Reality Television's Appeal

My paper focuses on reality television, and the different ways in which it is formatted to appeal to its viewers.  Reality television has been a fairly profitable industry for a while, and with the growth of American Idol into the phenomenon it has become, reality television producers are evidently well aware of how to draw viewers.  My paper specifically analyzes forced environment reality shows such as The Real World, An American Family, and Big Brother, and just how these shows frame their content in order to appeal to viewers.

An American Family is credited with being the first forced environment reality show.  It was essentially a documentary of an ordinary American family.  The show didn't use any exploitative tricks to attract viewers, and is noticeably different than the shows being produced now.  Regardless of this, this show was a popular cultural phenomenon, because of the way that audiences could relate to the characters.  The uncensored footage of normal people established the appeal of being a fly on the wall observer.

There is a theory entitled "sensitivity theory" introduced by media scholars from Iowa State University, which states that reality television has become as popular as it has because it allows viewers to achieve their 16 basic desires vicariously through reality television.  This theory of 16 desires was loosely based on a theory created by Aristotle, but altered and framed to fit reality television as a model.

For instance, many people achieve their basic desire for status through watching reality television, by feeling superior to the sometimes idiotic reality television stars.  For instance, this scene from Big Brother would appeal to the basic desire for status:

Many avid fans become obsessive about the relationships formed on reality television shows.  This indicates that they are achieving their basic desire for love or lust through the viewing of a reality show.  This video is a strong indicator that its creator's viewing habits fit this mold.

A third basic desire which reality television would allow for an audience member to achieve through watching it would be that of curiosity.  As reality scholar Lemi Baruh states in his article Publicized Intimacies on Reality Television, he states that "reality programs promise the thrill of seeing something intimate and doing so remotely and without accountability." This ability to view something personal without having to actually be there or know the person is vastly appealing to much of American society.  This clip shows an example of a personal moment which would otherwise be inaccessible to anyone other than the people involved. It also appeals to the desire for love and social interaction.

My paper also explores the issue of production in reality television, and equates it to the writing of scripted shows.  Producers intentionally cast people who fit certain archtypes, and put them in situations where drama is bound to occur.  This allows the situations to seem real, though they were heavily doctored in order to provide their end results. As media figure Michael Essany states in his book Reality Check, "Reality television is only real to a limited extent.  Most elements of the series are carefully planned to elicit specific reactions from the real people placed in these contrived situations."  

Editing is very important to reality television today.  Producers and editors are able to manipulate their footage in order to achieve the most entertaining result.  Shows compile hours and hours of footage, which is then chiseled into whatever they feel they should create.  Such is explained on this clip: