Reality TV:
The Worst in Human Behavior
Although Reality TV has been
around for several generations, it has become increasingly popular in recent
history. Reality TV shows of the past, such as the first recognized reality
show Candid Camera, were more like game shows. However, today reality TV shows
truly exhibit the worst in human character with shows like “Teen Mom” and “Jersey
Shore”. With that being said, the stars of these shows have been raised to
popular culture icon status.
The simple act of putting a reality
TV star on the cover of a magazine will sell more magazines. This shows how
people are impressed by these reality TV stars. “Keeping up with the
Kardashian’s” is all about using these people to sell products. Everybody who
watches the show wants the dress, the shoes, the cars, and the lifestyle of the
individuals because they are famous. But their only fame is being on a reality
TV show. The Kardashian family are simply rich people – who in truth are truly
nobody – who got a TV show and now everybody knows who they are and wants to be
like them or seen with them.
Reality TV stars, such as Kate
Gosselin, must hire body guards to keep people away from them because of the
obsession around them.
People hoard information about
these stars. They are blasted across magazines such as “People”, “Us”, “InTouch”,
“OK!”, and “Star”. Reality TV stars seemingly grace the covers of these
magazines more than traditional movie stars at times. If the latest bachelor
from “The Bachelor” dumps his choice – or worse, chooses the one that the
viewers do not like – there is genuine outrage by the fans who are thoroughly
engrossed in the drama of the show. Teenage girls are idolizing the “16 and
Pregnant” or “Teen Mom” stars, believing that not only is the life of a teenage
mother not too bad, but that they could get famous in the process. There is
literally a fan club devoted to Teen Mom with a website (http://www.fanpop.com/spots/teen-mom)
and a Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/AllTheTeenMoms). Additionally, people famous for other reasons aspire to
be reality TV stars, such as Casey Anthony, the person who was acquitted of
murdering her toddler daughter, as if this lifestyle will make their lives
better.
Applying the Icon theory to this
topic provides perspective on how people can venerate such degenerative
behavior. It does not make it less obscene, but it at least provides an
explanation or insight as to how it can happen in a society.
Reality TV:
Stereotypes
There is a great deal of stereotyping that occurs in
reality television. Shows like “Jersey Shore” and “Real Housewives of New
Jersey” are overflowing in stereotypical characters. It is so profuse that one
wonders if they characters are not truly acting. Apparently, people are
fascinated by the Italian-American subculture of New Jersey, and the characters
in these shows exaggerate the stereotypes that people have about this
subculture.
In “Jersey Shore”, you have 20-something characters with
strong New Jersey accents, dark tans, and gelled hair. They drink and party,
fight and get into lots of trouble. On “Real Housewives of New Jersey”, you
have more of the same, including hair pulling cat fights between the “ladies”.
Viewers have apparently fallen in love with this subculture, though, and the
characters from show are going on to have more lucrative jobs, along with the
show. “Snooki” from Jersey shore has an abundance of Twitter followers and was
being approached for selling tanning and diet products – before her pregnancy,
of course. “The Situation” from the same show has deals for self-help books, as
well as clothing and cosmetics. The show has also spawned other reality TV
shows based out of New Jersey because of the fascination with this subculture,
although these shows have not been as successful.
The behavior of these characters, and America’s fanatical
fascination with them, continues to emphasize how reality TV perpetuates the
worst characteristics in human behavior. Governor Christie of New Jersey is
extremely irritated with these shows and others that “tarnish Jersey’s image”
and continue the stereotyping of the state that makes it a long standing joke
in some circles. Particularly in Italian-American groups, there is frustration
that these shows depict all Italian-American’s as shallow individuals who make
terrible decisions.
It is sad that these shows are responsible for people all
over America and possibly the world thinking that New Jersey is made up of a
bunch of drunk, ill-behaved adults with ridiculous tans and even worse hair. However,
there are some at least that are trying to fight back against the way these
shows are portraying their state and subculture. New Jersey insurance executive
Gary Wilson has started a grass-roots public relations campaign that consists
of websites, YouTube videos and billboards that show positive New Jersey
features. This gives hope that not all American’s are falling for these awful
shows.
Reality TV:
The Cult of the Celebrity
Reality TV stars certainly reach celebrity status. They do
it almost instantly, as well. Their faces are plastered all over a television
show, and due to often unpredictable behavior, they are often catapulted to
celebrity status by entertainment news magazines, as well. However, their
status is usually not sustainable, and they fall into the “15 minutes of fame”
category. They are average people who have no reason to be famous.
