Blog Post #1: The Blurred Line between Reality and Reality Shows

When looking at the state of contemporary media and its outlets, it is apparent that it has a say in affecting the lives of everyone in this country, for better or for worse. When I am referring to outlets, I mean virtually all forms of media that Americans can receive, including television and streamed media through the World Wide Web. As more and more households implement internet services that have a higher bandwidth (maximum streaming capacity), they are able to watch television with regularity in a convenient setting through various services like Hulu and Netflix. Due to this mass propagation of media with previously exclusive channels such as MTV, the primary emanating source of reality television shows, the vast majority of Americans have access to this particular form of media. We are now at the point where there is no such thing as exclusive television or media, nearly everything can be accessed through pirating programs like Pirates Bay or Limewire. What does this mean? All Americans can now access the primary television networks that are dominated by reality television programming. Essentially, America has cut out the middle man for their access to this new social craze.
Before assessing the effect of these reality shows, a look at what these shows constitute is necessary. Essentially, the television network is documenting the daily lives of certain individuals including their struggles and the intimate details of their personal lives. One common form that this program takes is the gathering of various individuals into a single home and documenting their relationships and tensions. For the sake of entertaining the American palette, this group of individuals often participates in acts of infidelity and aggression towards their housemates. At its very core, it is the display of the drama in the lives of these individuals. The primary example of this type of reality television is MTV’s “The Real World,” which takes all sorts of individuals and puts them in a picturesque vacation home in a location like San Diego or a classy high rise apartment in New York City. In addition to filming the cast in the home, they are followed to locations such as night clubs or anywhere else conducive to high drama. This formulaic approach has creeped its way into a significant amount of network television, even in shows that have another focus such as American Idol or Last Comic Standing. In addition, this sort of programming has blurred the lines between real life behavior and staged actions. In MTV’s “My Sweet Sixteen,” a show documenting the planning process of a teenager’s birthday and the party itself, the stage crew often makes the birthday boy’s/girl’s love interest dance around with other peers to draw feelings of jealousy. With this program, MTV is emphasizing the stereotype that teenagers live drama riddled lives. While this is clearly not the kind of behavior that the guest of honor’s interest would participate in, MTV does this to draw more interest its viewers by bending this reality.
Given that this kind of television has a pervasive presence within American networks, the influence on human behavior is significant. First, MTV sets the bar for fashion through dressing up their reality television actors in trendy apparel. During my time in the Middle School, fitted baseball caps and baggy jeans were the norm for the boys and the girls used gratuitous amounts of eyeliner. Not coincidentally, this was the attire for the cast of “The Real World: Cancun.” For something that is accepted as the norm in terms of clothing, this show and others of the like have an unprecedented affect in changing the way people dress. This is certainly more powerful than overt advertising prevalent in network television, which the people say they are wise to the advertising tactics. Because the viewer is drawn into the lives of these characters in the program, they subconsciously pick up on the trendy fashion shown before them. So in essence, this false reality created in the reality show is affecting the behavior and lives of its viewers. MTV should be aware that it holds a great power in that they can affect the behavior of its viewers. If they do not use this power responsibly, then there is the risk that they can negatively affect the self confidence and emotional well being of the youth in America.