It really has been a wild ride. Throughout the last few months I have felt as though I have gone through the audition process, been casted for a show, been edited to no end and finally, found my five minutes of fame. That is the life of a star of course and clearly I have lived it! Surely it can be noted that there are many pros and cons to becoming a reality television star. Some of these reasons answer many questions, including why people ever watch reality shows. The idea of elitism is out of date. People are not always interested in listening to the experts. They are interested in listening to what they are more likely to relate to and many believe that is “reality” television. Additionally, it is innate in people to wonder what people think. People like to watch the actions of others and understand why people do what they do. On a subconscious level, we live in an age of mass media and it is highly likely that reality television feeds the same interest that people have when reading tabloids.
There are however consequences as well to reality television, many of them covered over the past few weeks. A summation of them can be that it is often cruel and can expose the participants to humiliation. It often times portrays the participants in the worst possible light and has been actually been condemned by the Mental Health Foundation (yikes!). Lastly, it can also be seen as offensive to broadcasters who make it their life’s work to excel in the field of television, while other people are able to come in and make a name for themselves but have done nothing to prove themselves in the media field previously. However, throughout these past few weeks it was become pretty clear that whatever one truly believes about reality television, it has made its mark on the small screen.
I want to say my farewell to my reality television blog by quoting some of my favorite stars:
When discussing her family, Kim Kardashian stated: “There’s a lot of baggage that comes with us. But it’s like Louis Vuitton baggage — you always want it.” So glad to know you are always wanted (and expensive!)
On Ben’s season of the Bachelor, contestant Emily explained that Ben was “the greatest Bachelor on the planet of history.” Emily where is this planet?? Next to Jupiter?? I can’t find any photos of it online!
Mackenzie from Dance Moms stated in the very first season that all she wanted to do was “Stay home and eat chips.” Now that my friends in reality television for you! Couldn’t be any closer to the reality I feel every single day!
Lastly there is Emerald, one of the many child beauties from Toddlers and Tiara’s whose goal in life is to “become an octopus or a photographer.” Very interesting choice Emerald! Although I cannot see any relationship between the two, I am sure you have a great 7-year-old explanation!
Thank you all for coming on this blogging journey with me! Whether or not you choose to be a fan, just remember, it is all your reality!!
Work Cited
“Pros and Cons of Reality TV Shows.” The Week UK. The Week, 5 Oct. 2008. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. <http://www.theweek.co.uk/tv/35579/pros-and-cons-reality-tv-shows>.
After over two months of blogging you would think I would be comfortable revealing all of the embarrassing reality television shows that I watch. You would also think I would be willing to share with you that when a season ends I feel a huge hole in my heart because I cannot follow the sorrowful life of another human being for a few months. I know, these are truly embarrassing things to admit, but I can’t help but feel that way. It is a true sign of a Reality Television junkie. But, as the saying goes when life knocks you down, just get back up again. I do just that. I find another show reality show to fill my time. Believe me, there are enough that it will never end! However, not all reality television is bad. The newest show I have picked up inspired this post. The show runs on Lifetime and it is called The Mother/ Daughter experiment: Celebrity Edition. This is an interesting one for sure. It takes former reality television stars and their moms whom they have broken relationships with and tries to fix them….on another reality television show…
At first I was excited for this new show. I was mainly excited because I knew all the contestants from previous shows. One downfall to every new season of reality television is constantly having to learn the new contestants. There is little consistency which can make the show pretty exciting, but it is also make the adjustment period to every new season a little longer. Anyhow, with this show, I already knew the participants which was a plus. Then it got me thinking, why are these women continuing to return to reality television? Wasn’t one time enough? Why do they continue to wait around for another reality television show to join. Maybe this was their calling, or so they think.
There is some merit in what they believe. Ultimately they are brought back time and time again by producers because of the draw people have to them on these shows. There is also a certain type of personality that can continually take a beating from what everyone else thinks. Like any show there are fan favorites and people continually like to watch them. I understand this and can relate to it. But I begin to wonder what it is like to not have consistent work everyday. They continue to make money off of their actions however, none of this will ultimately last forever, nor will it set any of them up to support themselves after it does end. What is the draw then? It goes back to some of the things I talked about in earlier posts. People just become addicted to the idea of fame and as long as someone else is continually willing to give them the opportunity to pursue it, then they will.
