essay on reality shows are not real

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Reality TV distorts people’s perception of true reality

Sandhya Bhandari , Content Creator | February 21, 2023

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Reality shows are TV programs that follow the lives of real people and is meant to be a source of entertainment. However, these shows represent how reality can be distorted through editing and deceiving impacting viewers’ perceptions of reality.

Reality shows can have positive effects on confidence and mental health, but they can also harm self-esteem and present an inaccurate depiction of reality. Linzi Gibson, an associate professor of psychology and cognitive neuroscience specialist, and Katrina Escobar, a recent psychology graduate, both expressed their ideas on how reality shows affect the views of people in the real world and real life.

“Reality shows have greatly impacted the entertainment industry, leading to the creation of numerous new shows. MTV was one of the first platforms for reality shows, which emerged during my teenage years,” said Gibson.

Gibson elaborated that the abundance of reality shows today is evidence of their influence, although younger generations may be less exposed to them due to their preference for online content. Nonetheless, reality shows remain influential, although their degree of influence may differ among generations

“Even though there has been progress in reducing mental health stigma, there is still a need for greater acceptance of therapy as a positive tool for mental well-being. The way mental health is portrayed in the media can be harmful, leading to negative thinking patterns and anxiety,” said Escobar.

She clarified that it is important to be aware of these portrayals to promote healthy attitudes and behaviors toward seeking help for mental health issues. When people feel pressure to conform to a group, they may overlook their mental well-being, leading to a loss of personal identity and disconnection from oneself.

According to the 2020 Hornet Newspaper , viewers of reality television think reality shows only show a small part of reality. Still, they enjoy it because it’s engaging, relatable and they can interact with it. They think that reality shows present a glamorous lifestyle, giving them the impression that their own lives could be like that.

“Watching reality shows can harm our self-esteem as we compare ourselves to more successful or attractive individuals. However, it can also boost our confidence when we see others struggling with problems,” said Gibson.

According to Gibson, reality shows influence our behavior and perception through observational learning. Reality shows are not always completely real, as they may include fictional elements. Watching these shows may cause people to have a distorted perception of reality, which could lead to actions or beliefs that are not ideal.

These shows have become a cultural phenomenon in many ways and people often think they feature real people in unscripted situations. So, viewers are often drawn to these shows because they can relate to the stars, and feel better about their own lives after watching them.Both Gibson and Escobar explained that reality TV shows can give viewers an inaccurate perception of reality due to the psychological mechanisms at play. It is crucial to prioritize one’s mental health and well-being. Reality TV shows, especially those that are scripted, are not a true reflection of reality. Participants may present a calculated version of themselves, and producers may manipulate events to create conflict. As a result, the reality depicted in these shows is often distorted. This portrayal of reality is not real, and viewers might be influenced to engage in negative behavior.

As opinion expressed by ucanews in 2020, these reality shows bring to light the harsh reality that some individuals gain fame by behaving in ways that are not true to their character. In a hostile environment, they may resort to being disrespectful to others, spreading negativity, or lying to climb their way to the top for fame.

Moreover, celebrity culture can be appealing as it presents an easy-to-follow ideal. Comparing oneself to others causes low self-esteem and an inability to appreciate what one has. However, it can be alluring and persuasive as it provides an effortless ideal to emulate and creates a false perception of reality since celebrities’ lives are often different from the average person. Wealthy individuals on these shows can prompt people to want expensive items despite their finances, and social media amplifies this effect. Unattainable goals and opulent lifestyles can harm mental health by reducing motivation, diminishing values and aspirations, and causing disappointment, shame, and hopelessness.

Reality shows can influence our behavior through observational learning, as people may imitate the behaviors they see on TV and compare themselves to the characters on the show. This can result in a desire to mimic the style or behavior of the reality show personalities, highlighting the significant role that these shows have in shaping our actions and thoughts.

Hence, it is necessary to research the popularity of reality TV shows by comparing the characteristics of people who watch them to those who do not. The research should include examining differences in goals and aspirations between the two groups. The speaker questions whether reality TV shows have a significant impact on society and whether their popularity is as high as people believe.

Edited by: Aja Carter, Rakesh Swarnakar and Simran Shrestha

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Home Essay Samples Entertainment Reality Television

Reality Shows: Advantages and Disadvantages of TV

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Advantages of reality shows, disadvantages of reality tv shows, solutions to overcome the addiction of reality shows.

• Andrejevic, M. (2004). Reality TV: The work of being watched. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
• Bell, M. (2015). Reality TV and class. In A. Hill (Ed.), Reality TV: Key ideas (pp. 135-150). Routledge.
• Choueiti, M., Khanduri, R., & Pieper, K. (2019). Inequality in 1,200 popular films: Examining portrayals of gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ, and disability from 2007-2018. USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.
• Hill, A. (2015). Introduction. In A. Hill (Ed.), Reality TV: Key ideas (pp. 1-10). Routledge.
• Holmes, S. (2004). Reality TV: Audiences and popular factual television. Routledge.
• Mastro, D. E., & Kopacz, M. A. (2016). Race, reality television, and stereotypes: Examining the content of network and cable reality series. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 60(2), 208-227.

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Sport and Competition

How reality shows affect our lives and society, what are the negative and positive effects of reality tv.

Posted April 12, 2022 | Reviewed by Abigail Fagan

• People are often drawn to reality TV because they enjoy the drama and relate to difficult decision-making.
• The theme of self-interest vs. self-sacrifice runs through many reality shows.
• Reality shows often lead people to reflect on what they might do in a similar situation, which can be a good exercise in values exploration.

Millions of people around the world tune in to reality shows and have been watching for decades. What started out as an experiment has turned into mainstream programming and as a culture, we can’t get enough of it.

Is there any personal or societal cost to our ongoing fascination with reality shows? While opinions certainly differ on the topic, it comes down to a few factors:

• The malleability of your values
• Your commitment to behaving in ways that reflect your values

Television and all other forms of media have an impact on our thoughts, opinions, and behaviors. There is no doubt that what we take in for entertainment and information influences the way we think about the world around us. Our minds are designed to synthesize boatloads of information every day, from our interactions with others to the books we read and the entertainment we seek out. We make sense of the world through these pieces of information we gather, and this impacts how we live our lives every day.

Beyond the daily information we absorb, we are also influenced by our prior life experiences, our family of origin, the environment we are raised in and a slew of other cultural and genetic factors. These interpersonal and direct influences are more likely to impact our values and behaviors than reality shows. Does this mean that we should be unconcerned about the ways in which reality show trends impact us? No, we definitely need to pay attention to the underlying messages in these shows and explore why they appeal to us so much.

Why Do Reality Shows Reel Us In?

Reality shows keep us coming back, week after week. We want to know who said what to whom, which person betrayed another or who compromised their alliances or made a shady decision that influenced other people. It’s all about the best and worst of human behavior; it is an observational psychology class without the lecture or exams.

