Reality Television Overview



Reality television, reality tv for short, is a branch of the television programming circuit that shows unscripted dramatic, humorous, and situational events with regular everyday normal people in lieu of paid actors. This presents a genre of programming that is addictive to some and pass to others. Some people like production value, sets, and actors, and others like ordinary people, normal situations, and low-cost filming to showcase a natural environment.

The genre has been around since the 1950s. After all, what are game shows if not reality tv? However, reality tv has really taken off since the advent of Survivor and Big Brother. Reality tv often distinguishes itself by branding their content as a whole as reality shows. Show has a special connotation that means to showcase, present, or offer. It's more flamboyant, unexpected, and unordinary. It's something akin to a circus, burlesque, or concert in spirit not in form. The gamut runs all the way from the most dignified game shows to the most demeaning reality shows like in the East Asian countries.

Some reality tv utilizes sensational reality to attract more viewers by placing people in extraordinary situations like on Survivor. Others place people in ordinary situations but with the catch that they are people unlike one another. Shows like this would be Big Brother, the Real World, and Road Rules. These shows make it easier for ordinary audiences to empathize with the characters, and they don't have to make a meek attempt with fictionalized characters in a movie or tv show. Like sports, this form of entertainment is more engaging to some because it shows how ordinary people deal with real-life situations in which the outcome is unexpected. It's like a wild ride or a constant surprise, but it still has all the sources, production value, and hard work that gets imbued into regular television programming.

There are several subgenres of reality tv like documentary, competition, game show, makeover, renovation, social experiment, dating shows, talk shows, hidden cameras, supernatural and paranormal, and hoaxes. These shows each show people through a different lens of what matters most to ordinary people. That is the reason that audiences tune in so much and get so much glee out of watching the shows. Each type of shows how humans interact with diverse situations, and oftentimes it shows several different types of personalities all undergoing the same situation. This makes it more appealing to a wide variety of different audiences and ensures that the show gets plenty of viewership. Documentary follows an event over a long period of time. This is very suited to reality tv because reality shows are often seen in series. Competition has people compete in physical or mental races against each other. Game shows let people compete for money. Renovation can make over a house and make it better. Social experiment shows how humans might interact with situations that are unfamiliar to them on a regular basis. This kind often focuses on large groups of humans in a concentrated setting all undergoing the same event unexpectedly. Dating shows and talk shows help people process their needs. Hidden cameras show people when they don't want to be shown, and there is a bit of voyeurism involved in that. Supernatural and paranormal let people confront their grasp of the supernatural in a realistic way apart from actually experiencing it themselves. Hoaxes are somewhat scary sometimes, and the thrill is what keeps people watching.

Reality shows have become part of the common pop culture nomenclature since Big Brother hit the scene in 1999. Since then, attraction to reality shows has soared. There are several different types of shows that are constantly being invented, re-invented, and reworked to appeal to ever larger numbers of people during primetime programming hours. Some of these shows broach cultural taboos and coupled with other controversies related to reality shows, are causing quite a stir over the United States as possible problems for young audiences at least that's what the parents think.

Reality shows will continue to increase in popularity as the mechanisms for becoming a star become more democratic like YouTube and other video sharing sites for one. People are fascinated with the idea of becoming a celebrity overnight. Instant celebrity is a possibility, and reality tv confirms that. Andy Warhol said that in the future everyone would have 15 minutes of fame. Part of the fascination with reality tv is that it is burgeoning in a time when the mechanisms for self stardom are blooming as well. Therefore, people are inspired by any programming that seems to reiterate the possibility that ordinary people can be filmed, televised, and interesting all in one.

Recent criticisms of reality tv have included the aspect of artifice being introduced to reality tv as a profit motive imposed by corporations. Ultimately, reality tv will be the primary genre as tastes change toward reality versus artifice in every aspect of life, not the least of which is tv.

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