20^th century. Film makers wanted to create something more artistically refreshing, disillusioned by the conventions which cinema had acquired in the wake of bog Hollywood movies. Cinema had become very glamorized and over exaggerated, thus fuelling creators to develop a desire to be candid. They wanted to show what the world was really like, turning away from the over fictionalised concepts of filmmaking. The subjects of these documentaries became ordinary people, showing the mundane, but often  simple beauty of their everyday lives.

 Once television became a popular medium, there was a larger demand for more programmes to be made. With this demand the expanse of the audience also needed to be accommodated to, as these documentaries were no longer just for a niche community who believed in counteracting the effects of cinema. With nine to five jobs becoming the most conventional way of life for most people in the middle of the 20^th century, watching television in the evening and on weekends became a very popular and relaxing form of entertainment. People often wanted to see programmes they could relate to, featuring the lives of people who were similar to them. The natural  curiosity about other people lives and the appeal of relatability is what created a platform for documentaries to evolve into reality television.

It was the 1990s and beginning of the 21^st century which set the scene for reality TV to become what it has today. The demand and popularity expanded the confines and boundaries of what could be created and the way it is marketed. Reality TV became a business of it’s own within the realm of the entertainment industry. This meant the producers felt they had to mould and orchestrate what they were creating in order to make it the most profitable. Reality TV still focused on portraying fact, but it became a more fictionalised and performative portrayal. People appearing in reality tv programmes have acquired fame and recognition and are known as reality television stars, receiving media coverage and public attention. The irony of reality tv birthing celebrities and causing media storms is the same glamorization that the original documentary makers were trying to counteract.

The 21^st century also brought the hybridization of reality television. With a much larger audience to cater to, more and more reality television  programmes were made, touching on many different themes and fields of interest. “As many commentators have argued, however, over the latter part of the 20th century its content increasingly departed from any such sense of the mundane. These departures were signalled in particular by the advent of hybridizations that cut across the categories into which programming is customarily divided. Television’s cultural forms have lost their former rigidity and are increasingly confounded.” There are so many different types of reality tv programmes, including shows about emergency services, game shows, talk shows, docu-soaps, docu-soap surveillance, survival shows, dating shows and the list goes on. One of the main dividing aspects about all these shows is how much they are based on fact and how fictionalized they are. Because of all the different fields of interest subcategories and subgenres, it is impossible to define reality television as one genre.

References :

Wood, B. (2004) A World in Retreat: The Reconfiguration of Hybridity in 20th-Century New Zealand Television. Media, Culture & Society, 26(1), 45-62. doi:10.1177/0163443704039709

Can reality tv still be thought of as a genre given the high level of hybridity that exists?

Wood (2004) discovers the significantly increased confounding in contemporary cultures of the reality tv programme. More specifically, contemporary tv programme contains many cross-categories contents compared with its former forms and cultures, what was not allowed to combine is now allowed to unite and verse-visa (Wood, 2004). Thus, scholars start discussing whether need to identified contemporary tv programme as a new form of genre or sub-genre. To begin, define the various genres that have been applied in reality programme is an essential procedure due to the reality programme is intertextual construction (Wood, 2004). According to Wood (2004), the television programme can be divided into four conventional modes: Fact, fiction, entertainment and advertisement. Fact programme features factual televisions, “…documentaries, news, current affairs practical advice shows and religious broadcasts” (Wood, 2004. p. 47), for example. Fiction programme features “drama, feature film and some forms of comedy.” (Wood, 2004. p. 47). Entertainment programme features “game shows, musical acts, talk shows, variety programmes, broadcast sport and some forms of comedy.” and advertisement features to market products (Wood, 2004. p. 47).

This type of programme evolved with changes and feedback from its audiences. When the reality tv programme emerged in New Zealand, most of the feedback was negative to criticize that the programme was cheap and superficial. However, it has become the top programme in New Zealand and even represents more forms, talent shows, dating shows and cooking shows, for example (Hill, 2005). Thus, it is difficult to divide reality tv programme from the aforementioned elements due to the necessity of blending in reality programme. From my perspective, this type of programme is the “melting pot” of different genres and cultures due to it contains comprehensive contents from citizens’ daily life and changes in humans’ society. Thus, it is certainly a high level of hybridity. However, Wood (2004. p. 58) asserts that “A portmanteau term encompassing diverse types of programming, reality TV has proved difficult to define.”. Hence, the specific ideology and concept may not be able to describe and create. 

References

Lorenzo-Dus, N., & Blitvich, P. (2013). Real Talk – Reality television and Discourse Analysis in Action. Basingstoke, UK; Palgrave Macmillan.

Wood, B. (2004) A World in Retreat: The Reconfiguration of Hybridity in 20th-Century New Zealand Television. Media, Culture & Society, 26(1), 45-62. doi:10.1177/0163443704039709

According to Wood (2004) since 20^thcentury, sorting tv shows into categories or genres are becoming more complex, as there are “advent of hybridizations that cut across the categories into which programming is customarily divided.” Television are losing their rigidity and becoming increasingly confounded of its traditional culture form, as things that were separated began to mixed and changing. Usually television content got sorted into types, categories or genres, which were developed from film studies. The basic types of television modes are fact, fiction, entertainment and advertisement, however new analysis found that things have change, with hybridization. “Television’s generic system shows an increasing tendency towards hybridisation and reflexiveness” (Wood, 2004). 

Reality tv are showing hybridity, which means that they are mixing of television types and styles that previously segregated the area of fiction and non-fiction. It become a problem of whether reality tv can still be though of as a genre when there is such high level of hybridity. Traditionally, non-fiction and fact are about reality with referential detail such as News, while fiction is about the imaginative world such as the fantasy novels and films Harry Potter. However, many reality tv shows use elements of fiction in the reality or non-fiction and fact mode, mixing and blurring the different of fiction and none-fiction modes. 

Example of hybridity in reality tv shows are Game documentary tv show ‘Survivor’, a game show where ordinary people being put into unreal situation, forcing to cope without the modern comforts. Because of the lack of real driven narrative, the show introduced the idea of voting the contestant of the show. Another example is Docudrama, ‘Cathy Come Home’ (1996), a scripted show but were represented in a way that appears like real life event. It was successful and effective although it was scripted and not reality.

According to Wood (2004) Dauncey (1996) believe that the mid 1990s reality tv programmes, specifically the French reality tv shows,“had become ‘increasingly resistant to a cataloguing based on programme format’.” He suggests dividing reality tv genre into the everyday dramas, include courage, talk about feelings and civic action. However, Wood argues that there is problem with this, as Dauncey’s thematic unities does not really differentiate hybridized reality from other types of TV content. The analysis through genre and thematic fail to differentiate hybridized as they only succeed in normalizing the hybrid, they did not consider the categorical crossing which defines the hybrid content. 

More studies are needed in order to distinct types of reality TV and the hybridity, it is impossible to do this by just looking only at the show itself. The understanding of where the shows are from, the reason it was produced and the certain way it is being represent, are needed. 

References:

Wood, B. (2004) A world in Retreat: The Reconfiguration of Hybridity in 20^th-Century New Zealand Television. Media Culture Society. http://doi.org/10.1177/0163443704039709