Often reality shows cause us to reflect on what we might do in a similar situation, which can be a good exercise in values exploration. The basic question of self-interest versus self-sacrifice is a theme that runs through most reality shows. These themes of good and bad behaviors, betrayal, competition , and connection are familiar to us; we make similar decisions every day, minus the cameras, artificial scenarios, and publicity. It calls to us because on a very basic level, we love human drama, and we relate to tough decisions. Whether it is a competition for love, money, fame, or notoriety, we enjoy watching the struggle. When we root for our favorite reality show participant, we are identifying something compelling within them, and this may say a lot about us if we choose to explore it. As we indulge in our favorite reality shows, we can ask ourselves:

• What do I enjoy about this show and what emotions does it elicit?
• What appeals to me about these characters and their role in the show?
• Would I make different choices than these characters? If so, why?
• What values do I embrace in my life that are either abided by or abandoned in this show?

Reality shows are ironically named because they are often far from realistic scenarios. Even though these programs are guilty pleasures for so many, we can use them as good conversation starters with friends and as food for thought within our own minds as we consider our values and how to live in ways that demonstrate those values.

Teyhou Smyth, Ph.D., LMFT , teaches psychology at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology at Pepperdine University.

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Reality TV Has Reshaped Our World, Whether We Like It or Not

By judy berman.

“I’m not here to make friends. I’m here to win.” So goes the ultimate reality TV cliché , one popularized by the first season of Survivor , which got broadcast audiences hooked on competitions between telegenic “real people” cashing in the 15 minutes of fame that are the birthright of all Americans. Two decades later, the declaration has proven true of the genre itself. Reality series aren’t exactly well respected; critics, social scientists, and even fans never stop unearthing revelations about their crass manipulations and toxic tropes . Yet despite all the antipathy directed at these programs, they’ve conquered the culture and claimed their prize: our attention.

Reality TV has radically altered the landscapes of celebrity, politics, and power. It has made many people extremely rich; Kim Kardashian has a net worth of $1.8 billion . Reality stars have penetrated every corner of the entertainment industry, from Harry Styles , Kelly Clarkson , and Cardi B on the pop charts (appearing on The X Factor , American Idol , and Love & Hip Hop: New York , respectively) to Jennifer Hudson , Laverne Cox , and Emma Stone in Hollywood (first seen on Idol , I Want to Work for Diddy , and VH1’s In Search of the Partridge Family ). West Side Story best supporting actress Oscar winner Ariana DeBose began her Broadway career following a stint on So You Think You Can Dance . While Project Runway launched Christian Siriano into the fashion stratosphere, Guy Fieri honed his everyman-gourmand persona on The Next Food Network Star . Without the Real Housewives, the Kardashian-Jenner clan, and the Selling Sunset cast, the pages of gossip rags would be virtually blank.

To state the obvious, reality TV also restored the cultural capital and catalyzed the political rise of our 45th President. In a 2016 interview that the critic James Poniewozik highlights in his book Audience of One: Trump, Television, and the Fracturing of America , a former supervising editor of The Apprentice explained the show’s aim: “Make Trump look good, make him look wealthy, legitimate.” Well, it worked. And Trump, the consummate reality star, brought the medium’s guiding principles—conflict, chaos, and public humiliation—to the West Wing

Read more: The 50 Most Influential Reality TV Seasons of All Time

But he was hardly the first to politicize the genre. As early as the ’90s, reality TV was confronting third-rail issues like racism, LGBTQ rights, abortion, homelessness, and AIDS—and that was just in the first three seasons of The Real World . For more than a generation now, reality stars have played as central a role in debates around how Americans should live as any cable-news pundit or newspaper columnist. Millennials and Gen Z have grown up expecting to see their identities, values, and struggles represented on series as ostensibly apolitical as Big Brother and Dancing With the Stars . Which helps to explain the social-media outcry around Trump Administration alum Sean Spicer’s cynical attempt to launder his image with a stint on the latter show.

As that example suggests, reality TV’s winning streak isn’t necessarily good news for society. To the extent that the U.S. has become a harsher, shallower, angrier, more divided place in the 21st century, reality TV—which has helped normalize cruelty, belligerence, superficiality, and disloyalty, and rewarded people who weaponize those traits—bears a share of the blame. As sociologist Danielle J. Lindemann notes in her recent book True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us : “for all of its extreme personalities and outlandish premises, reality TV reflects how regressive we truly are .” With that in mind, our list of reality TV’s most influential seasons is not a celebration of every show, or of the genre writ large. It’s a measure of the profound impact these charming hams, malignant narcissists, and the bizarre situations they keep choosing to inhabit have had on our world, for better and worse.

The Apprentice

Jersey shore, the bachelorette, the masked singer, selling sunset.

It’s Time to Start Taking Reality TV More Seriously

Danielle J. Lindemann ’10GSAS , a sociology professor at Lehigh University, understands reality TV better than practically anyone else. Her new book True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us takes an intellectual dive into a massively popular but maligned genre. 

Why should we take reality TV seriously?

Despite the stigma associated with lowbrow entertainment, studies reveal that more people in the US are watching reality TV than not, and nearly half of all TV series are unscripted. Media research has long shown that what we see on TV impacts our beliefs, values, and attitudes and how we move and act in the world.

I see reality TV as a kind of fun-house mirror, because it can show us ourselves in caricatured or amplified form. The genre reveals some of the worst things about society — sexism, racism, classism, materialism — and dials them up to eleven. But it also shows us the best of ourselves in its creativity. Historically, reality TV has been more diverse than other forms of media in its representation of people of color and queer people, even if those representations haven’t always been positive. Reality TV reveals how much society has evolved and, at the same time, how conservative it remains. 

You teach a course that pairs episodes of reality-TV shows with sociological readings. Which shows do you find particularly interesting?

I like RuPaul’s Drag Race , because it emphasizes how aspects of gender are performed in everyday life. A show like The Bachelor , with its fixation on marriage and rigid gender stereotypes, reveals how long-standing ideas about courtship still powerfully influence the way we think and behave. The Real Housewives franchise offers fascinating character studies and insight into group dynamics, while Keeping Up with the Kardashians explores the strength of the family unit.

What’s your take on why reality TV is so popular?  

Reality TV is voyeuristic. We like watching the “train wreck” character to remind ourselves that even if we’re messed up in our own ways, we are not the train wreck. We might feel smugly superior to the people on these shows. There is a freak-show aspect to this voyeurism too. Sometimes, it’s marginalized groups that are ridiculed, as in the case of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo , where the central family is portrayed as buffoonish and stereotypically lower-class.  

Reality TV involves real people ostensibly reacting to real-world situations, which allows us to put ourselves in the participants’ shoes and see flashes of ourselves. The genre tends to traffic in broad character archetypes — the “smart one” and the “shy one” and the “athletic one,” for example. There’s usually someone you can identify with and say “I’m a Bethenny” or “I’m a Ramona,” and so on. Reality TV is also unique in the way it encourages audience participation: we engage with the stars via social media and, with shows like The Voice or Love Island , we even vote on the outcomes. 

