Essay on "Reality Television"

Essay 4 pages (1259 words) Sources: 4 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Reality Television

It is futile to discuss the role of television in today's modern society. Watching television, in its understanding of entertainment provider, is an activity that occurs in the homes of virtually all Americans, as well as other populations across the globe. Evidence in the sense of the tremendous growth and popularity of television stand the more and more money being made as the result of a developing industry or the growth of the industry manufacturing TV gadgets, such as LCDs, plasma television sets, surround audio systems, DVD players and so on. It is even argued that television plays a far too great role in the life of the modern day individual; yet, this constitutes the topic for another research.

This article is focused on the analysis of a major component of televised entertainment -- reality television. In one form or the other, reality television has been present within the shows and within our homes as early as the television industry emerged. Nevertheless, its popularity only exploded throughout the previous decade, as shows such as Survivor or American Idol, and many more, kept us glued to the television. The thesis at the basis of this article is that reality television is not a product of the entertainment studios, forcing the shows on us, but that we, as a modern day society, demand it. In proving this statement, the paper will identify several reasons as to why reality television is so popular with the public, and as such suitable in today's society.

2. Analysis and Evaluation of Reality Television

Reality television is characterized by a series of elements. What it basically does is to present real life situations as they occur, without the existence of a script or of any before hand preparations. It is of course imperative for the characters and the situations presented to be interesting in order to attract the attention of the audience. Relevant examples of reality shows which captured the attention of the public refer to those which present the every day life of celebrities. There are numerous famous people who let cameras into their lives and exposed themselves to the public. Just remember the Osbournes and the frenzy it generated.

People are drawn to this type of reality television for two major reasons. First of all, they get the sense that the shows removed some of the previously imposed barriers, by which celebrities were put on a pedestal and considered flawless starts. Otherwise put, the celebrity would be presented not as an idol, but as a regular human being who has to fight with complexes and frustrations and which also encounters illness, sorrow and disillusion (McDuffee, 2008); in the Osbournes show for instance, Sharon was diagnosed with cancer, at which time talks commenced relative to ending the series. This did not occur however as the wife of heavy metal legend decided to fight her disease on air, explaining that this was in fact part of reality. The situation leads to the second major reason why reality television is so popular -- the center folds of the shootings can sometimes become role models.

A third reason why reality television is so popular has a least positive nature. From this standpoint, a conclusion can be drawn that people are attracted to sensational and to something that has, or can be given, a negative connotation. It is already a cliche that when passing on information, the bad information is more likely to be not only believed, but even more to the liking of the audience, in the detriment of the positive information. Entertainment studios have capitalized on this realization and have strived to offer the public this exact bickering, gossiping and back stabbing behavior they appreciate, but at a new level. Cheaters or Jerry Springer's talk… READ MORE

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