Reality Television has seemingly swept the nation. From shows like Jersey Shore or The Real World that exemplify how trashy young adults can get when watched, to shows like The Bachelor or Rock of Love that attempt at capturing people falling in love in somewhat of a polygamous way, all the way to talent search shows like American Idol, The Voice, America's Got Talent that capture the journey to stardom in a televised competition. Most shows on television are considered "reality tv." In all reality, these shows are far from the real world yet the capture the audience of so many.
The Reality Television show that has captured audiences for years is Survivor. The show Survivor takes two teams of people and puts them on an island with no modern day necessities. They are left with basic supplies to make shelter and enough rice to last them 39 days a palm-full of rice per day. The show tests what will happen when all life's luxuries are stripped from you? They have no mirrors and no showers and no tooth brushes. Any food they eat other than rice they catch. This show tests the human instinct and how strong it really is. Physically it is very difficult to withstand such obstacles but mentally it becomes draining as well. No one knows each other going onto the island and its a game to reach the top. In essence it could drive a person crazy not knowing who you can and cannot trust and who will have your back at the end of the day. There is no connection to the outside world so it can get very lonely as well. This game tests the strength of a person all around.
My friend Natalie was on this season of Survivor: Redemption Island and watching her on the show it is clear how the show takes such a tole on someone. In my opinion she is the best on the show but I suppose I'm slightly biased. Seeing how hard it is to just live day to day with each other. There is no comfortable place to sleep and there is no surplus of food so they lost extreme amounts of weight and were basically wasting away out on this island. Natalie is still alive in the game so she can't talk about much but you can tell the experience was life changing.
Survivor appeals to the viewers because watching the drama of all these people that don't know one another is entertaining but also observing the pure strength of the human instinct is fascinating. It's not just another game show, it is a sort of social experiment.
In conclusion, reality tv shows all appeal to audiences for different reasons. Some shows are mindless and trashy but others are life changing and nearly scientific. Who knew real people were more interesting than characters played by actors?
I agree with you. I think that reality shows like Jersey Shore have a very trashy impact on some people. Reality shows like Jersey Shore are not educational in anyway at. Reality shows are a really big thing to watchers, because the drama is so entertaining. When younger and even older audiences watch shows like that they may think it is cool because the people on the T.V. are doing it. I never watched a full episode of Jersey Shore but, I see them all over entertainment magazines and E news. From the things that I hear that they talk about on the show is very trashy and I don’t anything cool or talented about what there are doing. All the talks about is who’s sleeping with how. The reality shows Bachelor and Rock of Love are quit similar to Jersey Shore they don’t have anything good or educational about their show. The shows portray people living a make belief love life and it bashes peoples feeling when they get rejected. American Idol is also a reality show that has emotionally hurt a lot of peoples feeling that have been denied on the show. It also let’s their self esteem down and makes them feel bad about themselves. I think that reality show Survivor is not a bad show at all. It gives people an idea of what could happen if they are stranded on an island. Survivor is better for younger audiences to watch then shows like The Bachelor or Jersey Shore. You have made many good points. Great work Karianne.
ReplyDeleteI would have to say that reality TV is a bit peculiar. They always have super extremists, and very loud people. Well ok, maybe not all, but there are most. You say that they aren’t “real.” What is it you mean? Is it that those things don’t happen in a normal day to day basis? If that be the case then I would have to agree with you, but isn’t that the point of the show? It is giving people, usually a one in a life time, an opportunity to do something completely out of their norm. I’m talking about Dancing with the stars, American Idol, Survivor, The Bachelor and Bachelorette. Shows like Jersey Shore and one like that are just complete bogus to me. Yes, I know some crazy people, but they just take it too far. You can’t tell me those aren’t scripted. If they aren’t, then they just look for the worst people you could know and put them together. I think the point of reality TV is for the non-stars on the show to gain something from it, possibly be that 1 in a million who gets the opportunity to do something great. Not only is it for them, but it is also for the people watching at home. People love watching talented people, or watch people make fools of themselves, for an example, I love watching the tryouts for American Idol. Anyways I liked your blog. I Will be reading other blogs, they are always interesting Karianne. I still question whether Survivor is real…. Sorry. When your friend comes back I want proof. Lol
ReplyDeleteTalent search "reality" tv shows are different. They aren't as "possible" as they make it seem for the sake that they manipulate the situation by only letting certain people through to see the real judges that know what they are talking about. If you are lucky enough to make it on one of those types of shows by all means it is a real journey they go through. When I say reality TV shows aren't real I mean, no one is going to act completely the same with a camera following you around and others aren't going to react to you the same with a bunch of cameras around. that's what I mean when I say its not real.
ReplyDeleteFunny you say that about survivor, she didn't think it was real either until she did it. Trust and believe it is really real. lol
That is pretty cool that you know somebody on Survivor. So it is real stuff, huh? I would say that I like the contest reality shows much more than then ones that just show partying all the time. Like you, I think it is pretty cool to see what happens when you put people in diffulcult situations and watch what happens. One of my favorite shows is Man vs. Wild for that primary reason. Some of these shows are really cool because you see things that are super hard to actually do in your own life. Rather than watching shows like Jersey Shore because, come on, anyone can go out drinking now. It doesn’t mean there needs to be a TV show about it. I wonder how far your friend will get and what she did learn from the experience. It must be pretty neat to survive like that for that amount of rime with so little in the way of food and material items. It really makes you think at the end of the season, how much can one really endure. Anyway, great blog and I hope your friend wins! Past a couple bills my way if she does, lol!
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