Binging reality TV, at least for me, can have a kind of anesthetic effect. Viewers do not need to see these shows as pure mirrors of life in order to enjoy and connect with them. We know they are constructed by producers and some scenes may be staged. Personally, I enjoy looking for “really real” moments, the smudges in the gloss — like when the Housewives haul out one another’s real-life text messages to read during reunion episodes. 

How has reality TV influenced other areas of society? 

Studies have shown various behaviors to be associated with watching reality TV; heavy viewers of the genre are more likely to drink alcohol, get fake tans, and use hot tubs on dates. While correlation does not necessarily equal causation, one well-known study established a link between viewership of 16 and Pregnant and reduced teen-pregnancy rates. 

Many people have launched successful careers after starting out in reality TV. Cardi B, for example, entered into the public view in 2015 as a cast member of Love & Hip-Hop: New York , where she was portrayed as an aspiring musician. Since then, she has pulled herself up the celebrity pipeline and become a Grammy-winning rapper. 

Some reality stars have even entered politics, the most famous being Donald Trump. Would he have been elected president if he hadn’t appeared on The Apprentice and been shown in a position of power, wearing a suit, and barking orders from behind a desk, and been depicted as always being right? We can’t know for sure, but it’s reasonable to suggest that reality TV helped pave his road to the White House. The media coverage surrounding Trump’s presidency arguably became its own reality show — in 2018, major news outlets even covered a visit to the Oval Office from Kim Kardashian. Trump is an important data point for helping us understand how reality TV both reflects and molds culture. If we learned anything from his presidency, it’s this: one thing that’s “really real” about unscripted programming is its impact.   

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Viewer Beware: Watching Reality TV Can Impact Real-Life Behavior

MTV's Jersey Shore starred, from left, Vinny Guadagnino, Angelina Pivarnick, Paul "DJ Pauly D" DelVecchio, Jenni "JWOWW" Farley, Ronnie Magro, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola. MTV/AP hide caption

MTV's Jersey Shore starred, from left, Vinny Guadagnino, Angelina Pivarnick, Paul "DJ Pauly D" DelVecchio, Jenni "JWOWW" Farley, Ronnie Magro, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola.

In the pilot episode of Jersey Shore , we're introduced in the first minute to the "new family": Snooki, JWoww, Vinny and the rest of the gang.

A few minutes later, Snooki has already questioned JWoww's sexual morals. Vinny is calling Snooki stupid. The new family is already getting gossipy and aggressive.

That unfriendly behavior is good for TV ratings, but it might be bad news for you, the viewer. A new study led by Bryan Gibson, a psychologist at Central Michigan University, finds watching reality shows with lots of what's called relational aggression — bullying, exclusion and manipulation — can make people more aggressive in their real lives.

"We knew from past research that people who see relational aggression in media tend to become more aggressive," he explains to Tess Vigeland, guest host of NPR's weekends on All Things Considered . "Gossiping and nastiness is prevalent on these shows, so we wanted to find out whether it affected how aggressive people were after they watched."

Related NPR Stories

Every Reality Show Is A True Story, And Other 'Bachelor' Lessons

Reality tv has become honey boo boo-ified, pop culture, reality tv turning young girls into fame monsters.

Each participant in the study watched one of three varieties of television: an aggressive surveillance show like Jersey Shore or Real Housewives , an uplifting surveillance show like Little People, Big World , or a fictional crime drama like CSI .

After they watched one episode, people were asked to do a separate task that measured aggression. The goal was to hit a keyboard button as quickly as possible. Participants believed they were racing against someone in another room and whoever won would get to blast the other person with a loud, shrill sound.

Gibson and his team took notes on how long participants wanted to blast the sound and how loud they turned the volume up. "It turns out those who had watched Jersey Shore or Real Housewives actually gave louder, longer blasts after watching those shows than those who watched the more violent crime dramas," he says.

Gibson is quick to point out that these findings are not a reason to censor what television content makes it on air. But, he says, it's probably worth taking note if you're a parent. "This is one form of media that may appear harmless, but I think our research provides a little bit of evidence that there can be some negative outcomes as well," he says.

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What are the Elements in Reality-TV Shows That Result in High Viewership and Engagement in the Audience?

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Reality Shows: Real or Fake Argumentative Essay

What is a Reality Show? A television reality show features talent culled from the ranks of ‘ordinary’ people, not professionally trained actors. Reality show producers typically shoot hundreds of hours of footage per episode and use creative editing to create a narrative thread. Subjects of a reality show may be given some rudimentary directions offscreen, but the point is to allow the performers to act and react as normally as possible. A reality show is not to be confused with a documentary, in which the subjects are asked to ignore the cameras and behave naturally.

Many reality show producers encourage participants to play to the cameras as characters or use private taped conversations, called confessionals, as a form of narration. For many years, the television industry favored scripted television programs over the unpredictable and potentially litigious reality show form. An early reality show called Candid Camera, hosted by the unassuming Allen Funt, demonstrated that carefully edited clips of ordinary people reacting to contrived situations could be a ratings success. Early game shows featuring contestants selected from the audience also provided moments of unscripted reality.

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Groucho Marx’s game show You Bet Your Life! featured extended interviews with ordinary contestants, although Marx was thoroughly briefed on their backgrounds before the show started. Television shows during the 1960s and 1970s were usually scripted, with a cast of professional actors creating the characters. It was believed that a reality show featuring untrained actors working without a guiding script would be virtually unwatchable. There would be no way to create a satisfying storyline ending precisely after the allotted half-hour or hour running time of a typical scripted show.

The only network amenable to the idea of a true reality show in the 1970s was the Public Broadcasting System (PBS). A documentary called An American Family followed the real lives of the Loud family as they dealt with the parents’ impending divorce. During the late 1980s, a syndicated reality show called COPS began showing real policemen performing their duties as hand-held cameras rolled. The success of COPS spurred other production companies to create reality shows featuring real footage captured by amateur photographers, local news organizations, and police surveillance cameras.

This documentary form of reality show proved to be quite popular, especially among the younger demographics sought by advertisers. Meanwhile, another form of reality show began to take shape. Producers of The Real World recruited groups of twenty-somethings to live in a furnished apartment while cameras recorded every public moment of their lives together. The footage was carefully edited to create a satisfying arc of episodes, even if the participants appeared to be prodded into certain confrontations at times.

Shows like The Real World proved that television audiences could enjoy watching unscripted performers reacting to somewhat scripted circumstances. Perhaps the most groundbreaking reality show on American network television was CBS’ Survivor, debuting in 1999. Survivor featured teams of non-professional actors culled from thousands of audition tapes. Its success prompted network executives to greenlight a number of other shows employing a cast of camera-ready civilians and armies of creative editors.

Professional actors, directors, and writers have all voiced strong objections to this new form of reality programming, but a reality show is usually inexpensive to produce and consistently reaches its target audience. There is some evidence that the reality show format is losing some momentum, but finding successful replacement programming has also proven to be difficult. How Did Reality TV Begin? If you date the beginnings of realty TV to MTV’s The Real World or the CBS network’s Survivor, you’re off by several decades. There have been a variety of unscripted and live television shows that date back to the 1940s.

Among them, Candid Camera, which debuted in 1948, is often thought of as the first example of reality television, where people were unwittingly exposed to pranks or silly situations by host Allen Funt. Certain competition or game shows were also considered early versions of reality TV, as were live airings of programs like The Miss America Pageant and the Oscars. It doesn’t get more real than David Niven’s 1974 ad lib comments at the Academy Awards as a streaker crossed behind him on the stage. Most television historians don’t consider documentaries or lengthy news stories as reality TV, but again these evoked people’s interest greatly.

Anthropological studies of tribal groups, or watching the news “unfold” through camera coverage of events, like President Kennedy’s assassination, could be called the ancestors of modern reality TV. Another example of earlier than The Real World reality TV is the program Cops, which premiered in 1989. This is a few years before MTV would take on their ambitious Real World production, and showcased police officers in different cities making arrests or dealing with people behaving in criminal or dangerous fashion.

The program is the longest running of reality TV programs, and celebrated its 19th anniversary on the air in 2008. Yet many people do see the programs above mentioned as predecessors to programs like The Real World first airing in 1992, and then the reality TV boom that occurred in the 2000s with programs like Survivor and American Idol. What MTV’s program offered was a look at seven strangers all occupying house space together over a period of several months. MTV almost didn’t start this trend, and early in their conception of the series, they thought about having actors play out scripts that would seem close to reality.

Instead the show’s creators ultimately opted for providing viewers with video voyeurism, and an opportunity to see the “real lives” of several people. Of course, as with all “reality” TV, these real lives were shown when they were most tense or dramatic; editors went through hours of film to produce what was aired on television, since real life doesn’t always make for the most exciting television moments. The idea of combining competitive elements with reality TV came in the form of a Swedish TV program called Expedition: Robinson, which first aired in 1997.

This was three years prior to the first airing of Survivor and in fact, inspired Mark Burnett’s Survivor, who had to lease the concept from the creators of the Swedish show. Several other countries also produced similar programs, but the most famous of these in American television is undoubtedly Burnett’s variation of the Swedish show, which premiered in 2000. From Survivor other contest reality shows emerged, and some like American Idol, America’s Next Top Model, Project Runway, and The Bachelor have been big hits.

In fact, many minor celebrities felt that contributing or being the subject of a reality show might bolster their careers, leading to “celebreality” shows like The Anna Nicole Show, The Osbournes and Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica. Other celebs sought to compete in programs similar to the Survivor or game show format leading to programs like Celebrity Fit Club, and Dancing with the Stars. At present, you’ll find a vast variety of reality shows on TV, but just how real is reality TV? Most combine some real moments, with a few fake ones. For instance, not all footage of competitions in Survivor features the contestants.

Some is recreated afterward to provide aerial shots. “Live” performances on American Idol and especially the judge’s comments may be prepared in advance when the judges watch dress rehearsals. Celebrities who allow camera access often write into their contracts the ability to veto any scene they don’t want shown. It’s semi-real, usually not scripted, but not exactly “real” in the sense of total access to all footage without editing for dramatic purpose. How Real Are Reality Shows? Do reality show writers ever invent stories that didn’t really happen? A lot of people ask the question, “How real is reality television? and, “Am I watching something true or is it being made up for me? or, “Are they being scripted to do what they’re doing? ” Different shows have different levels of manipulation. Some reality shows are very heavily manipulated by their producers to the point where they’ll pull a person aside and say, “Why don’t you go in there are get into a fight with Suzie, because it’ll make you a bigger TV star. ” Then they’ll go in there and get into a fight with Suzie, and you’ll see it on TV as a real fight. Some reality show producers do hardly anything at all, and they let events play out as they occur, and they try to tell you that story.

Some producers are in between the two, where they might suggest that it’d be better if you got in a fight with Suzie, or they might interview you and say, “How do you feel about Suzie? Are you feeling like she’s a bitch? ” They use the power of suggestion. There are lots of different ways to manipulate reality shows and people, and different shows do it to different levels. My policy is to stack the deck properly ahead of time: cast well, make your set pieces interesting and create problems for the cast. Simply making someone the boss for the day is enough, usually, to get things going.

You can do enough and not manipulate the cast so much that things start feeling fake. I feel like the home audience can smell it when a reality show feels fake. I feel like a reality show should do its best to deliver to the audience unpredictable real life as much as possible, because that’s actually why they want to see the show. If the audience feels like they’re watching something fake, they will reject you. The better reality shows are a lot less fake than the shows that are not so good. Are reality shows edited to create fake stories?

There is a phrase we have in television called ‘anything appeal’ and what that means is that you don’t want to find yourself in a situation of trying to tell a story that really didn’t happen. It is really hard to do that. If two people are best friends in a reality show it is hard. You can make them enemies through the editing. You can make it so that every time you see one girl say that she doesn’t like Brad, the producer can switch the name from Brad to Shu. The truth is that Shu is her best friend and you are digging a hole for yourself. It is the tangled web of deception. You can’t continue the fakeness of the story.

Generally, if you don’t know what you are doing then you don’t fake up a story. Are reality show contests ever rigged? It is against the law to defraud the American public and so it is against the law to present a contest to the American public and say that it is real when it is not, in the same way that it is illegal to tell someone that your little pill cures cancer. It is illegal to say a person answered this question correctly and they really didn’t, or this person just won over all these other contestants because they were the smartest one, when really they were the ones that were being coached.

All of that is illegal; it is fraud. In the entertainment business, when you are saying to the reality show audience, “This is a real contest and it is a fair contest and the winner won on skill and knowledge” they really better have done that, or else they could be sued or prosecuted. How do networks ensure reality show competitions are fair? In terms of game shows and reality shows, there are a lot of precautions taken to make sure they stay fair. There’s a division of the network, probably, called Standards and Practices.

They usually have a representative on the set that watches everything, that randomizes the questions that get asked. The producers want an entertaining show. The truth is that their incentive is not a fair competition. Their incentive is: “Was it fun? Was it interesting? Was there a tie that was broken at the last second? ” They would rather it was the most exciting possible outcome every time, which as we all know in real life is impossible. If you’re really a fair competition, you never know, somebody might run away with it in the first two minutes. You just have to live with that, the same as with a football game.

To answer the question, the reality show producers are pushing against their inner nature to make the show fair, and they’re usually held in check by outside forces, like a standards and practices department, or a lawyer on the set, or other things that are there put in place to protect everyone from an illegal or fraudulent contest. How is ‘reality’ manipulated on reality TV? I think it’s pretty much acknowledged that they’re telling, in general, a true story on a reality show, but there is a lot of creative leeway with the editing, with how you amp up the emotion of the story that you’re telling.

