Introduction
Today’s technological advancements have made it possible for TV reality shows to grow exponentially and to be viewed by millions of people across the globe. People are in need of entertainment and information, and reality shows have been used to achieve these purposes. As opposed to films and documentaries, reality shows present to the audience unscripted remarkable or entertaining situations. Most reality shows documents real proceedings, and features regular people instead of expert actors. There are many reality shows screened on our television sets today but perhaps the most striking are the Survival series, Big brother, Oprah Winfrey, and Tyra Banks shows.
For the purposes of this discussion, I will use the Survivor reality show. It is a game show which has been produced in numerous countries around the world. The show basically involves contestants being secluded in the wilderness to battle for cash and other prizes. Progressive elimination is used in the show, whereby contestants are allowed to vote off a tribe member. This is continuously repeated until the winner- the “sole Survivor” is known. Below I attempt to describe the Survivor reality show using four major theoretical theories of Conflict, Functionalism, Symbolic Interaction, and Post Modernist (“Survival TV series”, 2008).
Conflict theory
Conflict theory views society as a cluster of units which comprise the upper, middle, and lower classes of people. These units have varied and differing interests and thus are always in continued conflict with one another. This conflict is only suppressed, temporarily, through the domination of an elite, oppressive and exploitive cluster of people. According to this perspective, change in society, comes about due to this conflict. Change is sudden. The perspective also view social systems as unjust and often cruel upon the “have-nots” of the social order as the systems are repeatedly used by the “powerful” in society to promote their views and defend their assets. Such social systems include the family unit, the education system as well as the political system. Conflict theory proponents believe that power and wealth must be redistributed again through either a revolution or a reform (Ratcliff, 2008).
In survival series, the game often involves 16-20 strangers that are then divided to 4 groups, called tribes. The groups are then given minimum survival kits to use in the wilderness. The tribes have different interests and are in continued conflict with one another, as the dominant make a kill, and the weak suffers. The tough rules and regulations are often seen as unjust to the weak as the dominant knows their way around the rules. There is a lot of endurance, willpower, problem-solving skills and teamwork involved. The dominant always use their strength to guard against their interest – the coveted prize money (Survival TV series).
Functionalist theory
Functionalists view society as comprised of interrelated parts, which are normally in equilibrium. Every part of the social system adds in some means to the smooth performance of society. A system or part changes or becomes extinct when it is found to be unnecessary. Adjustments of the social systems to difficulties and innovations bring about gradual change in society (Ratcliff, 2008).
This is true in the survival TV series. One tribe is composed of around four individuals, assigned different responsibilities. All the responsibilities must be shared out equally to maintain the perfect balance. The individuals must perform all their assignments harmoniously if they are to avoid elimination in the elimination ceremony, often called the tribal council. A tribe must keep on adjusting and changing the roles assigned to the participants so that tough roles are done by tough participants and vice-versa. Those who are unable to perform their roles fall on the way. The aim of working in harmony with one another is to win the highest prize in the game – cash (“Survival TV SerieS”, 2008).
Symbolic Interaction
This theory holds that people always make social constructions of reality depending on the interpretations of our daily experiences. It holds that all social situations have shared definitions. People always confer meaning to daily situations as they interpret events and contexts. Reaction is based in the interpretation. People always base their interpretation on vocal and non-vocal symbols, which comprise the mechanisms of communication within interactions (Ratcliff, 2008).
This theory has been used extensively in the survival TV series reality show. The participants always make social constructions of their actions depending on how they interpret a challenge they are supposed to accomplish. Contestants may be required to race through a string of barriers to gather puzzle pieces which then must be assembled after all puzzle pieces have been gathered. To proponents of symbolic interaction, such an exercise will require the contestants to make a social construction of the exercise and interpret it on account of their daily experiences. The definition of the exercise is shared amongst the tribe. In such an exercise, verbal as well as non-verbal communication has always proved important if the tribe is to finish ahead of its competitors (“Survival TV series”, 2008).
Post Modernist theory
Proponents of Post-Modernism argue that, either there is something essentially dissimilar concerning the communication of meaning, or that modernism has basic flaws in its scheme of information. Due to rapid economic and technological advancements, a decentralized and media-dominated society have been created whereby ideas are only copies of each other and thus society lacks originality, stability, and objectivity in their sources of communication and meaning (Social theory, 2008).
This theory explains what is happening today in our society. We have been so media-dominated and ideas we hold common are only inter-referential illustrations and duplicates of other ideas before them. Look at the survival reality show! After its inception, TV stations have been airing many other duplicates of the Survival series such that it’s always hard to distinguish the original from the clones (“Survival TV series”, 2008).
Works cited
Ratcliff, Donald. Creation, Redemption and Sociological Theory. 2008. Web.
Social Theory. 2008. Web.
Survival TV Series. 2008. Web.