In my personal opinion this is unhealthy and all it will do is cause further problems down the road. These stars clearly live only in the moment and cannot see past the time they are living in right now. Of course many of these repeating stars have also filed for bankruptcy, failed in relationships, and continue to make headlines. It is pretty clear they follow a certain pattern for the type of person they are and until they are no longer offered reality television gigs, we will continually see them on the little screen.
While it can be very entertaining to watch young men and women who believe they are invincible and go up against the beast that is reality television, not all shows consist of the typical 18-24 year olds. Some shows look to participants who have even less of a filter than the arrogant college student. They look to children to be unpredictable, create humor, and become an American icon. Sometimes it is their innocence that can be the most entertaining part of the show. But, what are the impacts of putting a child on a reality television show? Arguably, some adults do not even know what they are getting themselves into when they decide to become a reality star. A child is in a very different situation because not only do they not know what they are getting themselves into, but they are also unable to give consent to the show. They are still under the control of their parent’s decisions. When thinking about the significance of reality television on young children, I immediately think about Jon and Kate plus 8. The show played on TLC and explored the life of young parents Jon and Kate who already had twins and were about to become the parents of sextuplets. Why is this the first show that comes to mind? Well the sextuplets made their reality television star debut evan before they were born. Even before they had taken their first breath, the world already knew they were coming and knew all of their names. As the show progressed and the marriage of Jon and Kate fell apart right in front of millions of people, the eight kids had to see it play out in person and then relive it as it continuously aired on television. The children are essentially being exploited at the hands of their parents and the opinions of those around them. Navigating the ups and downs of growing up is hard enough, but having the rest of the world know what goes on in your home as a child could lead to serious problems.
Although to the average viewer it is hard to picture the life of a reality as the life someone actually lives, the children on these shows still do continue to go to school and live a semi-normal life just like every other kid is required to do in the United States. It does set these kids apart because not every child is portrayed the same way they are. This could lead to bullying and harassment at school. For more reasons than one – jealously, misunderstanding, judging, other kids can not fully comprehend what it is like to have your life aired on television. It creates a second world for the child stars, where their life is portrayed one way on television, and experienced a different way in their everyday life. Additionally, with two different worlds, comes two different levels of scrutiny. They get the immediate scrutiny of their peers at school and where they live, and they they get scrutiny from people they do not know and will never know. These people could live in another county, state, country, or continent. The show allows these people to feel as if they know the children on a personal level and share their personal thoughts. More often than not, this impact on the children is incredibly negative and could influence them for years to come.
Work Cited
Harris, Lew. “The Consequences of Children on Reality TV.” The Wrap. The Wrap News, 13 July 2009. Web. 10 Apr. 2016. <https://www.thewrap.com/consequences-children-reality-tv-4288/>.
I mentioned last week that I would be discussing the afterlife of reality television in multiple parts. This is the second of those two parts. Last week I touched on the positive influence reality television could have on an individual’s life. However there is also a dark reality (yes that was a play on words) that comes with being the spotlight. CNN did an article about reality stars after their television days. When they interviewed Joe Patane who stared in the fifth season of “The Real World” on MTV in1996, he made a comment that “you think the attention will go away as soon as the cameras stop rolling.” However a new life sets in after the cameras stop rolling. People recognize you and begin to share all their opinions with you about your time on the show. This can seem like a deja vu for the contestant. They have to relive events that happened months ago, events they have moved on, but at the same time, many people have very current opinions of the events that occurred on the show. Evan Marriot, the star of the hit show “Joe Millionaire” that aired on Fox in 2003 said he went through “pretty bad depression and paranoia, even in recent years because [he] was constantly under the microscope.”