This is not just through simple things like music, but also through a careful choice of interview bites, even manipulation of interview bites to help tell the story. When we produce the reality shows, we don’t just let people sit in front of a camera and decide what they want to say and do, because it would be actually like taping real life, and it wouldn’t be interesting. What we do is we set up a situation where the people have to perform, basically. For example, we’ll give them a challenge that you must beat this other team at this game or else you will be eliminated tonight.

Once you set that up, you put things in motion. It’s something they wouldn’t do normally. If we just put cameras on people they wouldn’t compete normally in silly little games and obstacle courses and photo-shoots; they would just sit and talk to each other. Instead, we basically force the hand of action and we map out a path or an obstacle course of tasks for these people to accomplish, using all kinds of different methods: either they want to win money, or they want to be America’s next top model, or whatever it is – there is some reason to keep propelling things forward on a reality show.

Are Reality Shows Real or Fake? The answer to the question, are reality shows real, is obviously no. In the earlier times, when there were other forms of reality TV, these shows had some part that displayed real emotion and behavior. In the recent times, however, they are nothing but hyped series of episodes where the cast (even non-actors), is made to put up a drama and act funny for entertainment. Today there are many reality show ideas for talent hunts, game shows and stunt competitions, where all the contestants compete for money.

Take a look at some more facts on reality television and find out, are reality shows real. Are Reality Shows Scripted? It all began with the super hit series of Big Brother, where a bunch of not so famous celebrities had to live with strangers 24/7 and were cut off from the whole world. They competed against each other for money and the last survivor, won it all. Though these shows are not completely scripted, the backbone of the show is surely written. Once the rules and regulations to be followed are jotted down, the rest of the show is carried further by the characters in the show.

Because all reality shows have to start with introducing strangers to each other on the show sets, the drama is created when they react, make friends, don’t get along and sometimes even get in a fight. Today as the effects of reality TV are enormous on viewers, entertainment channels are coming up with many such shows. Some reality shows which involve videos about certain events like police chases, training academies, etc. are however not scripted, as they are 100% real.

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Reality Shows and Their Popularity

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Introduction, popularity of reality shows, works cited.

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10 reality shows that aren't real at all (and 10 that totally are).

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Now, what exactly is reality? That’s a tough one to answer because it’s such a fluid concept. Fluid enough to spill right out of your brain and all over the floor if you think too deeply about it.

Your reality is completely different from somebody else’s. It’s easy to forget that, in the age of firing off snarky comments on the internet without a second thought, but that’s the truth of it. It’s going to be wildly different, depending on who you are, where you live, what you do for a living, how much cash you have… all these things.

Take a look at what the sci-fi writers of past eras thought ‘reality’ would look like now. Life in 2019 is hardly  Minority Report , is it? Where are those neat hoverboards and such that Back to the Future promised us? It’s all very disappointing.

We don’t even want to get started on reality TV. That’s exactly what this whole list is going to be about, though, so we really probably should.

How real are reality shows, really? That’s the… real question. While they claim to offer super-dangerous stunts, survival situations and that sort of thing (and that’s just an evening in the kitchen with an enraged Gordon Ramsay), it’s important to remember that these are TV shows. They’re made for entertainment value, first and foremost.

From Undercover Boss and Bridezillas to River Monsters and Keeping Up with the Kardashians , let’s take a look at the reality shows that keep things authentic (and the ones that just aren’t what they may seem).

NOT REAL AT ALL: Man Vs Wild

Now, nobody’s questioning Bear Grylls’s pedigree as a survival expert. Let’s just make that plain right from the off. The man’s performed some frankly ludicrous feats that some people (and lots of us wouldn’t make it more than an hour or so without every modern convenience in the book these days) could never understand.

The fact is, though, he has quite a lot of behind-the-scenes support on some of his shows. As we’ve previously reported, Man vs Wild kicks off with a disclaimer that states, “ Bear Grylls and the crew receive support when they are in potentially life-threatening situations.”

Now, the show has never claimed that Bear does absolutely everything depicted in the show by himself, but with that being the case, you can never be quite sure what he is doing solo.

TOTALLY REAL: I’m A Celebrity: Get Me Out Of Here!

You’re totally right, friends. We hear you. As realness goes, I’m A Celebrity: Get Me Out Of Here! might be just a little bit questionable. The British reality show sees a band of celebrities living in a camp in the Australian jungle, completing tasks (the infamous Bushtucker Trials) to earn food.

While the contestants do have support from the outside (naturally, they’re celebrities), and the creatures in the trials aren’t going to eat them alive or anything, things are a lot more real than some were expecting. For instance, the winner of the last series, soccer manager Harry Redknapp, had never watched the show before agreeing to take part. He certainly got a rude awakening.

“I have never even seen one minute of this show, I thought there would be a caravan behind the camp where we all sit around the log and make out you’re hungry, then they go, ‘OK, cut!’ and you go behind there and have a nice cup of tea or bacon sandwich,”  he said, “but I couldn’t find the caravan anywhere. What you see is what you get, I had four days without eating.”

NOT REAL AT ALL: RuPaul’s Drag Race

So, yes. This is television we’re talking about. The medium as a whole is becoming less and less relevant, in an age of Netflix binging and such. TV shows made for actual televisions are struggling to compete.

How do they battle for our attention? By ramping the drama up to eleven, that’s how. Sometimes, reality shows are as chock-full of manufactured melodrama as wrestling.

RuPaul’s Drag Race has certainly been accused of this. Contestant Phi Phi O’Hara (real name Jaremi Carey) left the show on less-than-great terms, later claiming in interviews that so much was taken out of context or downright fabricated.

“It’s like watching a completely different show. Because it’s nothing like what happened on set… people truly don’t understand how context comes into play, and they’ll cut off something and add it to another thing and then make this whole different story,” Phi Phi said.

TOTALLY REAL: Dancing With The Stars

Now, some of these things are super difficult to call. When it comes to reality (or otherwise), we’re not always talking about survival shows where the crew are preparing a three-course luxury meal for the host just off camera (not that this is actually a thing, you understand).

Take Dancing With The Stars , for instance. It’s a simple premise (celebrities team with professional dancers to learn various routines and perform for the judges’ votes), but the show has been dogged for some time with accusations of being ‘rigged.’ Then there was the tale of Alexis Ren, contestant and experienced ballet dancer.

Is there a deep-rooted dancing conspiracy at work here? Hardly.

NOT REAL AT ALL: WWE Smackdown

Ah, yes. We’ve already touched on wrestling, and how things certainly aren’t as they may appear. That’s just the logistics of it all: they can’t be. Just look at some of those signature moves, and what they’d do to our poor, squishy human bodies (even huge, muscular wrestlers’ bodies).

