A Deeper Look Into E!’s Reality Show, I Am Cait

I Am Cait, a reality television show that aired on E! in July of 2015, was recently cancelled. The show featured the transformation and experiences of Caitlyn Jenner as she entered the public eye as a member of the transgender community.

Promotion for I Am Cait, featuring Caitlyn Jenner – Forbes

The show kicked off with 2.7 million viewers during the premiere of the first season – breaking E! records. The show’s ratings fluctuated during the first season and during the second season it fell to record lows. In response, both E! and Jenner mutually decided to halt the show. During an interview with Variety, an E! spokesperson said, “We are incredibly proud of the two seasons of ‘I Am Cait,’ a groundbreaking docu-series that sparked an important and unprecedented global conversation about transgender people, their struggles and triumphs.”

The fluctuation in ratings and the good terms both the E! family and Jenner seemed to be on beg the question: why was this reality television show cancelled?

Caitlyn Jenner coming out on Iiane Sawyer – ABC News

Itay Hod, a reporter for The Wrap, writes, “When she first cam out to Iiane Sawyer in April 2015, Caitlyn Jenner became the most of LGBT Hollywood. Close to 17 million people tuned in to watch her ABC exclusive, seen as a turning point for the transgender community.” Within a year, though, Jenner became a disappointment to the same community she had made so proud months ago. In fact, one activist, Zoey Tur, said “Someone needs to tell Ms. Jenner she’s a transgender…there’s a great disappointment among people in the community.”

The main reason for this shift in public opinion is due to Jenner’s involvement in politics. Jenner publicly announced her support for Ted Cruz, saying he is “a great constitutionalist and a very articulate man.” She even went as far as to offer him a spot as, what she referred to, a “transambassador.” This did not sit well with Cruz’s campaign nor the supporters of Jenner. Cruz has openly said that “boys, with all the God-given equipment of boys” should not share shower rooms with girls, calling it “lunacy.” To make matters worse, Jenner has also openly supported Donald Trump, saying that she thought “he would be very good for women’s issues.”

Another reason for the declining support of the LGBT community for Jenner and her show is because of her lack of representation of people in the community. They believe Jenner does not face the same struggles as many transpeople, with having an overwhelming amount of fame, money, and public support- something the majority of people undergoing the same struggles do not have. She has also been accused of poorly representing the community because of her lack of knowledge. Specifically, in a season 1 episode of I Am Cait, Jenner publicly said she did not know the meaning of the term ‘HRC’, which stands for Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBT organizaiton in the country. LGBT activist, Danielle Moodie-Mills, said, “I find it very disappointing that through ‘I Am Cait’ and her conversations with less advantaged trans people there hasn’t been a cultural shift in her understanding of the movement.”

Caitlyn Jenner on the Ellen DeGeneres show – Billboard

Lastly, Jenner was invited on an episode of the Ellen DeGeneres show, where she said that she’s “a traditionalist on many issues but that if the word ‘marriage’ is that important to those fighting for marriage equality, [she] can go with it.” This openness of being a conservative and not outwardly fighting for the rights of the community is essentially why she lost support within the LGBT community.

Jenner has been referred to as “an insult to transpeople” and “an insult to women.” This disapproval from the LGBT community essentially cost Jenner the show.

Reality TV Stimulates Aggression and Competitiveness in Youth

Although some believe reality television can teach children viewers valuable lessons, I believe reality television negatively impacts the lives of the youth because of the aggressive behaviors and messages they convey to viewers. Reality television has had ample amounts of controversy surrounding it because of the growing popularity. With some reality television shows airing violence in ways not previously explored in scripted shows, viewers are hesitant about whether to allow children to watch such shows.

The aggressive behavior in children is shown to be a result of violence demonstrated on reality television shows. This is due to a copy-cat behavior that psychologist Brian Wilcox has studied. Copy-cat behavior refers to the inclination of viewers to perform actions based on watching these behaviors in others. Reality television is a huge culprit of displaying fights and aggressive behavior.

One example is the MTV reality television show, Jackass. In 2001, after watching the show, three teenage boys attempted to recreate one of the stunts from the show. The stunt involved one of the three boys “bouncing off the hood” of the car after the vehicle slammed into him. After being clinically harmed, the boys later admitted that they were attempting to recreate what they saw on the show.

Another disturbing incident of violence is when a husband sent his wife a bomb inspired by the reality television game show, The Weakest Link. He attached the bomb with a note that read “You are the weakest link, Goodbye” The bomb exploded and his wife, Kilgrow-Bishop experience burns from the incident. The game show nurtures this disturbing aggressive behavior because of the intensity of the game show host who, when a contestant gets a question wrong, votes them off the show in a cruel tone.

The cast of Real World, a reality television show on MTV that has caused an ample amount of controversy – MTV

Another demonstration of aggressive behavior in youth due to reality television shows is the competitive behaviors shown in Real World, a reality television show on MTV. Mark Flynn, a reporter for The Psych Report, studied the show, saying that most women “were mostly slender with 69 percent having low body fat, and close to half had medium to large bust sizes.” He also found that nine out of ten women’s bodies were at least minimally exposed, and almost one third of the women caster were fully or partially undressed. Young adults being the largest demographic for this show, were exposed to the competitive body image ideals that this show nurtures. Not only were young adult viewers more insecure about their body image, they were also inclined to compete with other young adults around them. This competitive and aggressive behavior was stimulated due to watching this television show. By exposing these young adults to the unrealistic versions of beauty, their self-esteem is compromised and they are inclined to become aggressive and competitive due to their insecurities.

Teen Mom, a reality television show featuring young women raising children – Playbuzz

This leads further to the promotion of catty girl fighting that reality television is infamous for. Shelba Waldron, a training manager for the St. Petersburg Juvenile Welfare Board, says “Shows such as Jersey Shore, The Kardashians, Real Housewives of…, TeenMom, and others are packed with violent verbal and physical exchanges.” She goes even further, saying “Some reality TV shows are blatant about violence, such as Bad Girls Club.” This demonstrates that young girls who view reality television shows are more likely to exhibit the negative behavior that these reality shows promote. They display an increase of competitive, aggressive behavior displayed in these shows.

Today’s reality television shows are causing the youth to be more aggressive in nature and are therefore causing a negative impact on children. By exposing the youth to aggressive and competitive behavior from these shows, the youth is only mimicking these behaviors. This is an important problem that needs to be address quickly because how the youth is affected, will affect the future of society.

Reality Television is Providing the Youth with Valuable Lessons

With the growing popularity of this genre of television, there comes an increase of debate about whether these television shows are harming or benefiting the youth. There is an ample amount of controversy because how the youth is affected will affect the future of society, so whether these shows should be supported or removed is a topic of discussion in recent times. Supporters of reality television believe that this genre is actually providing the youth with valuable lessons. They argue that reality television allows for an increase of family time and traditions, can teach children from the perseverance and passion of contestants on reality television shows, and expose children to a variety of cultures and perspectives.

Survivor, a reality television show Asimakoupoulos and his family look forward to watching together – TV Blanket

Greg Asimakoupoulos is a reverend and director of creative communications for the Chapel Ministries. From personal experience, he believes that reality television allows for more family time and can help nurture family traditions. In his article, Reality TV Shows Can Have Moral Value, he discusses his personal story regarding reality television. He writes, “Gathering around the TV as a family became a Wednesday night ritual at our house. We arranged our hectic schedules around it.” He even goes further in discussing their family tradition by describing how on the last episode of each season, they would decorate their living room depending on the show and every family member would dress up in attire to correlate with the show. This love of a show allowed for their family to spend more time together enjoying something they all had a common interest in. He writes, “As a result, we prioritized the experience. It became a ritual. The shared ritual caused us to place increased value in each other.” Reality television provided Asimakoupoulos’ family with a tradition that has grown their family bond and given his children value in my family time.
Supporters of reality television also argue that these shows allow for children to learn from the contestants. Asimakoupoulous discusses how he utilized the reality show, Survivor, as a way to teach his children lessons from others’ errors. He writes, “We discovered that in each person on the island, we could see a reflection of our imperfect selves. We could see the ways we try to manipulate each other to get our own way, the ways we scheme to undermine other family members, the ways our words can hurt people we love.” He utilized the show to allow his family to discuss the prevails and fails of human nature. The children, captivated from the show, learned these valuable lessons from watching the show with family.
Another example of a reality television show that features contestants that have life lessons to offer children is Top Chef. During one episode in specific, “Enter the Fire Cave”, the contestants were thrown a curve ball of not being permitted to utilize any kitchen utensil other than one knife. Contestants immediately got to work and due to their perseverance, they were able to come up with innovative ways to execute their dishes on time. This episode teaches viewers, specifically young viewers, that with perseverance and passion, their goals can be achieved.

Top Chef, a reality television show that helps passionate chefs achieve their dreams and refine their skills – Chicago Tribune

Another supporter of reality television, writer for TV Guide Sadie Gennis, discusses how this genre can teach valuable lessons from learning based on the mistakes of others. One show in particular is Catfish, an MTV reality television show. Due to this show, she personally learned an ample amount about cyber-safety and the precautions that should be taken. By displaying the realities of cat fishing, she was able to become “well-versed in the tell-tale warning signs.” This further demonstrates the benefit of reality shows providing knowledge for children by watching the mistakes of others.

Duck Dynasty debunks popular stereotypes – Wetpaint

Lastly, reality television can expose children to a variety of cultures and perspectives. Gennis describes how shows like Shahs of Sunset, Princesses: Long Island, and Duck Dynasty help expand her knowledge of different cultures and perspectives. She writes, “Reality shows can also serve to debunk cultural stereotypes.” By allowing children to watch these programs, they can then have a more worldly perspective by watching how other cultures and ethnicities live. It allows them a more wholistic and aware view of the world that will only help both them and society throughout life.
Reality television has become a controversial topic within the last few years due to its growing popularity. The largest demographic of viewers is children and young adults. These shows have been under speculation because of how it affects children. Proponents of this genre of television argue that these shows help nurture a family dynamic, teach children by learning from the mistakes of others, and exposes them to a variety of cultures.

Reality TV Promotes Violence in Youth

With the growing popularity of this genre, there has been an increase of youth crime related to these shows. Opponents of modern-day reality television shows believe that this popular genre is responsible for promoting aggressive behavior in young adults. They argue that this genre has created a copy-cat behavior in the youth, has increased bullying in schools, and has fueled an aggressive and competitive nature in young women.

Controversial MTV show: Jackass – Mental Floss

Well-Renowned psychologist Brian Wilcox discusses this copy-cat behavior that has led to an increase of aggressive and violent behavior in young adults. In 2001, three teenage boys attempted to recreate a stunt performed on Jackass, an MTV reality show. The stunt involved one of the boys “bouncing off the hood” of the car after the car slammed into him. The boys later admitted that they were trying to recreate a stunt displayed on the show.

Anne Robinson, host of The Weakest Link, infamous for being brutal to contests – Plugged In

Another incident was inspired by the reality game show, The Weakest Link. In July 2001, “Christopher Bishop sent a bomb to his wife…with the message ‘You are the weakest link, Goodbye,’ on the package. The bomb did explode, giving Tracy Kilgrow-Bishop minor burns.”

Both incidents exemplify the aggressive and violent behaviors that reality television shows have portrayed and therefore inspired their viewers to copy these behaviors. Suzanne Chamberlin, a culture studies analyst at the Family Research Council, writes “the reality shows perpetuate a feeling of invincibility—which is far more dangerous than an audience that is merely less affected by violence. It breeds an ‘if ordinary people can do it, then I can’ mentality. This demonstrates that the dangers of reality television are responsible for breeding aggressive tendencies because when viewers believe that what they see on reality television shows are real, they are further inclined to perform such behaviors themselves.

Reality television shows are also increasing the bullying in schools. Shelba Waldron, a training manger for the St. Petersburg Juvenile Welfare Board believes that there is a direct correlation between what kids view on these shows and how they behave in school. She adds, “Studies have shown that girls who watch these violent realty TV shows have a higher incidence of bullying, cyberbullying and other bad behavior than girls that do not.” Much like the copy-cat phenomenon explored earlier, young adults believe the reality television shows they are watching are real and then are therefore more likely to mimic the behavior they are watching. In most cases, this behavior is fights between co-stars. At the SSAC bullying conference Waldron says, “Factor in a steady diet of violence, both verbal and physical, from shows that today’s youth believe are real and unscripted, and you start to see how TV violence can creep into the class room.” This further demonstrates the vulnerability of the youth mixed with the realistic violence on reality television shows that has led to an increase of bullying in schools.

Opponents of reality television also argue that reality television has bred an aggressive and competitive nature in young women, further leading to self-esteem issues. Mark Flynn, a reporter for The Psych Report, writes “Teens are also arguably the most susceptible group to body image disturbances and eating disorders in the U.S.” The article also discusses how teens are frequently judging themselves based on the body types of others, so being exposed to reality television members, people who are supposed to display the reality of society, has become unhealthy for teens. When studying Real World, a successful MTV reality television show, Flynn found that women “were mostly slender with 69 percent having low body fat, and close to half had medium to large bust sizes.” He also found that nine out of ten women’s bodies were at least minimally exposed, and nearly one third of the women cast were partially or fully undressed. When teens, the biggest demographic of reality television show viewers, are exposed to these unrealistic versions of beauty, their self-esteem is compromised.

Keeping Up With the Kardashians, a show known for fights between family members – VH1

By comparing themselves with women cast on reality television shows, they are also exposed to the catty girl fighting that reality television shows are infamous for. Waldron writes, “While there are many types of reality TV shows, those focused on young people living together or being placed in temporary group settings are packed with violence, especially girl-on-girl or woman-on-woman. Shows such as Jersey Shore, the Kardashians, Real Housewives of…, TeenMom, and others are packed with violent verbal and physical exchanges. Some reality TV shows are blatant about violence, such as Bad Girls Club.” This demonstrates that girl viewers are more likely to compare themselves physically with girls on these reality television shows, then resulting in an increase of competitive, aggressive behavior displayed in these shows.

The modern-day reality television shows are causing direct harm to the youth, both mentally and physically. By exposing the youth to violence, they are then more likely to replicate this behavior. Also, this exposure to violence and aggression has resulted in an increase of bullying in schools. Lastly, reality television harms the self-esteem of young adults, leading them to competitive and aggressive behavior.

Is Reality Television Negatively Affecting the Youth?

Reality television has become an increasingly popular genre of television. According to the National Television Violence Study (NTVS) Research Team, there has been a 26% increase in reality television shows in just one year from 1995 to 1996. Reality television has continued to develop and become more popular, only adding more reality shows to channels each year. Due to this, the messages provided by such shows can have a great influence on the viewers. Demographics demonstrate that a large percentage of viewers are younger generations. This is an important issue because how reality television affects the youth will impact the future of society.

Because reality television has the power to affect the future of society, many debate whether reality television is harmful or helpful to the youth.

Suzanne Chamberlin, a culture studies analyst at the Family Research Council, believes reality television’s message negatively impacts youth viewers. While Greg Asimakoupoulos, a reverend and director of creative communications for the Chapel Ministries, believes that reality television offers an opportunity to expose the youth to morality and humanity.

Fight on MTV’s Real World – Variety

Opponents of reality television argue that since there is only 14% of television shows dedicated to children shows, the youth then result to watching adult television, including reality television, in which an abundance of violence and promiscuity are promoted. In fact, Chamberlin writes “Not only are there more reality shows these days and an even bigger reality show following, the violence-related content has skyrocketed.” This exposure to violence and promiscuity results in desensitization to violence, which then results in copy-cat behavior. The National Television Violence Study (NTVS) Research Team found that over 70% of perpetrators of violence on reality television shows were aged 21 to 44. Chamberlin argues that seeing adults result to violence on television shows foster children’s aggressive behavior, allowing them to think that violence can be the answer. Chamberlin adds to this writing, “the reality shows perpetuate a feeling of invincibility—which is far more dangerous than an audience that is merely less affected by violence. It breeds an ‘if ordinary people can do it, then I can’ mentality.” This further demonstrates that reality television shows breed violence by encouraging viewers to result to behavior seen on these shows.

Family spending time watching TV together – BBC

 

On the other hand, supporters of reality television argue that reality television can allow for families to spend time together and create lasting traditions. Also, during this family time, parents have the opportunity to discuss valuable life lessons that correspond with the shows. Asimakoupoulos writes, “As a Christian minister I must be able to communicate my faith in terms a sight-and-sound generation can understand.” Because this generation is much more visually learning generation, seeing reality on television allows for the youth to learn from such shows. This demonstrates that not only does reality television allow for a positive opportunity for family bonding, but also for the youth to see a diverse “spectrum of humanity.” Asimakoupoulos reflects on reality television, writing “Because there is redemptive value in family rituals, even something as pedestrian as watching the same program each week together can be a sacred experience.” These rather addictive shows can allow families or groups of people in general to bond over such shows and connect, creating value in human interaction.

The debate of reality television’s true impact on the youth has been more prominent as reality television has become more popular in recent years. With new reality television shows pushing the limits, there comes debate and speculation as to whether the youth should be exposed to such shows or not.

Reality television impacts the lives of the youth as they consume such entertainment right now, but will also affect how society will work when the youth are older. So, what messages this popular television genre leaves the youth with will make a lasting impression on society in the long run.

Behind the Unscripted Drama of Reality Television

One of my main questions preceding this project was if reality television shows are authentic or, like many skeptics believe, scripted and directed. Jethro Nededog, a senior entertainment reporter for Business Insider, explores the reality television industry and sheds some light in answering this question. Through interviews of producers and directors in the genre and some additional research, Nededog concludes that reality television shows are not scripted, but there is a substantial amount of work that goes into planning and producing these shows in order to make them successful.

In order to determine if reality television shows are scripted or authentic, Nededog interviews many head producers and directors of hit reality television shows. First, he interviews Sean Dash, a producer of “Deadliest Catch”, and discusses how many critics of this genre believe that these shows are fake. But, Dash believes that “the issue often is your viewer cannot believe what they’re seeing because it can be so ridiculous or so absurd, but it is actually, literally, exactly what had happened.” Another interviewee, a producer of Bravo’s “Real Housewives” franchise, said “I’ve never worked on a scripted reality series. Good luck trying to get…reality talent to do anything scripted, because they’re so difficult.” From discussing with producers and experts in the industry, it is clear that reality television shows are not in fact scripted. In fact, the point of reality television, or entertainment in general, is to capture the attention of the audience and to incorporate a shock effect into the show, something reality television is infamous for.

But, this is not to say that directors just let whatever happens be filmed, there is a lot of work that goes into creating reality television shows in order to make them interesting and successful. Nededog writes, “That doesn’t mean the shows just stand back and film. The producers we talked to say there is definitely a story they’re trying to tell. That can take skill to pull off, and some maneuvering when things don’t go as planned.” Reality television shows may not be scripted, but a lot of work goes into planning out scenes and storylines in order to keep watchers captivated. Rachel Tennione, another producer of “Real Housewives”, says “As a reality producer, you’re dealing with real people with their own minds that have their own images that they want to control or they want to be seen.” This demonstrates that everyone involved in producing and directing reality television shows has to put in a lot of work to convey an actual story to the viewers without making the show scripted. They must also put into consideration how the reality television stars want to be portrayed and what they will do on screen.

 

Although reality television is not scripted, it is thoroughly planned in order to make the show successful. Directors and producers must take in consideration what the stars of the show will do and how to accurately portray the storylines of the show to the viewers.
Another one of my main questions was what specific strategies are utilized in producing successful reality television shows in today’s world. An entertainment journalist for The Guardian, Elle Hunt, delves into the process of creating shows in this popular television genre. She starts by writing, “real life doesn’t necessarily make for good TV without a little help.”

The primary and critical step of producing reality television shows is casting. One producer Hunt interviewed said “she looked for a range of strong characters – larger-than-life personalities, salt-of-the-earth types, show ponies, good blokes the audience would get behind – who were ‘really open emotionally’ and invested in the show’s premise.” It is critical that a reality television show contain characters that will capture the audiences’ attention. And since there is no script for the cast members, producers and directors must be certain that the cast will adhere to the show’s premise.

Another critical step in creating these television shows is editing. In order to portray what the producers and directors want to be the story of the show, they must film excessive amounts of footage in order to ensure they get the right shots to convey the story to the audience. Hunt writes, “The show’s producers had specific roles or looks in mind for each of the contestants.” In order for the producers’ visions to come across on screen, they must shoot enough for them to have material to work with. From this footage, they then can “cut and paste” the footage in order to portray the storyline and character dynamics to watchers.

 

The main components of current reality television shows include casting and editing. These steps must be executed properly and with an immense amount of thought and planning in order for the show to become successful. Reality television, a popular genre in today’s entertainment industry, is a difficult genre to produce in order to make drama authentic and engage viewers.

 

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The Death of Reality Television – A Genre Worth Mourning?

Reality television has become a dying genre in recent years which poses a debate about whether reality television should or should not exist in modern television.

The majority of people believe that reality television should not exist and are relieved to read that it is becoming a dying genre. The public has not preferred reality television in recent years because it has become scripted, has negatively effected current society, and has overused cliches and storylines. But, there are also some who enjoy reality television and believe that it is still a successful source of entertainment.

The majority of people do not support reality television because it has become scripted, instead of a genuine portray of reality. One commentator writes, “Because the public has finally realized these are not reality shows but are scripted, the producers generate the false situations the characters are in,” demonstrating that viewers have become aware of the ploys producers take to create reality television shows that try to hook viewers. People are unsupportive of reality television for this reason because they do not like being “tricked” or “manipulated” by producers and by realizing these television shows are scripted or controlled, they do not support them. Another commentator even questions whose reality is being portrayed on these shows, writing “Reality? whose reality? yours? mine or the producers and sponsors?” This further proves that reality television shows have become inaccurate portrays of reality and have become scripted and fake. Another commentator writes that reality television used to be something genuine, but has become scripted in recent times in order to add more drama and attract more viewers’ attentions. But, it is because of this that reality television has evolved into a genre that viewers are no longer fond of.

Another reason that the public is against reality television is because it has negatively effected current society. One commentator discussed the effect of reality television in both marketing and politics. He writes, “Big Brother prepared the ground for YouTube, and a toxic strand of celebrity disconnected from any other activity but branding…Politics is now sliding into this abyss just behind marketing. There is no need to mourn the genre: Donald Trump’s candidacy in the US shows that it has simply outgrown TV and computer screens.” This demonstrates that people believe reality television has become the reason for many problems in current society, causing a domino effect into huge sectors of society like marketing and politics. Another user writes, “our current reality is already a hyperreality constructed of nothing more than image and is selling us an idea of reality to aspire to,” demonstrating that reality television has effected the public and has become something people strive to attain. This unhealthy strive to become like the reality television shows the public watches has negatively effected the public.

