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MCJ 162 T Th 8 - 9: 15 Real But Not Really: The Reality TV Genre When Philo T. Farnsworth invented the electric television, he probably did not think that it would be used to show people eating bugs, finding husbands based on votes of viewers, or living on deserted islands. But that is exactly what you can see any given night on television now. This newest form of television programming fad is the reality television genre. Reality television is now on every station, every night, everywhere. The web page Fact Monster credits the beginning of reality TV as beginning around 2000 when a little reality game show called Who wants to be a Millionaire hit television screens.
Millionaire saw the rebirth of game shows but also started the most popular television genre in years. Some say that MTV's The Real World was the first popular reality based show, but until Millionaire there were no popular reality shows on networks or primetime. Fact Monster cites is CBS's survivor as the next show to that rose to TV stardom "boasting out-sized ratings, out-sized egos, out-sized personalities, and out-sized conflicts" where contestants are stranded on a desert island and kicked off one by one each week. As with anything that seems to get ratings, soon there were many knockoffs to follow. In 2001 reality TV continued to dominate the airwaves. Fact Monster refers to how "for the first time in eight years, NBC's "Must-See" Thursday night lineup did not reign in the ratings.
Survivor II: The Australian Outback consistently beat Friends. " In their article "'The Osbournes': Genre, Reality TV, and the Domestication of Rock 'n Roll" Rick Pieto and Kelly Otter define the reality TV genre, saying "that it is in essence one that finds its most valuable content in the unabashed display of individuals willing to be put on display as they part with their privacy, dignity, and composure. The genre is fairly clear, yet the formula in the shows varies so as to keep it fresh and increasingly bizarre to maintain its audience. Young women compete for a husband on camera by attempting to win the affection of a bachelor in six weeks; individuals compete for money by conquering their fears and consume live insects or allow themselves to be submerged under water for as long as possible; and couples test the strength of their relationships by subjecting themselves to the temptation of desirable strangers. Love, fear, and conflict provide the substance of a good story, and television producers have found a context in which drama is manufactured before a camera crew. " So although a formal definition cannot be put on reality television, it can be said that reality television is about watching people in some form of real life. Not actual reality, because actual reality is boring, and in actual reality people aren't eating weird stuff or living on desert islands. But these shows are a form of "reality" suitable to make fairly interesting TV.
When thinking about reality TV and its rise to popularity there are two shows that come to mind. The first is the creative Survivor. Survivor is an hour long show that came on in 2000 on Thursday nights at 9: 00 PM on CBS and quickly became one of the networks highest rated shows. Hosted by Jeff Post, the smug, good looking yet rugged host, the gimmick of Survivor is that 20 people are deserted in the wild in two groups that they call "tribes" and are forced to build shelter, provide food for themselves and then every week participate in a challenge to win immunity. Those who do not win immunity are then open to be voted off by the tribe. The final person to not get voted off receives 1 million dollars and fifteen minutes of fame.
Another show that helped cement the reality TV genre is NBC's Fear Factor, a usually half hour show which shows on any night where a push in the adult 18 - 49 demographic is needed. Fear Factor is the show that comes to mind when thinking of reality TV and eating. Joe Rogan hosts the show; a muscle bound semi-celebrity who is also on Comedy Central's The Man Show. He cheers contestants on with dares and masked insults on their bravery to keep them from giving up. Fear Factor's premise is that people participate in stunts that test their fears.
From jumping off high buildings to their staple of eating disgusting things, contestants compete to be the bravest, or at least the one with the strongest stomach. Prizes are awarded in cash and range from five thousand dollars to 1 million dollars on special edition shows. Because these programs were in the forefront of the reality television genre when it first caught on they not only fit the definition of reality TV, they helped form it. They show how reality TV shows are a form of reality because their dialogue is not scripted, however they also exemplify how they may be real in a way, however they do not mirror any actual persons reality.
For both Survivor and Fear Factor the most exciting moments are their challenges. From driving a car off a pier into the ocean on Fear Factor to going though an obstacle course while dragging pieces of a raft on Survivor, the most tense times usually come when contestants are participating in challenges. However, what is different about Survivor from Fear Factor is that times can get tense other than during challenges. Survivor focuses on relationships of the contestants more often than on Fear Factor. At least half of the episode is usually spent watching the people in the tribes interact with each other, sometimes with good and bad outcomes. Also, Survivor has tribal council where contestants are voted off, so the whole of the outcome does not depend on just your performance in tasks but also on your personality.
This is what makes Survivor a more well rounded show as opposed to a half hour of adrenaline and disgusting foods. When looking at "reality television" we get a skewed sense of reality. First of all, in reality shows most people are better looking than the average civilian. If they are not terribly good looking they are at least charismatic, or interesting characters. Fear Factor very rarely has people who are overweight, old, or unattractive. They promote such specials as Fear Factor: Models or Fear Factor: Miss America.
Survivor is more varied in their range of people, but even if the contestants are unattractive, older or more overweight they are always at least interesting in their lives and the way they play the game. Although they claim to be "reality", all reality TV shows are edited for time and to make them more interesting, which is part of why they skew our view of reality. For instance, no one is ever just plain boring on reality television shows. At least if they are those parts get edited away to make them seem at least slightly entertaining. What this tricky editing leads us to believe when we watch is that the way these people are acting is the way everybody in society acts or should act. When we can't be as witty, attractive, popular or as good at competition as the contestants we feel inadequate.
Another downfall of reality shows is why the contestants are driven to compete. There are two basic reasons, money and fifteen minutes of fame. If you judged all of society from reality shows you would come to believe that people will do pretty much anything for a monetary prize and to be on television. This includes but is not limited to eating bull anuses (Fear Factor), making alliances against people who think you are their friend (Survivor), lying to other contestants and the reality show producers to get a sympathy prize given to you by another contestant (on Survivor a contestant nick-named "Johnny Rotten" had a friend lie and say his grandmother died when the friend came to visit, knowing whoever one the prize from the challenge would feel bad and let him have it), using your sexuality to win challenges (both Fear Factor and Survivor), going naked to bother other contestants (first season winner Richard Hatch on Survivor) among many other deplorable acts. Despite all of the harsh critiques I have given reality television, I must admit I find myself watching it nonetheless.
Out of curiosity and disgust I recently watched Fear Factor. I hated every second of it, but I still watched it and gave them ratings. That is one thing about reality television, it seems addictive. With so many reality shows on TV they must always try to stay fresh, we are always watching wondering what they will do next, in what way they will push the envelope.
Some go too far, Fox's show Married by America (a show where contestants are chosen spouses by telephone voters) was recently fined by the Federal Communication Commission for a broadcast that aired sexually charged scenes. Others are turning to a more feel good approach, like ABC's The Biggest Loser, a weight loss challenge show that is receiving high ratings. While I disagree with some of the tactics used by reality television shows, it appears that they around to stay. Networks are adding more and more reality programming to their lineups, and I suspect they will run the trend into the ground before they give up on it. Like with any form of television I believe people just need to take everything they see open eyes and realize that it has been edited and made to look a certain way. Still, it can be terribly entertaining at times.
Bibliography 'Infoplease Television Timeline. ' Fact Monster. (c) 2000 - 2004 Pearson Education, publishing as Fact Monster. 28 Nov. 2004. "The Osbournes': Genre, Reality TV, and the Domestication of Rock 'n Roll. " Pieto, Rick and Otter, Kelly. Counterblast. org. 28 Nov. 2004.
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