Denhart begins to
define what reality television actual is, "Labeling a television show as
"reality TV" represents a contract with the audience that the program
has consequence to its real-life cast members." He then begins to give a
list of shows that do qualify as real reality TV such as Deadliest Catch, and
Whale Wars. He also throws in a key example on how Chef Gordon Ramsay's show
Kitchen Nightmares, which is run by two different TV companies in two different
countries, vary quite drastically proving to the audience that each director or
television channel has a big impact on reality TV. "Both capture a
reality: Gordon Ramsay helping troubled restaurant owners, yelling at them, and
fixing their problems. But on the Fox edition, Ramsay works much harder to
create conflict, and so do the editors; the show's credits note that footage
may appear out of order, and that's often used to construct reactions or
moments that may never have occurred."
One huge point that
Denhart makes is that it is not worth it for some of the strenuous work that
reality producers have to fake in order to make people believe that their show
is still real; and to this I will have to agree as well. Why waste such a time
trying to fake in order to keep viewers attached? Personally I find the
entertainment in reality TV is the actual part of reality. Seeing what real
life individuals have to go through or what is actually going on in their
lives. I get slightly irritated when i can tell that scenes are staged or when
claimers like the individuals on House Hunters come out and say this is not
really what happened. Then that is not the point of reality television plain
and simple. If producers have to constantly stage scenes in reality television
than their show was not interesting enough to even begin to make a reality show
about it.
A show that I personally
just recently watched was a show on the discovery channel claiming that they
have found evidence that real life mermaids actually exists. This show has had
a few episodes every year or so that they use to tie together to make it seem
like this is real. I am not going to lie the show and everything about it was
interesting. They had great pieces of evidence, scientists and ex-navy seals
explaining why the government is hiding the proof of mermaids from the world,
and all sorts of other pieces to really make people believe it is real. After
watching this show i had such a determination to find out the truth. After
reading articles on Google from cast members of it claiming they are not
actually scientists or ex-navy seals, and also explaining that this reality TV program is just a big lie for views. Yes I know it is kind of dumb to believe
in such a topic about mermaids anyways but that is not the point. The point is
what Denhart said about reality TV and this is not at all. It is just another
staged program falsely leading people to believe it is real.
With reality TV being such controversy now
a days, it is hard to determine what is real and what is not. I believe that
producers and major TV corporations don’t understand that some people just want
to watch what happens in other people’s lives just like them, plain and simple.
Reality television would be a lot better without the falseness and fraud inputted
by the producers.
I agree with your statement that reality TV should be actually real and not scripted scenes. Personally I don’t like to watch reality TV shows because a lot of it is way too scripted and I can tell its fake. If shows actually stopped trying to create so much fake drama to get more views than reality TV would be much more interesting and entertaining because the whole reason that people want to watch these shows is the reality factor of it, not the fake, scripted stuff added in order to make more drama. This is why I feel that documentaries on channels like national geographic and the science channel are much more interesting because it talks about real life stuff. I think that reality TV should start going more towards being like a documentary than to keep scripting fake drama into them to make them more interesting. The interesting aspect should be the fact that it is real.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the majority of reality television is scripted and fake, and I do believe that is should be 100% real. Television would be much more interesting and entertaining if there was no scripted dialogue and actions, but rather everything is fresh and natural(unscripted). Producers and television corporations should take a step and add another category to television: scripted and unscripted reality television. This way, people who watch the show can see what life is actually like for the unscripted people, but if the person wanted to watch something entertaining, they could choose to watch the scripted television show. Scripted reality shows put the wrong idea in people's minds. The people will think that what they are watching is true, when in reality it is not.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good topic to bring up. Nowadays, reality shows are becoming more and more popular. Examples of this include Keeping up with the Kardashians, The Hills, Jersey Shore, etc. These types of television shows are becoming more and more distorted by the minute and are messing with people’s minds. Our vision of reality now compared to ten years ago is drastically different. Producers are going to unneeded measures to try to obtain views and popularity. These shows are being exposed to younger and younger generations and their idea of reality is very far from “actual” reality. As shown through the link below, many shows such as the Real Housewives are stirring up controversy. They are becoming exposed and their “fake” acting is coming to light. I believe that there should honestly just be more channels like the National Geographic, as Kevin said, that aren’t an imitation of what’s actually happening. They put real information out to the public.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/08/30/real-housewives-reportedly-faked-scenes-is-anything-on-reality-tv-real/
Personally, I completely agree with the fact that it’s not cool for producers to deceive viewers by calling scripted shows “reality.” BUT: would reality TV be as entertaining if it wasn’t scripted? Is Kim Kardashian’s life entertaining below the surface? Or would Jersey Shore, MTV’s hit series, be as entertaining if gym tan laundry wasn’t scripted? Jersey shore was scripted down to the point where the characters PRETENDED to be drunk. Would sober Snooki be as funny? Probably not. Although we, the viewers, hate being deceived we do have to admit that we are deeply entertained by seeing (scripted) TV. Somehow MTV and E! have to make money so fooling you into being a part of some joke actors pretending to live their everyday lives is just business.
