The article, “Reality TV attracts, um, larger-than-life
characters”, written by Paul Farhi discusses how reality television attracts
certain people with “extraordinary” lives. Fahri begins by using three different examples of specific
people to prove that reality television is looking for participants that are
basically borderline crazy. The first example is about a couple that has
previously been on a reality TV series, who had made up a story to get on
another television show. The couple had created a horrific story that a runaway
balloon had carried their 6-year-old son away. The next story is about a
32-year-old man that had been on two reality television shows, who was
suspected of murdering and then dismembering his wife and fleeing the country,
later committing suicide. The third story consisted of a couple, who previously
appeared on “Real Housewives of D.C.”, who had snuck into a state dinner at the
White House, then later bragged about it on Facebook. The author goes on by
stating that all three of these stories lead to public attention, getting them
all in the spotlight, which is exactly what they wanted.
Farhi goes on by stating that nobody wants to watch a TV
show about regular people doing regular things, but would rather watch
individuals with ridiculous personalities and individuals who commit outrageous
acts. I agree with this because people want entertainment and what provides
more entertainment than a TV show starring ridiculous people doing stupid
things? Because producers are looking for participants that will provide the
most entertainment, a new question is proposed, “How far will producers go in
trying to get the best participants who will receive the most ratings and views
for the show?” If producers continue to look for these kinds of participants,
who knows, maybe murderers will be starring in the next reality television
show.
According to Farhi, outrageous behavior is the goal, which,
I think, is sadly true. The more outrageous the behavior is, the higher the
views and ratings. The author claims that in recent years, reality show
participants are chosen from people who are deadbeat dads, who have committed
assaults, been tax cheats, appeared in porn films, etc. This goes to show what
kind of people producers are looking for to star in their reality show. To me,
it’s almost as if they are being rewarded attention for committing crimes and
breaking laws.
The article later states that it’s not all the producers’
fault for this and that they aren’t the only ones who need to step up. Fahri
says that advertisers could step up by choosing not to sponsor the show and
that the audience, the viewers, could also just stop watching and giving the
shows more attention.
All in all, I think that reality shows are attracting the
wrong kind of people. People with psychological disorders who commit crimes don’t
need to be and shouldn’t be in the spotlight. The article states, “Appearing on
a reality television show can distort even the most balanced individual’s
self-image and self-esteem.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/30/AR2009113004267_2.html?sid=ST2009113003525
After reading the article and blog, I agree with both you and the author, Paul Farhi, that reality television shows pick people with ridiculous personalities that will do idiotic things. Farhi presents his argument through three examples of particpants on reality television shows that have done some very illegal stuff. He states that they pick a certain type of person that will help increase the ratings and raise the viewers. The author appeals the ethos in his argument by using specific examples of what type of criminals people have been that were on reality shows. I agree with you when you stated that “reality tv shows are attracting the wrong people.” I think that this trend of criminals being on tv is almost like a spotlight to someone and rewarding them for being bad.
