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Techniques
used in Reality TV in Australia
(Credit: All Free Essays)
Untasteful, feral, depraved viewing;
Euphemism for palpable voyeurism; Is spelling
the end of decent, moral society - Slagging out
reality TV from a high culture standpoint is as
easy as taking candy from a blind, paralysed,
limbless baby. Reality TV is a significant part
of popular culture in the current settings of
mainstream Australian society. Counting the number
of reality television shows on two hands is now
a physical impossibility. But what impact is this
concept having on society now and into the future?
The
first wave of reality TV shows (such as Survivor,
The Weakest Link and Dog Eat Dog) played on people's
collective anxieties about the new workplace culture
whereby nothing is secure. The threat of expulsion
and humiliation is what draws people to this style
of programming. This was followed by the lifestyle
programs, which were the once removed cousins
of Reality TV. Naturally no one is entirely satisfied
with the way they live so these programs played
on people's desires to improve their lifestyle
and living conditions. The third wave of Reality
shows (such as Joe Millionaire, The Bachelor and
For Love or Money) plays with people's fears of
falsified relationships; are there ulterior reasons
behind a `supposed' loving relationship (such
as money)? The main appeal of Reality television
is that the viewer experiences raw human emotions
like humiliation, deceit and rejection from a
removed perspective. The ability to inspect and
analyse the happenings of others without being
seen takes on a god-like perspective. It invokes
the fantasy of having access to all that is hidden.
Do
the treacherous, backstabbing ideals of reality
TV shows such as Survivor, Dog Eat Dog and Big
Brother actually promote and legitimise their
anti-social behaviour and ideals in society, or
is it merely a frivolous form of entertainment,
providing an emotional outlet for the typical,
stressed individual? You could argue either way.
Aristotle
noted the paradox that people could be entertained
by the sufferings and humiliations of others in
art form, and named it catharsis. He described
it as a purifying and cleansing of the emotions,
and the concept is still applied in psychology
today to bring repressed feelings and fears to
the conscious mind. So could reality TV actually
be a vent for people's entrenched emotions? Some
would argue that reality TV is an ideal provider
of raw human emotion in a realistic form (that
is, the emotional relief coupled with the self-assurance
of being safely separated from the trials and
tribulations).
On
the other hand, we know that people are influenced
and often imitate the behaviour they see on TV.
Why else would cigarette advertisements be banned
in almost all forms of media? In fact, the whole
advertising industry relies on the fact that people
are influenced by what they hear and see. So it
seems logical that programs that portray manipulative
and dishonest behaviour by "average"
people (non-actors) would be in some sense duplicated
into the viewer's own interpersonal interactions.
And
others ask how far will it go? Should we be bracing
ourselves for `live births' Reality TV or `marriage
counselling' Reality TV. Some believe network
executives will `dip their toes into hell' before
they relinquish the quest to procure new and original
concepts.
So
how long will the "fad" of reality TV
last in mainstream popular culture. The simple
answer - as long as the shows are commercially
viable. Reality TV shows are the `bargain basement'
of television production. Why pay Ray Romano million
per episode for Everybody Loves Raymond or Kelsey
Grammar .8 million per episode for Frasier, when
you can pay "Joe Nobody" diddly-squat
for a whole series, and still achieve the same,
or even superior ratings. Even a grand prize of
million in a Reality TV show such as Survivor
is recouped in about 1 minute of commercial advertisements.
As long as consumers `tune in', networks will
`put out'.
One
of the main obstacles that Reality TV shows have
in retaining loyal audiences into the future is
that it is difficult to establish a bond between
audience and show when there are contestants coming
and going from every direction. Just as quickly
as you've established a reciprocity or emotional
identification with a contestant than he or she
is "voted off the island" or "sent
on the walk of shame". And will audiences
eventually become tired of the nastiness and double-dealing
that are such strong features of reality TV? Perhaps,
but then again how can any show be entertaining
with continual politeness and nauseating niceness,
and not some form of conflict? As long as writers
and producers are able to come up with original
television ideas, there will be other writers
and producers who will be able to put a realistic
spin on the concept so as to involve the audience.
People are constantly striving to be admired by
others and as long as reality TV exists, people
are able to, in some ways, fulfil this desire
through Reality TV participants. You can lead
a horse to water but you can't make it drink it;
obviously reality TV fanatics will `slurp the
concept dry'.
So
how real is Reality TV? In an episode of Survivor
from the second season, one of the so called "reward
challenges" involved a canoe race down a
river. After shooting the footage, the executive
producer, Mark Burnett, realised that the ground
television cameras and crew could clearly be seen
in the overhead (helicopter) footage of the race.
So what did he do? He had the contestants rerun
the race with the camera crew concealed and the
winner of the race already decided. The contestants
were re-enacting the race they had already completed
the day before. Enhancing or editing the visual
and aural footage is a technique used extensively
in Reality TV using the actual audio and visual
images of television as its media. Here's another,
more local example. In a recent `bloopers' episode
of The Block, the show displayed footage of contestant
`Wazza' mispronouncing a prearranged line. Why
would a contestant have a formulated `line' in
a reality TV you ask? An underlining feature of
pop culture is that it is commercially viable.
TV executives want a certain amount of control
over the narrative shaping of the show so as to
keep it in-line with what the audience expects
and desires. The truth of the matter is that `real'
Reality TV is boring. Who wants to watch a mother
hang out clothes on the line or do a crossword
puzzle on a cold night. Even the most realistic
of reality TV shows, Big Brother, is usually broadcast
in daily highlights and if there isn't enough
action occurring in the household during a live
broadcast - alcohol is introduced into the compound;
sure to induce lewd behaviour and sexual innuendo.
Reality TV is manipulated to make it more appealing
to the target audience. The grand appeal of Survivor
is the isolation and destitution away from the
western world. Audiences do not seem to mind that
reality shows do not portray genuine reality,
so long as it is entertaining. Insiders of the
genre prefer to call the enhancing technique "assisted
reality".
Audience
interaction is the newest technique used by network
executives to "hook in" viewers in an
increasingly competitive television market for
ratings supremacy. Audience interaction allows
the audience to decide the future direction of
a show. In particular, the use of SMS messaging
using mobile phones provides the participant with
a belief that they are in some way having an impact
on the outcome of the show. Reality TV viewers
are usually hip, dynamic individuals. The key
demographic for most reality programs is 18-34
year olds with disposable income. They are willing
to `hop on the bandwagon' when it comes to the
latest popular culture fad. Thus, it can be reasonable
to say that the ownership of mobile phones for
recreational purposes may run parallel to the
viewing of Reality TV. Producers use text messaging
on mobile phones to receive and convey electronic
mass media. In the recent series of Big Brother,
mobile phone users received `inside information'
on the show and the contestants when they "SMS'd"
a password to a particular number (presumably
at a greater cost than standard messages). If
a viewer is not yet emotionally involved in the
show, they become "gizmonically" involved
after they've messaged their vote or opinion.
While
the positives and negatives of Reality TV will
be continuously debated as long as the concept
is around, it can be undisputed that Reality TV
is a very real part of contemporary, global popular
culture. Perhaps Reality TV is related to the
inexorable process of globalisation. Those that
take the risk may fail miserably and be mortified
in the process, while others wreak the rewards
and succeed in a shower of riches and rewards.
Audiences are happy to sit on the fence.
Composed
by J. Mckellar (2003)
by
Anonymous Student
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