How do former contestants deal with these feelings? Many of them actually go into hiding. It is not uncommon to not hear from a star for a while after the initial rush of attention they get. Sometimes the best way to deal with it all is to go to the other extreme and not be seen at all, instead of carrying out the role of a public figure. It is important to note that the author of “Malignant Self-love: Narcissism Revisited,” Sam Vaknin compared the desire for fame is similar to that of substance abusers.They become obsessed and addicted with their own fame. This in itself can be detrimental to the contestants life after reality television. Many participants could find themselves on reality television shows after their original showing. However, these shows do not seem to have the most appealing descriptions. Of course everyone needs help, but being put in a “Sober House” and then inviting the public in to watch your struggles does not seem to be the most therapeutic way to go about getting help. But maybe that is just my opinion…..
Even though reality television can lead to success and fame, it creates a false sense of security. The initial benefits are indeed rewarding, but participation in the show has a long term impact on self worth. Once fame is reached, the question is whether it can be maintained. If it cannot be maintained then there becomes questions of a person’s purpose in the world is. Very few reach that high ever again and this could really impact the self-esteem of the former contestants. Additionally, the contestants become an open book where the public feels they are welcome to share their opinions. Every decisions they make is put under a microscope. Is it really even their decisions anymore?
Work Cited:
Jaffe, Adi. “Can Reality TV Be Dangerous? Prime-Time Tabloids and Consequences.” Psychology Today. N.p., 16 Aug. 2011. Web. 23 Mar. 2016. <https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/all-about-addiction/201108/can-reality-tv-be-dangerous-prime-time-tabloids-and-consequences>.
France, Lisa Respers. “Cover Story: Reality Bites after the Lights Go out.” Cnn.com. CNN, 2 Feb. 2011. Web. 23 Mar. 2016. <http://www.cnn.com/2011/SHOWBIZ/TV/02/01/life.after.reality.tv/>.
Last week I touched on the process of getting into reality television – what draws people to participate in reality television. Of course, there is the actual reality television portion, but what happens after the show? There is the instant fame (a reason why people go on shows in the first place) and of course they get that for a while. This fame at times could manifest itself for a long time or short amount of time. Regardless, it is immediate and can have a serious influence on what happens to the contestant after the show. The aftermath of reality television is too much to be covered in one post, so this topic will be covered over a few weeks.
The first aspect covered is the impact that your personality on the show has on how your post reality days may unveil. If your role was clearly the villain, this could result in turmoil when back in the real world. There is no hiding in a remote location that can deflect from the wrath of people’s beliefs and social media. The backlash can be brutal and likely could over scrutinize every decision made by that contestant. On the flip side, America could fall in love with a contestant putting them temporarily in the category of America’s sweethearts. If this is the case, they will experience lots of love and support, probably an overwhelming amount that could potentially be too exaggerated as well. The point I am trying to make is this all adds to the false sense of reality television.
When I began to research real accounts of life after reality television, I was surprised to see so many positive accounts. On many of the follow ups of the shows there are usually stories about how contestants were ruined after their television run, and they are never taken seriously again. However, I was able to find some success stories. Kristen Kish, the 2012 winner of Top Chef expressed that the success was too overwhelming and she could not keep up with it. She had to turn down jobs because she couldn’t keep up. Wish expressed a regret when having to say no to customers because “it was just so glamorous.”
Clayton English, the winner of the ninth season of NBC’s Last Comic Standing has claimed that his phone has been ringing ever since. When asked about the afterlife of reality television English expressed that he has seen “nothing but benefits to his win.” There is truly success that can come along with reality television. However, it takes the talent to backup this success that becomes the most important aspect to riding the reality television wave. The actions on the show could be what puts a person on the map. This is where they become a household name that glorifies their success.
But, what happens when they don’t have a talent to use to elongate the success? Odds are you could see them on another show in a couple of years. Scripted reality may be all they are good at….
When deciding what to write about for this week’s post, I decided to discuss how the casting process of reality television worked. Admittedly, I do not know much about this topic and I cannot say I have had firsthand experience to speak from, so I naturally just googled “Reality Television Casting.” Much to my surprise, lists and lists of reality shows that were currently looking for casts came up. They had everything from a ‘Selfie Reality Show,’ to ‘The Perfect Gangster’ and ‘America’s Top Dog Model.’ It then occurred to me that when people are interested in joining reality television shows they do exactly what I did and google about reality television castings. It then occurred to me that more often then not, people choose to be on a reality television show. They take the initiative to search, audition and then potentially be on the show. So what is the draw to having one’s dirty laundry aired in front of millions of people to see?