Fans are in it for the spectacle, the entertainment value, which is what sport is all about. WWE Smackdown defines this whole concept better than anything else in the wrestling world. It’s been dubbed a male soap opera, with scripted drama outside of the ring and equally scripted outcomes of bouts within it.

TOTALLY REAL: Big Brother

Ah, yes. Here we are, friends. When it comes to reality TV, Big Brother is the first name that comes to mind for many of us.

The show was inspired by the Big Brother of George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, the figurehead of a society in which the inhabitants are subjected to 24/7 surveillance. In the show, contestants live together in the specially-designed Big Brother House, which is outfitted with cameras throughout.

Their only outside contact is with the voice of Big Brother (‘played’ by various crew members) and is limited to the diary room. It’s quite an oppressive environment, just as it’s supposed to be.

NOT REAL AT ALL: Keeping Up With The Kardashians

Now, there are a lot of things you could say about the Kardashians. A whole darn lot. They’re just about the most colorful famous family on the planet, and that status comes with a lot of attention (both positive and negative, of course). Unsurprisingly, it also comes with their own reality show.

Your feelings about Keeping Up with the Kardashians are going to differ, depending on how you feel about the family at large. That’s just inevitable. But how about views on the reality of the whole thing? That’s a bit of a grey area too.

As Kim herself told Piers Morgan in 2011, “From the start, they’ve always said we have, you know, the right to edit and to approve all footage.” Couple that with the whole Kris-Jenner-house-that-isn’t-actually-Kris-Jenner’s-house thing, and you’ve got a show that presents viewers with reality as the Kardashians choose to show it.

TOTALLY REAL: Undercover Boss

The concept of Undercover Boss is one that we're totally on board with. More companies need to get the bigwigs down on the frontlines with their employees, giving them a chance to see what’s what with their own eyes.

So many of us just don’t get the appreciation we deserve in our jobs, and being acknowledged is a wonderful thing. This is what Undercover Boss tries to portray, and despite the hilariously awful wigs and such, real change in businesses can and does result.

Some things are exaggerated, and the employees featured are carefully chosen, but Undercover Boss really does achieve what it sets out to.

NOT REAL AT ALL: Chopped

If you're somebody whose cooking skills are all kinds of questionable, Chopped is probably your worst nightmare in reality TV form.

The concept of the show is this: four contestants have 20/30 minutes to make the best dish they can, from a provided basket of random ingredients. The popular show has been running for over a decade, but all isn’t as it seems here either.

As ENews puts it,

“Sometimes, the reactions to the basket ingredients are actually just the contestants making a face, because they will film basket openings multiple times with the ingredients still covered up, just to get the perfect shot. And yeah, sometimes, contestants are kept because they're good TV, and not necessarily because their food was up to par.”

Not only that, but “producers used to hide things or put out only one stick of butter, for example, to cause problems among the contestants.”

TOTALLY REAL: The Masked Singer

There are lots of reality shows featuring singing competitions. The market is saturated with them. The Masked Singer offers a unique twist on the theme, a hook that keeps viewers engaged and guessing.

Inspired by South Korea’s King of Masked Singer , the show revolves around celebrities performing in silly costumes to conceal their identities.

They are not kidding with those concealed identities, either, as the show goes to great lengths to hide those secrets from everyone (everyone on the show, too).  We’re given vague clues like their gender and height, the performers themselves give further hints (speaking with a ridiculous voice changer) and that’s it.

Even in the age of the internet spoiler, The Masked Singer does a fantastic job keeping its secrets until it’s ready for the reveals.

NOT REAL AT ALL: Bridezillas

As we’ve already firmly established, it’s very difficult for reality TV to truly deliver on its promise of reality. I mean, you wouldn’t watch a show that simply followed the average person on their commute to the office, would you? Things have to be a little larger than life.

That’s certainly the case with Bridezillas . You can’t have a show that revolves around the extreme reactions of contestants without said contestants playing up for the cameras a little, let's be honest.

Not to mention the fact that contestants have claimed that they were completely misled by producers. Cynthia Silver claims that she was told she was actually working on a documentary named Manhattan Brides.

TOTALLY REAL: River Monsters

Whichever way you slice it, River Monsters really is a show to behold. All too often, fishing is regarded as a slow, sedate, we’ve been here for four hours and all that’s happened is that grandpa’s accidentally dropped his sandwich into the lake sort of affair, but this show didn’t seem to get that memo.

Host Jeremy Wade travels in search of some of the biggest, strongest and deadliest fish in the world, and he tangles with them for real. Stories are told (and exaggerated) and they lay the drama on a little too thick at times, but there’s a purity to the show.

NOT REAL AT ALL: Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares

If you’ve ever seen Gordon Ramsay in action on TV, you’ll know one thing: he’s got one heck of a fiery temper. The esteemed British chef has developed a reputation as a hard taskmaster, who rules his kitchen with an iron fist and unleashes all the fury of Beelzebub on anyone who makes a mistake.

This is certainly the Ramsay we see on Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares . Again, though, it’s often a case of hamming things up for the cameras. Ranker tells us that the temperamental chef was cool and collected during the filming of one particular episode in restaurant Finn McCool’s.

It also transpires that the producers sometimes hire actors to play kitchen staff.

TOTALLY REAL: MythBusters

Along with the likes of Big Brother, MythBusters was one of the first shows to really define the reality genre. That was its whole premise, in fact: taking a look at popular scientific misconceptions and the truths behind them.

Without getting too philosophical about it, friends, truth and reality should really be one and the same. The good news is, as we’ve reported previously, MythBusters does not compromise on that score. Early in the show’s run, producers wanted fabricated arguments on camera, but show hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman refused to pander like that.

A little integrity in reality shows is always great to see.

NOT REAL AT ALL: Love Island

Love Island, as you’ve probably noticed, has become quite the British phenomenon in recent years. It’s one of those shows that becomes an event in and of itself.

Naturally, though, the nature of the beast (a Big Brother -type affair in which contestants live together in a villa on Mallorca in the hope that romance will bloom) has led viewers to question whether the resultant relationships are real or staged. It’s often just about friendship, with couples simply shooting for the cash prize at the end.

Furthermore, as former contestant Tyla Carr has said, “What viewers don’t see is there is always a producer on site; they don’t live in the villa with us but someone generally comes in every hour to have a chat… they tell you what they want you to talk about, and who with. You have to tell the producers on site if you are planning to have an important chat or do something, so they make sure the microphones pick it up and the cameras get it.”

TOTALLY REAL: Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown

Anthony Bourdain was never a man who’d settle for reality TV’s often-shonky take on reality. He wasn’t one for half measures, or for visiting the same tired old tourist spots as your average traveler. A celebrated chef and travel documentarian, Bourdain was serious about his craft.

When he tells you he’s taking you to parts unknown in his show,  Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown , that’s exactly where you’re darn well going. We think Looper put it best:

“He used fixers, friends, and local craftsmen to navigate him to past the guidebook stops and into homes and businesses that represent "the soul of the city"—a phrase at which Bourdain would most definitely scoff. He was constantly self-deprecating, almost eager to expose the artifice of television at all costs.”