ReplyDeleteI completely stand by your opinions, Lauren. There comes a point though when producers take it too far. You are right when you say that nobody wants to watch normal people doing everyday things. An average person’s week isn’t very dramatic or show worthy. Because of this, producers have to find contestants who come from out of the ordinary backgrounds. This includes things like porn stars, drug addicts, models, etc. And unfortunately, all of this is just for money and ratings. They are bringing fame and attention to people for doing “bad” things. New regulations need to be put on how these characters are casted. This then creates a dilemma because who really wants to see, for example, a college student going to school, writing a blog, eating top ramen, then going to sleep? Producers need people with outrageous, somewhat “fake” lives, or nobody would ever watch reality television. This topic can go either way depending on what side of the situation you stand on.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that reality tv wants larger than life characters. It makes the show interesting and unique which gives the show higher ratings. The viewers are less likely to watch the show if it is nothing special or out of the ordinary. Depending on what they do, I do not think this is necessarily a good thing because people who do bad things should not be made famous. Even on the news, murders and serial killers are made famous and this has always bothered me because they are getting rewarded when they shouldn't be and being known by millions of people is probably what they wanted in the first place. The article "Reality Tv Rewarding Bad Behavior" is also in agreement with this and mentioned how the girls in teen mom are getting famous when they should be getting in trouble for getting pregnant at such a young age.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-green/reality-tv-rewarding-bad-_b_3606641.html
I agree that reality television shows are not the “social norm.” Reality TV shows show the most extreme people in bizarre and chaotic situations in order to make the show a hit. Most of the reality TV shows out there do not follow normal people, but only the 1% that are truly irregular, and the producer makes it seem as if this is the normal for this part of society. For example, the bachelor places one man with 25 women, and the women compete to win the man and see if they are a perfect match. This is not how real life works; it is displaying the wrong idea to kids and the younger culture. Most of the shows are scripted in order to increase the drama and tension to make it seem like action is really going on. Reality TV should not display the bachelor, because it is unrealistic to think that that could actually happen to someone.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.eonline.com/news/506735/the-bachelor-recap-juan-pablo-goes-all-the-way-with-one-of-the-ladies-but-regrets-it
I agree that the bachelor is a perfect example of reality televisions shows casting people with compelling personalities and life stories in order to draw in more attention to the show. For example, my mom just started watching the bachelor because of the assumption that Juan Pablo was homophobic, she wanted to watch his show so that she could judge him... I don't think that's the way it works, mom. When asked for his opinion on having the show feature a gay bachelor, Juan Pablo replied, "I respect [gay people], but honestly, I don't think it's a good example for kids." (As if one man dating 25 women at the same time is) He went on to say other homophobic comments throughout his interview. Eventually, he issued an apology and blamed his comments on English not being his first language.
Deletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/18/juan-pablo-gay-bachelor_n_4622691.html
I definitely agree that reality shows are always looking for people who are outrageous. It is really unfortunate that producers are only looking to air scandalous personalities, but that is entertainment for people. If people continue to be entertained then producers will continue to make more money. If you just look at the show “My Strange Addiction” on TLC, the people on the show drink their own pee, dress up as adult babies, and even eat rocks. As stupid as “My Strange Addiction” is, people still continue to come back and watch it because the storylines are entertaining. Reality TV has made its success off of these controversial figures because the people on the show are going to cause drama and so people will continue to watch. The cast of the reality TV shows gets major attention, but it’s only 15 minutes of fame for them in the long run.
ReplyDeleteNormal is boring. I think it's fair to say that this is true for most people. People don't watch tv to see things they do everyday, they do it for some thrill; entertainment. This is the entertainment industry and I'm sure minor psychological issues are pretty low priority when casting for reality tv. I agree with Natalie though, that it is only 15 minutes of fame and these people will be forgotten. They won't become hollywood icons and be influencing young viewers for very long (if that's a concern). There really is nothing that can be done because the ultimate goal is viewers and the entertainment factor. Additionally, a cause for concern is tv shows that actually ruin people's personal lives directly. An example would be Bridezillas. Some of these shows just bring out the worst in people and do damage to the cast members for the sake of entertainment.
ReplyDeleteFull article: http://madamenoire.com/192395/exclusive-bridezilla-jeanine-on-her-broken-marriage-acting-out-for-the-cameras-more/
To be honest, I don't think it really matters whether people agree with who is on reality shows or not. The crazier and more dramatic the cast is, the higher the ratings. There is no way a show is going to purposefully make less money because they didn't want to cast a murderer for example. It's their choice to cast these types of people and you can't really force them not to do it or convince people to stop watching it. As the saying goes, money talks. I also don't even think it matters if someone has a false background story. The rumor generated from the audience finding out about the false background is enough advertisement to make it more than worth it. There is no such thing as bad publicity because publicity equals money.
ReplyDeleteThe comments made by Lauren in the post are spot-on. Reality television wouldn't be entertaining if it was an average person living an average life. The purpose of reality television is to see the lives of people who we wouldn't really classify as 'average.' Being outrageous is certainly the key here. The more absurd the personality or actions of the individual, the more likely people are to take interest in it. It's a shame that people like serial killers are receiving publicity of any kind for any reason, but that is what attracts people the most. Their point that it's the advertisers faults for promoting the shows is equally as ridiculous, as an advertiser, why would you not want to promote something that generates viewers and nets you profits?
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