I must admit, I do watch some reality TV shows on occasion. I’ve sat through full seasons of “Project Runway,” “So You Think You Can Dance,” and “Master Chef” — and yes, I’ve enjoyed them.
These talent-centric shows — where people create astounding, beautiful things (clothes, dance, food), all while keeping in mind time-limits and strange rules — make for good entertainment. Personally, I think most of the drama could be taken down a notch: Editing could easily trim these shows down to 30 minutes instead of drawing out the little tiffs to hour-long episodes. But even as longer time-wasters, I — and I’m sure many of you — watch these shows.@@not me@@
However, even though reality shows can be enjoyable, it’s important to be critical consumers of media. Reality television is tricky because it markets itself as the brainless, harmless fuzz of pop culture. Sit down, relax after a tough day and lose yourself in the embarrassing troubles, petty dramas, shocking backstabbing and touching success stories of these “real” Americans. You watch it without thinking about it. It’s pop culture; it’s harmless, right?
Wrong.
Reality TV perpetuates stereotypes, promotes consumerism and isn’t “reality” at all.@@what?!@@
Just think about how women are portrayed for a moment. According to reality TV, women in America are mindless bimbos, catty bitches and unabashed gold diggers. They’re obsessed with splurging thousands of dollars on wedding dresses and designer clothes — never mind the deep rut of the recession. Women of color are generally lower class, and lesbians are invisible. If they’re white, straight and single, they’re losers whose only goal in life is to meet Prince Charming. And it’s super fun for us to judge them on their slutty behavior and see them ridiculed, dumped or taken down a notch.@@and these quotes come from where?@@
Reality television is our most popular form of media. And it’s basically erased any sign that the women’s rights, civil rights as well as gay and lesbian rights movements ever occurred. Granted, not all reality shows are the same; this varies show to show, but just think about it.
Do you see many people of color (except for the token black or @@East@@Asian) on shows like “The Bachelor” or “The Bachelorette”? Now compare that to shows like “Charm School” and “Flavor of Love.” Do you think the way they lose hundreds of pounds on “The Biggest Loser” is a healthy or sustainable way of living (never mind the fat-shaming involved)? Do you really think shows like “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” “The Real Housewives of …” and “What Not to Wear” aren’t promoting hyper-consumerism?
The problem is that the average viewer doesn’t notice these things, mostly because reality TV is thought of as harmless reflections of real life. It’s marketed that way (even when the people on the shows are turned into “celebrities”).
Sometimes, situations on the shows don’t even reflect what the actors said, did or even think. This is done with editing and scripting. Wait, did you think reality TV is real? Think again. A lot of material is scripted or at least premeditated. And certain shows have been known to combine audio and video from different times and contexts to create misrepresentations of behaviors, actions and timelines.
So why is it so popular? Because it’s cheap to make compared with scripted dramas and comedies.@@that’s not why it’s popular@@ Reality television writers don’t receive union representation or the same pay as union writers, which cuts costs for producers. Sets are smaller, turn-around is faster and lighting and makeup don’t have to be perfect. Oh, and product placement by advertisers is always welcome.
If you’re interested in learning more about why popular reality television is problematic, try reading media critic Jennifer L. Pozner’s@@http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-l-pozner/@@ book, “Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth About Guilty Pleasure TV.”@@http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/reality-bites-back-jennifer-l-pozner/1102218690@@