With the rapid development of communications, flicking through the channels has become a major challenge. The matter is that satellite television today provide enormous amount of reality shows, talk shows, documentaries for all tastes and ages. As far as reality shows are concerned, American Idol is first that comes to my mind. Vast advertising and promotion of the show has made it one of the most popular reality shows among the younger audience.
The reality shows concern itself with the relations between the world of television and the real world. As it has already been mentioned, American Idol mostly caters for the audience of people under 30. There are some factors that account for the extreme popularity of this reality show throughout the world. The first thing that makes it appealing to the public is the continuous narrative and the element of competition as American Idol is a contest reality show.
The next factor that makes this show immensely popular within the public is that it features common people who make their way to success, thus, suggesting the idea to viewers that quickly become popular is possible to everyone. Consequently, it may be assumed that the viewers maintain some kind of connection with the contestants by means of emotional anxiety.
On the other hand, watching this reality show most of the audience relate the situation of contestants to their life. In other words, the viewers imagine being in contestants’ shoes enjoying the fame and success. In this way TV show gives people the feelings of uniqueness.
However, the significance of interaction between viewers and contestants should not be underrated. Since the age of contestants is virtually the same as the viewers’, they appear to be representatives of the same generation that was raised on the same principles and share the same experience. Moreover, being a show about pop music American Idol attracts more audiences since the notion of the popularity of music is implied by its name. As far as the emotional response to the show is concerned, it might not be unanimous and should not be unanimous.
The success of any show is the presence of various characters that oppose and contradict each other which creates an atmosphere of constant tension. In addition, determining the winner through messaging or special phone numbers the viewer maintains the connection with the world of television and brings the viewers closer to it. On top of that, the viewers enjoy a unique moment of power that they get when voting for their favorite contestant and getting the feeling of content if he/she wins (par.1). In other words, to keep the audience TV producers get them the feeling that they can shape the further development of the show, which is, in fact, only seemingly in the hands of the voters.
Moreover, this reality show features celebrities, which draws more attention to the program. However, the fact that American Idol shows the process of how exactly the celebrities are created by presenting the videos of contestants who failed or had not to have enough talent, the development and growth of the survivors, which is a part of the reflexivity of the show.
It should be emphasized that the current fad of reality shows and the number of techniques used in them to attract and hold the audience is explained by the fact that these shows are commercially lucrative.
Concluding, it should be stressed that in spite of the controversial issues of reality shows, they are an indispensable part of modern culture. American Idol, being a reality show, has made a great contribution to the understanding and development of TV shows.
Works Cited
“Semi-Final: Results.” American Idol Official Cite. Web.