Nevertheless, they become famous because of their outrageous behavior. Reality
TV stars are the epitome of a “15 minutes of fame” celebrity. They tend to be
more contrived and lack any real talent. They are unremarkable, and it is only
through media publicity that they are able to attain and keep their celebrity
status.
The Reality TV phenomenon actually invites the average
person, sitting in their household, to literally choose the person that they
identify the most with, and encourages them to make an emotional investment in
these people. This creates a fascination with the Reality TV star by the
viewer, which helps to quickly elevate the person to that celebrity status. As
the person on the show shares their deepest feelings, they connect with the
audience and fuel the enthrallment. However, these shows also fuel the easy
discarding of the celebrity by allowing the public this same ability. If the
public does not connect with them, or does not believe they are sincere, they
are tossed away and their status is quickly diluted.
The Reality TV star, though, will sometimes keep their
celebrity status longer by ensuring their personal lives reach the scandalous
level because the public interest with drama. This helps them to stay in the
public eye so that people continue to know their name and continue to be
interested.
Kim Kardashian is one example of a Reality TV star
celebrity who surpassed her “15 minutes of fame” status. She was able to
capitalize on her status and turn it into products to sell. Because she was
famous, people buy her products because they consider it a status symbol.
Reality TV:
Formulas
Reality television has been popular since the 1990’s.
Although they do not follow the conventional formulas from traditional art
forms, they do have a formula that makes them appeal to mass audiences. Those
that follow the formula seem to receive even larger audiences than popular
fictional television shows.
There are different types of reality televisions show
formats. They are game shows in which the people compete, like in a game, for
some prize. People are eliminated from the competition over time until the
winner is named. Examples of this type of show are “Survivor” and “Fear
Factor”. There is the dating contest, where a single person (male or female)
has a throng of people to choose from as a mate, and each of those are
eliminated over time until finally the mate is chosen. The most famous of these
shows is “The Bachelor”. There is the makeover program, where people or homes
are improved in some way. “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and “Pimp My Ride”
are two examples of this type of show. The soap opera like shows called
docusoap are where people live together and the audience observes their
interactions and living together over time. “Jersey Shore” is a current popular
example of this type of reality television show. Finally, there is the talent
contest, like “American Idol”. This is not a finite list of the types of show,
but is broad enough to show the variety.
All of these types of shows are very different; however,
they all contain the same elements that make them appeal to the masses:
unscripted, observational, video confessionals, and interactivity. Because the
shows are unscripted, the participants seem to be real and the environment is
uncontrolled. The observational style of the show makes the audience feel
intimately involved in the participants’ lives and situations. Even though the
shows are unscripted, there is a pattern of drama that always has a clear
beginning, middle and end. Each show allows the participants to share their
feelings with what is happening within the show through the form of a video
confessional. This makes the audience feel as if the participant is speaking
directly to them. Finally, every show promotes interactivity with the audience,
making them feel very involved in the outcome of the participants.
Although this formula is not directly aligned to the
classical formulas in historically popular art, it is a formula, none-the-less.
This helps to understand why the shows seem to be so appealing to the
audiences.
Reality TV:
Wrapping It All Up
Researching reality television has been a very interesting
topic. There are a lot more reality television shows out there than was
originally thought. They have also been around for much longer than I believe
anyone realizes.
The best popular culture theory that relates to reality
television is cultural or celebrity icons. This would be followed by a close
second with stereotypes.
Getting a reality television show today means almost
instant icon status. Some seemingly join the reality television show simply to
get recognized, such as contestants on “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette”.
Very few of these couples every really get married, even though the whole point
to the show is for them to get married. They use this as a means of becoming
famous even though the icon status generally lasts for a short period of time
and they go back to being totally unrecognized.
Many of these stars are famous for no real reason except
that people are fascinated by their lives. They have no real talent, except for
living drama-filled lives or by acting foolish. But the American public loves
it. They are drawn and attracted to their lives and form personal attachments
to the characters.
There seem to be mixed feelings about the shows that
portray dramatic stereotypes. While this does attract audiences, many who are
lumped into the stereotype find it offensive.
I began this assignment with a preconceived notion that
all reality television was for mindless people and that it portrays the worst
kind of human behavior. I believed that by watching these shows, people are
condoning this type of behavior. To a certain degree, I still believe that.
However, I have also found that what drives someone to connect with characters
of a show is much more complex that I originally believed. I also have found
that there are a lot of really good shows out there, as well, such as “Extreme
Home Makeover”. If this show prompts people to mimic that behavior, that would
be a wonderful world!
I believe now that I will be less judgmental about what
types of television shows people watch. I will try to be understanding when my
husband wants to watch “Keeping Up With the Kardashian’s”.