NOT REAL AT ALL: Say Yes To The Dress

Now, this one, we're a little conflicted on. Say Yes To The Dress isn’t exactly fake in the way that some reality shows are, but there are still some behind-the-scenes shenanigans going on here.

On the screen, New York City’s Kleinfeld looks much larger than it really is. As Amanda Lauren put it, “Despite looking like a palace on TV, Kleinfeld isn’t large enough for the number of customers it attracts.”

Additionally, a participant on Say Yes To The Dress: Bridesmaids stated that the show’s producers were very specific about the members of the bridal party that they wanted to show. As always, they were hoping for controversial decisions and potential drama.

TOTALLY REAL: Cops

As far as we're concerned, being a police officer is one of the most admirable professions out there. Just as with nurses, they’re criminally underappreciated. In the case of the police, they’re often met with outright hostility. Still, on they go, performing the most thankless tasks without wanting fanfare or a big fuss. It’s just what they do.

Lots of us can barely imagine what goes into an average day’s policing. If you’re curious, Cops is the show for you. There’s no sugar-coating here, it’s just real officers dispensing real justice to real criminals. The show’s certainly got staying power: at over 1,000 episodes, it’s one of the longest-running in U.S. television history.

NOT REAL AT ALL: Fixer Upper

This is another format that’s sure to be super, super familiar to fans of reality TV. The house-renovating thing has been done hundreds of times in hundreds of ways, but whatever the show, they have a way of hooking us in.

We want to see what these houses are like. We want to lament the fact that we could never remotely afford them. We want to wonder at how Brian the convenience store owner and his wife Mary, the retired florist, could have a budget of $750,000.

In Fixer Upper , husband and wife duo Chip and Joanna Gaines give couples a choice of three Texas houses that are in dire need of repair. The couple chooses one, and the hosts set about renovating it for them. It sounds simple enough, but behind the scenes, the owners have already chosen and purchased the house before the show is shot.

This is nothing new with these sorts of TV programs, but there’s also doubt about whether Chip actually works on these properties away from filming.

TOTALLY REAL: Survivorman

As we saw with Bear Gryll’s Man vs Wild earlier in this rundown, the authenticity of survival shows is always a little on the questionable side. After all, you can’t put yourself in too dangerous a situation just for entertainment’s sake, can you?

Not to mention your unfortunate cameraperson. This is an issue that Survivorman neatly sidesteps in the most brilliant of ways: Les Stroud films the whole show himself.

As Looper explains, this is probably about as authentic as it’s possible for survival shows to get:

“Getting dropped off in the middle of Earth's most remote locations with nothing but his camera gear (he shoots the entire show by himself), a sort of utility knife, a satellite phone (for emergency calls to a remote crew who are always close enough for a rescue), and the bare minimum of supplies, Stroud must find a way to survive for days at a time. There are no celebrity cameos, no airlifts to luxury hotels at night, and no drinking his own pee.”

What Is a Reality Show? Research Paper

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Introduction

Background information, types of reality shows, the role of reality tv show.

Reality Television World covers a great row of independent reality shows which involve and describe typical situations of ordinary people. It is considered to be a kind of television genre disclosing different actual events, funny or dramatic situations without participation of professional actors. Reality television is one of the most widely spread genres of television aspects and it includes different kinds of TV formats without any strict limitations or prohibitions. It gives an opportunity to express a kind of programming freedom in order to show real situations of our life with its difficulties and puzzles.

Television reality shows covers thousands of different life episodes with the usage of creative editing in order to make shows more emotional and bright. Reality shows can be devoted to different subjects but the main fact is that they should provide the participants of the shows with the freedom to play and react in the most real and typical way. It is important to stress that one should not confuse reality shows with all others types of TV programs in which the participants are to ignore the cameras and are asked to behave in a natural way. The main task of producers is to encourage their participants and in some cases private conversations are used which are typed and play the role of narration.

Television reality shows have been developing for a long period of time and covered many periods of television progressing. But it is necessary to stress that the peak in the development of this television type was in 2000 when the majority types of shows were produced. In the period between 1960s-1970s TV shows were scripted with the involvement of professional actors who were to create and play the characters.

People thought that reality shows were not thoroughly planned and actors were not normally trained though they were involved and played their roles according to the program. Producers could not meet the requirements of the public and create an interesting storyline. The first real TV show was created only in 1970 and was called An American Family. The author and creator of the show was Public Broadcasting System. This reality show disclosed the real life of different families which were about to face divorce. It had success while it showed some typical situations from the real life of people and highlighted life mistakes which should be avoided in ordinary families. (Pollick, 2006)

The next period in the development of reality shows was in 1980 when the next show COPS was introduced to the public. This type of reality shows was aimed at presentation of policemen’s work to the audience through the hand-held cameras. This reality show was really recognized and generally accepted. It considered to be the impact in the sphere of reality television, because this show gave a start to the plenty of others and production companies began their activities striving to create new exciting reality shows involving professional photographers, police cameras and news organizations. This period in the reality television development was very important and it brought real success to the sphere being very popular especially among the youth.

Meanwhile another type of reality shows appeared and was spread among the public. It was called The Real World and disclosed different unusual situations experiences by ordinary people. The audience enjoyed this show as it was really true to life and gave an opportunity to evaluate their actions watching ordinary people. This period left a print in the history of reality television development. (Keveney, 2007)

One of the most outstanding reality shows in the USA was considered to be CBS’s Survivor . This reality show was produced in 1999 and resulted in strong objections on the part of professional directors and actors. Nevertheless Survivor met the requirements of the public and found its audience in spite of all prohibitions and objections. This show was mostly concentrated on the play of non-professional actors and did not require a lot of cost for production, but all the same it was professionally done and satisfied the audience of that period. The success of this show was really vivid from the very beginning and that is why it caused an increase of competitiveness in the sphere of television activities.

Reality television has undergone a wide range of changes and periods of development. It was the reason for the creation of different sub-types of reality shows. The most popular are the following:

Documentary TV shows

This type of reality shows means that cameras are only passive observers watching usual activities of our every day life. This type includes the following sub-categories: celebrities, special living environment and professional activities. Such shows as Big Brother, The Simple Life, American Chopper, Temptation Island are considered to be the most prominent reality shows of this type.