The last major reason why people are not in support of reality television is because it has become cliched and the plot lines are overused. One person writes, “the narrative arc ‘boy cheats on girl, other girls turn on her’ has been worn so thin it’s now more of a narrative slope.” This further proves that reality television shows have become similar and are wearing down the same story lines. Another person also refers to reality television shows as “copy cat shows” demonstrating that the shows have little variance and are even boring audiences. Another commentator writes, “producers, directors and editors of ‘reality’ television have promoted their products as ‘real life’ when in reality they are more scripted, more contrived, better edited, follow a tight format where conflict, sensation, conflict resolution, suspense and intrigue are elements in every production.” also demonstrating that reality television shows include the same ingredients and are becoming more cliche and include overused storylines.

With this being said, some still believe that this genre of television should be kept around. In specific, one person writes about how opponents of reality television are generalizing the genre too much and only thinking of shows like “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” and “Big Brother.” When, in reality, there are many reality television shows like “Gogglebox”, which have a positive message and can benefit society. She also makes a comparison of books to television, writing “A rubbish book is a rubbish book, contrived drama on tv is the book you can’t get through and discard.” This commentator’s main point is that there are bad books too, but that does not mean that all books should be discarded, just like because there are bad reality television shows the genre should not be discarded.

A family featured on the reality television show “Gogglebox” – The Huffington Post

I believe that reality television shows should be structured to be more of an accurate portrayal of society so that society does not become negatively effected by this genre. I agree with the supporter of reality television that there are shows that benefit society and have positive messages that can educate the public, so I do not believe in killing the entire genre.

 

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Trashy Television: A Rhetorical Analysis of Alessandra Stanley’s The Classless Utopia of Reality TV

Alessandra Stanley, the chief television critic for the New York Times since 2003, discusses the new trend of reality television shows and the messages they portray to viewers in The Classless Utopia of Reality TV. She believes that reality television has become rather toxic to current society compared to traditional television shows.

Stanley compares popular scripted sitcoms to the new breed of reality television shows in order to demonstrate to the reader the opposite messages these genres convey to viewers. While sitcoms “deliver the image of the society we would like to be: racially integrated, classless, well intentioned”, reality television shows “breed a kind of country dysmorphic disorder: half the nation is blond, beautiful and driving sports cars through Beverly Hills, while the other half is blond, sleazily oversexed and prone to hair-pulling and name-calling.” This demonstrates that sitcoms create messages that society needs to hear and portrays the vision of what viewers want society to become. On the other side of the spectrum, reality television distorts society’s view of what reality is and therefore portrays a negative message to the audience.

“The Fosters” A scripted television show featuring a lesbian, interracial couple and a family of foster kids – The Fosters

“The Real Housewives of Orange County” A reality television show featuring a cast of primarily white upperclass women living in California – Entertainment Weekly

Stanley compares the plot of scripted television shows with reality shows to demonstrate the vastly different takeaway messages of these two genres. On “The Hills,” girls fight with fake smiles and snide comments and on “Real World: Sydney,” a bachelorette style reality show, girls fight physically, with punching and body slams. In ABC’s “Ugly Betty,” a poor, plain girl is put into a world of high fashion in a top magazine headquarter, but in “The Hills”, Lauren Conrad is hired at Teen Vogue, where her job mainly consists of red-carpet events and everyone fits in. In “Laguna Beach,” another reality show, features characters that are all young and wealthy. But, in the scripted show “Gossip Girl,” the plot features a son of a middle-class family maneuvering his way through upper class Manhattan socialites. The difference of reality television shows from scripted dramas demonstrates that reality television shows, which are supposed to portray real-life modern society, actually glorify many aspects of society and inaccurately portray modern society.

“Ugly Betty” A scripted show about a girl, out of her element, thrown into the world of high fashion – Live Journal

She also analyzes “The Hills”, a successful MTV series.

