Reality TV is popular with audiences because it presents ordinary individuals as celebrities and allows the audience to vicariously feel like a celebrity while also presenting real celebrities as ordinary people, again allowing the audience to feel like they, themselves could be celebrities.
Producers have embraced the reality TV format partly because it has a successful track record of drawing viewers, but the same could be said of high-cost programs such as “The Sopranos.” The reason reality TV has become so much more prolific than shows like “The Sopranos” is because reality TV is so cheap to produce.
The psychological appeal of reality TV and the low production cost create a powerful combination that has been so successful that many television networks around the globe have saturated their prime time line ups with reality TV in a high stakes ratings war. The downside of reality TV is that it doesn't lend itself to repeat viewing. To combat this fact producers are constantly scraping to put new spins on the genre. It's doubtful that reality TV will ever disappear completely, but viewers are likely to get bored by the oversaturation of it s presence in the prime time line up eventually.
Hill, A. (2005) The rise of
reality TV. In A. Hill, Reality
TV: Audiences and
Popular Factual Television.
(pp. 106). Oxon:
Routledge.
I really like how youve writtne this post. Including "Psychological appeal". I think you got the appeal that viewers have for reality TV perfectly. Its definelty the 'ordinary' people who can draw you to reality TV. Seems like you're not to fond of Reality TV... maybe on eday it will go away, but for now, im enjoying the stupidity of some ordinary people. Nice work :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with your thoughts on reality tv saturating prime time slots. I am a fan of certain reality tv, but I think I enjoyed it more so when it was rarely on tv. Like Darryl mentioned during lecture, MTV used to be about music. USED to be. But now viewers are subjected to endless hours of reality that it becomes boring. My latest, and only obsession with reality tv was My Kitchen Rules. They were ordinary people from all walks of life and professions who had a common love for throwing together a fine dish. We really enjoyed it because as Danni says above it's the real people who draw you in. Now we pretty much use the 'ON' button on the remote when it's time to relax on the PS3 haha
ReplyDeleteIT would have been useful to bring Hill's (2005)text into your discussion as support.
ReplyDelete