This type of reality shows discloses the real competitions for some prize being isolated in a particular environment and showing team forces in different competitions. The participants are usually judged by the audience with the involvement of the voting or by the decision of the players themselves. Dating-based competitions, fear-centric, job search and sports are the main sub-categories of this type. The most famous reality shows of this sub-category are Flavor of Love, Making the Band, Top Design, Fear Factor and many others. (Dollar, 2008)

Self-Improvement

It is a special and very important type of reality shows because it brings positive changes to the life of the society and influences the audience. It is important to stress that this type of reality television format is aimed at the improvement of the ordinary people’s life with the involvement of the television. The most popular shows are the following: Extreme Makeover, The Biggest Loser, The Bad Girls Club and some others. One should note that this type is not only a kind of television entertainment but also a kind of aid to those who need support and look for different ways out of their difficult life situations and misunderstanding on the part of surrounding people… (Macartney, 2005)

Renovation reality shows describe the peculiarities of a person’s work or living space. It includes While You Were Out, This Old House, Changing Rooms and some others. The purpose of these reality shows is to describe the experience of the society in life and work, to show some mistakes and achievements in order to bring some improvements to the publicity.

Dating Shows

Reality shows which are devoted to the dating and romantic meetings are the mostly spread among the youth. They are considered to be rather close to real life as they show the most typical situations faced by modern couples. Such shows as Parental Control, Blind Date etc. are the most popular in the USA. Dating reality shows are very spread not only in America but on the international level, because they are of high demand among the modern population and their audience if large enough to produce them again and again. They are very entertaining and involving and usually they lead to their complete imitation in life on the part of teenagers.

Different types of discussions and interviewing belong to this type of reality shows. The main purpose of this show is to promote some useful information; these shows are very informative and strict in rules. They are created according to the traditional standards of news and broadcasting without any interference of other styles. To this type the following reality shows belong as The Jerry Springer, Ricki Lake and some others.

Hidden Cameras

It is one of the most interesting and relaxing reality shows which exist on the television. The purpose of these shows is just entertain and teach to laugh at each other and at typical life situations we face almost every day. Candid Camera and Scare Tactics are aimed at entertaining of the audience focusing on jokes and different funny situations of life.

The role of reality shows is very significant in our life, especially for those who prefer to devote their time to the television programs. Nowadays, at the period of globalization, our vision on life has changed a lot in comparison with previous generations. People try to imitate each others and demonstrate their life to the publicity. The youth tries to avoid quite and peaceful life somewhere apart from peers; and that is why modern reality shows are so popular in the society.

Sometimes TV programs may seem to be so real that we forget that it is only show not a real life. The demand on the reality shows production is very high and that is why they are so widely spread among the population. There is a type of people who are called reality TV junkies; these people cannot imagine their life without television and reality shows are their life with real actors and events. (Lynch, 2006)

The role of reality shows is quite vivid in our modern life. It is important to stress the main functions of reality shows:

• Informative;
• Entertaining;
• Instructive;

The basic purpose of all kinds of reality shows is to reflect the real life events in order to evaluate them on the examples of other people’s actions and understand your own mistakes or life happiness. Reality shows make our life not so boring and dramatic providing the audience with different funny cases and situations and demonstrating our natural reaction on them. (Kurtz, 2007)

To sum everything up it important to state that reality TV shows became an integral part of our modern life with their competitions, funny situations and useful interviews. Inmost cases reality shows are very Magistral and instructive; they can even change our opinion of bring some changes. But one should remember that they can also influence our life negatively, so it is just a show and we should not care about the flow of events or take close to heart the fate of the actors.

Michael, Pollick. What is a Reality Show? Informational Paper. NY. 2006.

Keveney, Bill. Real World Launched a Revolution. USA Today, 2007.

Dollar, Steve. Reality Never Looked So… Real. The New York Sun, 2008.

Lynch, Mark. Reality is not Enough. The politics of Reality. 2006.

Kurtz, Howard. Reality Show. Free Press, pp. 480. 2007.

Macartney, Jane. TV Talent Contest. The Times. 2005.

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Bibliography

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Reality shows:How real the reality shows are??-Thesis statement

EF_Stephen - / 264   Oct 6, 2009   #2 I always begin generally and then get specific. For example, here I would begin by explaining what reality is, what it's supposed to be in the context of TV, and what it really is in that same context. This allows you some freedom to maneuver in your arguments, and to move along a continuum of ideas and reality show types.

OP umiunme 1 / 3   Oct 7, 2009   #3 Yeah, I agree with you stephen. In my research paper I should refer to atleast two books regarding my essay. Can you suggest me any??

EF_Stephen - / 264   Oct 7, 2009   #4 Unfortunately no. I am not a fan of reality TV at all. But I would suggest that you do an online search for references to it, especially the psychology of reality and then the commercialization of it. \That might be a good place to begin.

OP umiunme 1 / 3   Oct 8, 2009   #5 I've written thesis...please comment on it and correct my grammar mistakes as well.... These days every TV channel has reality shows, everyone seems to be really crazy about them and even the sponsors are ready to pour in money. Contestants of the show are made to perform dangerous stunts and do all sorts of absurd things in order to commercialize the show. Celebrities are frequently invited on the show to increase the TRP ratings of the show. But the bitter truth is that there is very little reality in the reality shows. In fact, 75% of the show is manipulated and edited. The show has a framed script already,Directors,Producers and Technicians guiding the contestant in a planned manner. Judges are hired,they often pretend to get emotional and angry and leave the show abruptly but they appear in the next episode. All the decisions and results are biased and pre-determined. Shockingly,even tthe audiences of the shows are fake. In this paper, I will explore the extent of reality in reality shows and examine what they say about us a society. thats it...plz comment... what my sir said is to focus on one particular reality show...and do research on it.... what should i do?? if you can come up with better thesis and argument...you are welcome...plzz help me out...friends..

EF_Stephen - / 264   Oct 8, 2009   #6 But the bitter truth is that there is very little reality in the reality shows. In fact, 75% of the show is manipulated and edited. You will need to document this, as in "According to.." whatever poll or research it was. I think that one show or one type of show is appropriate, certainly. Easier to manage, too. Don't worry about grammar yet. That can be fixed later. Right now, just get the main ideas and facts straight. In this paper, I will explore the extent of reality in reality shows and examine what they say about us a society. This is pretty broad. You might need to narrow it, like some reality shows . That way they don't get all dumped in together and you will be able to support your arguments better.

EF_Sean 6 / 3481   Oct 10, 2009   #7 You might also want to explore the notion that the concept of "reality television" is essentially an oxymoron. People having to live together isolated on an island off of which one gets voted each week is a contrived, unrealistic situation. The same could be said, with a bit of variation, about most if not all other reality television shows. And even if someone put together a reality television show without some horribly contrived scenario or contest at its root, do you really think anyone acts the way they do in real life when they know they are on film? A documentary would be much closer to what reality television would seem to mean, based on the words that compose the term, than the shows to which the name actually applies. What then does it mean to talk about "reality television" in the first place?

black berrumpur - / 1   Jul 29, 2011   #8 Reality shows - how to start this essay? pls help fellows am having an essay about reality shows help pls

Husseinova 7 / 13   Jul 29, 2011   #9 what do you need actually? strong points or what?

vanessa000abc 1 / 2   Aug 1, 2011   #11 I just wrote an essay about reality show. Make sure you could find some good and bad reality show to support your ideas. Good luck.