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DeleteMy opinion on this subject is pretty neutral. Whether or not these shows are real or fake is beside the point. There are some people who find "fabricated" reality boring, and others who find it extremely entertaining. The creators of these shows concentrate on those who do, and it sells. How else are these shows still running if nobody is watching them? The value of reality TV is less about reality, and more about the money. It always has been. TV producers care about ratings and viewers (much less about how their shows affect the minds of viewers), and until the concept of "false reality" causes a significant drop in ratings and profits, these shows will still exist regardless of your opinion. It's just a business.
ReplyDeleteI agree with alot of what has already been commented on. I do not think that reality television is actual "reality" and it is misleading to call it that. While it can be considered more interesting if there is some scripting going on and the people in the reality tv show are acting in a way to make the show more entertaining, I don't think it should be called reality. Many of the people in the reality show also claim that they are being 100% themselves on the show but I feel like having the camera follow you all the time would have some influence on how you act and what you say. This whole situation is almost as if a writer chooses to write a nonfiction book. Everything must be true and if he or she over exaggerates or makes up some details to make it more interesting, the book would be considered fiction.
ReplyDeleteOf course reality TV shows are staged, I think that is obvious when watching any reality show. TV producers will edit footage and manipulate cast members whenever possible. The main goal of reality tv is not to show the true reality… it is to keep viewers coming back and to make as much profit possible. Although it is unfortunate that producers do this that is just the way it is. If you can recall the show Breaking Amish on TLC, after research a viewer was able to prove that all these so-called “Amish” people breaking away from their rural lives to live in New York City ended up just being paid actors. People should not believe every thing they see or hear, in the entertainment industry people are ultimately trying to earn as much money possible and if it getting money means creating fake scenarios on these reality shows they will do it.
ReplyDeleteIt is very interesting to notice the comparison between the reality television that is truly reality television and the popular and more fictional reality television that is not even reality at all. The shows such as Whale Wars, and Deadliest Catch are far different from Kitchen Nightmares but for some reason all of these shows fall under reality television. The idea of earning ratings through false information is not such a crazy idea, but when television stations that tend to broadcast educational shows promote and validate the information on the shows then there is something wrong.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with the fact that reality television shows shouldn’t be scripted because it’s supposed to be a reality show. How is it a reality show if the show is scripted and certain situations are being twisted in order to make the show appear as more interesting and more full of drama? One TV show comes in mind when discussing this issue: Jersey Shore. It’s painfully obvious to tell that some of the scenes in this show are completely scripted and that producers tell the cast to be overdramatic at certain times or act a certain way in order to make the show more intriguing. While I do believe that the audience shouldn’t be lied to and that reality shows should be about reality, I do believe that it's necessary for producers to change up some situations. I think that shows would have lower ratings and be less interesting if producers didn’t twist certain situations to actually make them interesting.
ReplyDeleteI am one of those people Brennan described because I don't find the cast of Jersey Shore or Keeping Up With The Kardashians lives interesting fabricated or not. However, the producers are not interested in those with my taste in television. They fabricate these shows simply for the purpose of entertainment. For example, I can hardly imagine a show about my life in as much detail as the fabricated life of Kim Kardashian would draw as much attention. Not simply because I live among other simple folk, but because I don't have nearly as much tension or drama in my life. Which sort of person cares to watch a show of a newly adult struggling with the concept of debt and future plans? These reality shows would be what they are today had it not been for the producer's edits and cuts. Even though this process undermines the concept of reality television, the producers must do it for the sake of ratings.
ReplyDeleteI share a similar opinion with you on reality television, and I can't stand to watch it due to how much of the episodes are nothing except filler and scripted material. The real problem with reality TV is that many of the viewers believe what they are watching and actually like it. Producers for reality TV are more likely to get a higher number of viewers if they concentrate on scripting their show to be more lively and exciting. This is what gives producers the incentive to stray away from true reality television. Unfortunately, it will probably stay this way as long as the majority of television viewers are looking for an overdramatic and surprising experience, with no regard to the legitimacy of the show. I watched the discovery channel special on mermaids as well, and I was very surprised to see that a science channel had stooped that low to get viewers.
ReplyDeleteLet’s be honest. If most reality television shows were completely real they would probably be pretty boring most of the time. The excitement and drama is what watchers come to the shows for and without that there’s really no point in showing this real reality shows because it’s likely that they wouldn’t be watched very often or receive good ratings. I do, however, agree that the creators of the show shouldn’t try to trick the watchers into thinking that all the events of a show are chronological and true. Perhaps they could state a disclaimer at the beginning of the show stating that some events may have been manipulated for whatever purpose. Another solution is get rid of reality television all together because I don’t find it to be all that enriching for the television watching community. I could literally feel my brain cells killing themselves while watching an episode of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.
ReplyDelete-Bri Lee