Spring Break
Realism and reality T.V.
Can you really trust what your favorite show is telling you?
Issue date: 8/29/08 Section: Opinion
Now it might seem irresponsible for me to begin this article by saying that reality television should receive more respect as a creative field. It may not beShakespeare, but where else are you going to see real people-students, blue-collar workers, businessmen, etc.-forced into doing hilarious and often humiliating things? It's the kind of thing you're only lucky to see once or twice a year in real life, and I'm betting you're not on camera doing it in front of millions.
Unfortunately, reality TV has a pretty nasty stigma placed on it as being "trashy" or "throwaway entertainment." Back in 2006 I met "Boston" Rob Marciano from "Survivor: All-Stars" and "The Amazing Race," and the first thing I said to the guy upon shaking his hand was "I love your shows. They're a great guilty pleasure of mine." He looked at me for a minute confused, and then he said to me matter-of-factly that I shouldn't have to feel guilty about it.
He was right, and it was silly that I ever did. No one ever gives anyone a hard time for being a hardcore fan of "Lost," even the ones who write their own conspiracy theories and own the entire series on DVD. Why should reality TV be any different? The answer is more or less in the name: reality. The majority of the people who hate reality TV are those who claim the entire set-up is as far from reality as possible. They think the whole production is fake, and that the contestants are all plants by production companies. These conspiracies often come back to haunt me; the most common question I'm asked about "Beauty and the Geek" is if the show was fixed.
Here's the answer, and you could pretty much apply it to any show across the board. These shows aren't created with a given winner in mind, but very little else can actually be considered "real." The positive side is that all the contestants are genuinely real people and not actors, but a producer can still make you look any way you want to in front of a camera. On "Geek" most of the fights between people in the mansion were played out in schizophrenic eight-second bursts on TV, whereas during filming the squabbles lasted hours and were the result of long-standing tension. Due to this, when an episode aired, viewers at home sat around and thought "these people are insane," while the fellow contestants and I sat around embarrassed and wondered why the editors played so many tricks. Lucky for me I behaved like a pretty responsible adult on my show-the only thing I have to look upon with disdain is a very bad Barry White impression that made it to TV halfway during the season.
Unfortunately, reality TV has a pretty nasty stigma placed on it as being "trashy" or "throwaway entertainment." Back in 2006 I met "Boston" Rob Marciano from "Survivor: All-Stars" and "The Amazing Race," and the first thing I said to the guy upon shaking his hand was "I love your shows. They're a great guilty pleasure of mine." He looked at me for a minute confused, and then he said to me matter-of-factly that I shouldn't have to feel guilty about it.
He was right, and it was silly that I ever did. No one ever gives anyone a hard time for being a hardcore fan of "Lost," even the ones who write their own conspiracy theories and own the entire series on DVD. Why should reality TV be any different? The answer is more or less in the name: reality. The majority of the people who hate reality TV are those who claim the entire set-up is as far from reality as possible. They think the whole production is fake, and that the contestants are all plants by production companies. These conspiracies often come back to haunt me; the most common question I'm asked about "Beauty and the Geek" is if the show was fixed.
Here's the answer, and you could pretty much apply it to any show across the board. These shows aren't created with a given winner in mind, but very little else can actually be considered "real." The positive side is that all the contestants are genuinely real people and not actors, but a producer can still make you look any way you want to in front of a camera. On "Geek" most of the fights between people in the mansion were played out in schizophrenic eight-second bursts on TV, whereas during filming the squabbles lasted hours and were the result of long-standing tension. Due to this, when an episode aired, viewers at home sat around and thought "these people are insane," while the fellow contestants and I sat around embarrassed and wondered why the editors played so many tricks. Lucky for me I behaved like a pretty responsible adult on my show-the only thing I have to look upon with disdain is a very bad Barry White impression that made it to TV halfway during the season.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
jvzq88
juan
posted 9/07/08 @ 4:45 AM CST
awesome article, glad i found this. i always wondered whether the ridiculousness of "mindless" reality tv is actually an attempt to get tv viewers to wake up about what they think is real and natural. (Continued…)
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