Unlike previous reality television shows, “The Hills” incorporated confessionals, “a convention of the reality genre in which a protagonist breaks away to vent directly to the camera.” These confessionals allow for viewers to hear what the characters are thinking and feeling. But, Stanley believes that it is because of this evolved genre of reality television that characters have changed from ordinary people to “a new hybrid of semiprofessional personalities who play themselves on camera.” Although they are not actors, they are not an accurate portrayal of regular people, and instead morph their identities to fit the needs of the television production. The inauthenticity of these characters adds to the false portrayal of society.

“The Hills” A reality television show featuring privileged young adults living in Southern California – Zimbio

Stanley believes that today’s genre of reality television breeds fake personas of characters and conveys the wrong message about today’s society. She writes, “Reality shows are dramas lived out on beta-blockers; microproblems stretch over more episodes than any network drama would allow, no crimes are solved, no lives are saved, and the characters speak most eloquently when silent. Most of all they focus on mating, not social mobility.” Today’s reality television shows exist to capture the attention of viewers, and they seem to believe that the way to most successfully do that is to inaccurately portray society in order to add drama. But, this inaccurate portray of society has also backfired to convey the wrong message about modern society to viewers. In order for the reality television genre to evolve, society must be aware and unsupportive of the negative effects of reality television.

Today’s Ingredients for a Successful Reality Television Show

Reality television has become a growing and successful business in the past few decades. There have been more of these unscripted television shows to feed today’s viewers with drama-filled entertainment. But what really makes these television shows so popular?

In this web series, I am going to explore the reality television industry to determine what aspects make a reality television show successful in our current society.

Reality television is a genre completely in its own category because in recent years, it has become increasingly difficult for shows to become successful. Initially, shows like “Survivor”, “American Idol”, even “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” became popular and sparked the nation’s interest in the genre. But, since 2010, there have only been about four or five reality television shows to make the top 10 list, including “Survivor”, “The Bachelor”, “The Bachelorette”, “American Idol”, “The Biggest Loser”, “Dancing with the Stars”, “Shark Tank”, and “The Voice”. These shows are all completely different, but all individually successful. This poses the question, what makes a reality television show successful in today’s era?

The reality television industry is unique to other genres of television. There are a variety of components each network must take into consideration when producing a reality television show. Different networks focus on different concerns they have when trying to produce a reality television show. For instance, cable networks like Bravo have an established viewership and have a longer period of time to get viewers hooked to a new reality television show. “Project Runway” aired for 15 seasons, giving viewers an ample amount of time to get hooked on the show. But, large mainstream networks like CBS and Fox have higher expectations for a larger quantity of viewers upfront when piloting a new show. And Netflix, a subscription based entertainment provider, is just breaking into the reality television genre, so they are just now testing what will lure viewers in. Netflix will be debuting a new show, “Ultimate Beastmaster”, featuring an elaborate obstacle course and an international cast.

One aspect that all reality show network producers do have in common is casting. This is a critical step in any entertainment project. But, with reality television it is even more vital that the cast is ideal in order for the television show to become successful. Casting directors search for people who are interesting, different, and have personalities that will capture the audience’s attention on screen. Cast members, in addition to having interesting personalities, must also have some relatable characteristics in order to get the viewers to connect to both the cast and the show itself. This is one extremely important step for producers of reality television shows because without an entertaining and capturing cast, the show will lack viewers and eventually flop.

Behind the scenes of filming “UnREAL” – The Muse

In this web series, I also hope to explore if reality television shows in current society are genuine or, like many skeptical viewers believe, scripted and directed. Another aspect I hope to explore is the process that networks go through in current society in order to create a successful reality television show. In order to learn more about what makes reality television shows popular in 2017, I plan to study reality television shows that have become successful in the past and shows that are currently popular. This will help me gain a better understanding of what it takes to make a successful show in this growing genre of television.