REALITY TV SHOWS

Reality TV Shows

APA Research Paper

Introduction

Reality TV shows

A reality TV show stars a non-celebrity or a volunteer who wants to participate in the program. The core role is to see what their reactions in certain scenarios are, and how they face given situations. The audience feels like they have a connection with the show's stars as they feel that they are real and normal people representing them. Viewers are then entertained by the sadness, depression, frustration, and emptiness that the reality stars will express in the show. Audiences cannot seem to get enough of the drama of other regular, everyday people placed in unrealistic settings manipulated for the world to see. Overtime, exposure to these shows will subtly cultivate viewer's perception of reality. Reality television shows have a negative influence on today's society by portraying a false sense of communal experience, creating unrealistic standards of living, as well as affecting the productivity of growth to the younger generation (Biressi and Anita, pp. 71-96).

Discussion

In the article, James Poniewozik writes about the benefits and uses of reality TV, comparing it with other TV programs such as TV series. The writer shows the readers the good parts of reality TV. He gives the example of "American Idol" and asks if Lady Tiger who raises her orphan child by boxing is a bad example for the society who watches this program. The concepts are dreaming, persevering and being proud in this show for viewers to be affected as he says. He accuses people of looking at reality TV with negative prejudgments.For me his idea are true but not totally because, many of today's global world's TV viewers know that reality TV show's primary objective is not being the good example to the community but firstly eat the bigger piece of the cake of rating in the TV. This does not mean that there are not any reality shows which are based on reality. If reality show's concern can be highly focused on living the moment like it is in real life, this would also bring TV rating I suppose.

There are too many reality TV shows that provide useless information and give unrealistic expectations about stardom (and other real values) to ignorant audiences.To name a few: American Idol. ANTM, Survivor, The Hills, The Biggest Loser, so you think you can dance, the real world, dancing with the stars, but the list continues to go on.James Poniewozik states in his article that although there's hardly any reality in them, the shows provide “involving human stories.” Poniewozik also added that “reality shows don't just reach tens of millions of viewers but leave them feeling part of a communal experience.”What kind of communal experience? The experience to waste time away from each other instead of having good relationships as God intended?Reality TV was interesting and fun before. It started in the early 90s when producers wanted to make shows that were cheap and easy to make. The Real World was one of the first ...