The first answer lies in the fame of course. Within the premiere of one episode, everyone knows your name, your true name, not the name of the character that you play, because realistically you are playing yourself. People learn your personality, and more often then not (unless you are the villain) the rest of America will fall in love with you….for just being yourself, after all that’s the whole point of reality television (NOT!). There is something enticing knowing that everyone knows your name and everyone is routing for you. There is strength in numbers, and the more people that know your name, the more people will give you love and attention.
The second reason results from economic prosperity. On a show like Survivor for example, contestants are paid regardless of what place they come in. Of course the winner of the show gets a $1 million, but if every contestant is guaranteed some amount of money, then there is not really a risk in going the on show. There is of course always a financial future after the show too. Endorsements come pouring in for the winner and the fan favorites. Regardless of whether or not you won, if you made any substantial impact on the season, it is likely you will pick up other ways to make money, and at the very least books deals is always a good option. Even though the money will not last forever, and it is only seen in the short five minutes that you are famous, I would not be surprised if “joining a reality television show” was not somewhere on a ‘get rich quick’ list somewhere.
The much lesser known reason could be just to tell one’s story or promote oneself. How many times has there been a contestant on The Bachelor that has been ratted out for utilizing the shows popularity to promote their own hobbies or profession? Way too many times for me to count. What a better way to get gratification from millions of people for being the person you always thought you were? Sometimes if something is already going well at home, all it takes is the little bit of extra publicity to catapult your life. Couldn’t hurt right?
I have mentioned throughout every post that I am an avid reality television watcher. However, I have never fully conveyed exactly where all of my expertise lies. I have watched everything from American Idol, The Real Housewives of _____, Shark Tank, America’s Next Top Model, Dance Moms, Project Runway, and the Bachelor just to name a few. Upon first beginning to watch each of these shows, I can distinctly remember waiting anxiously, anticipating what the following weeks episode would bring. However, after some time, I began to take educated guesses on what would happen the following week just from watching the shows multiple times. A genre of television known for being “unscripted” and typically just whatever came out of the mouth of the contestants on the show began to look repetitive and too scripted. I decided to utilize this post to maybe help explain why.
The first reason has to do simply with the nature of what gets people to watch the show. Although it should be seen as reality, if this was the case, I hope nobody’s reality consists of major meltdowns, fights and green screen interview rooms. But this is the reality people want to see which is why every reality show has some form of this. If every show consisted of a family sitting around a dinner table and discussing the monotonous events that occurred that day, I do not believe it would be picked up for a second season. So it has to do with whatever works. The same way that legal shows rely on courtroom scenes every episode and news shows rely on up-to-date information to remain relevant. Ultimately it is tense situations that bring out the worst in people and that is why reality television usually consists of timers running down, judges deciding the fate of individuals, and competition.
The second reason many reality shows may look the same in because under the umbrella of one genre, there are only so many variations that can be created. A game reality television show like America’s Next Top Model might pull ideas from a hidden camera based reality show where the girls are being filmed outside of the competition aspect. This could begin to look more like a show about a clash of personalities rather than the competition, similar to a show like the Bad Girls Club, and then all of a sudden two shows with different settings have episodes that parallel each other. Additionally, within each genre of reality television there are similarities. There are only so many ways to build suspense on a game show. It will come down to pairing people together who do not work well together, ultimately throwing each other under the bus, or giving the contestants impossible tasks to see them attempt to overcome, and then break down because they cannot succeed. And of course at the end of each episode there are only two contestants where one stays and one goes, which also builds suspense. No matter how many times I watch each episode, I cannot hide the fact that I feel suspense waiting to see who will go home. It is innate in our nature to want to know which is why it continues to appear in each show regardless of whether or not we have caught onto the repetition.
So, truthfully it is our faults as humans as to why shows are repeated. We never ask for anything new and as a result, companies do not have to give us anything new. We will continue to watch the same show, with just a different setting.
After giving a brief history of Reality Television last week, I am going to take the coming weeks to discuss different aspects of the shows, starting today with the introduction. Whether the show be any of the four types discussed last week- the first episode typically consists of short clips introducing the very “normal” people who will depicting human behavior for the coming season. Having watched my fair share of opening episodes, I have taken note on a couple of things. The first is how specific people are chosen to have a spotlight moment. Often times if the show has too many people to introduce, they strategically pick certain people to introduce. By doing this, they are already giving the audience a preconceived idea about these specific individuals and an experienced reality television watcher would know these people are the ones that are going to make an impact on the season. The producers of the show know this, and it is their intention to help influence your opinion of these individuals.
Now, I am going to skip to the end of every season, even though that may seem a little drastic considering I just discussed the opening episode, and chose to skip all parts of the middle of the season. But, I promise there is a point to this organization structure. It is clear that any Reality Show will have some type of conflict because that is what people thrive on. Even though reality television is supposed to be real, i.e. no scripts, no second takes, and little editing, these shows are often manipulated to illustrate a reality that becomes over exaggerated and relatively extreme. The biggest impact of these edits is the time constraint. The editing often has to compress hours, day or even weeks into a couple of minutes which could result in completely re-writing the storyline. The editors are able to take specific lines out of context and make their own contexts that still look like reality, when the reality has actually been skewed. I bring this up because from the very first episode, the editors are able to do this. When each person is given their spotlight moment, this is the very first edit presented to the audience and this edit creates impressions within the audience.
This idea of editing, cutting and rearranging is often visited after the season if there is a reunion episode. Contestants attempt to clear their names or set the records straight as they too try to re-write the storyline. I have always found it interesting how the editing of reality television can have such an influence on the depiction of each episode. While I have no shame to admit that I, along with every other girl in the US is currently fawning over Ben Higgins from The Bachelor, my eye is usually drawn to another contestant, Olivia. Like every season of The Bachelor, there is one girl who is often found playing the villain, and while I intend on saving the villain talk for a later post, I cannot help but wonder how much of the show is actually Olivia’s true personality, and how much of it is editing done to make us, as the audience, perceive Olivia in a certain way.
Although I would like to think I am educated enough to know it is probably better to stay away from pointless television like reality television. But unfortunately, I am hooked. There is no denying it. I started at an early age and it is something I see myself doing into my old age. However, over the years, my perception of reality television has changed. For my first post, I intend to break down exactly how reality television is formulated.
The first thing that needs to be done, is reality television needs to be defined.It is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or sometimes humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded. The line between what is actually real and what is contorted to look like reality has changed over time. The first site of reality television was in the 1940’s. It began with just filming people without scripts. In 1948, Allen Funt’s hidden camera Camera Candid debuted and it showed how ordinary people reacted to pranks. This show has been referenced as the “granddaddy of the reality TV genre.”
Moving into the 1960’s and 1970’s was the first time of the unscripted. observational docusoap in the United States. Many of these shows depicted the ‘everyday life’ of children, teenagers and the family unit. These shows focused on factors impacting socialization and related to the social and cultural ‘concerns’ of western societies at the time. It was used to observe changing structures of the family, rising divorce rates, nature/ future debate, inequality and social classes.
The first sight of American formulated docusoaps was in 1992 with MTV’S The Real World, which had successfully ran for 28 seasons. The producers would take 7 very different people and have them live together in apartments and watch how they deal with world issues. The producers would artificially manipulate situations and produce drama. By doing so, they would be able to show what happens when people are put into intense situations and are no longer nice to each other. These fights were able to captivate an audience.
It was not until the 2000’s until Reality Television saw it’s explosion on the global stage. With the success of Big Brother and Survivor, two shows that are successfully still running, Reality Television was spread all over the world. Additionally in the the 2000’s, enter the Reality Game Show. This type of show has been considered to be a combination of four different types of shows – Reality Docusoap, Reality Game Show, Drama and elements of Reality Talk Show. These shows bring in a competitive element mixed in with some drama. The competition brings out the fights in people that Reality Television viewers tend to feed off of.
My love for reality television certainly began at the height of reality television in the early 2000’s. However after watching it for nearly ten years, I have notice some of the decisions made by the producers that impact the emotions of the contestants. Throughout this blog series I hope to be able to evaluate these decisions of various reality shows and how these decisions impact the viewers of the shows.
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