Introduction
Reality Television World covers a great row of independent reality shows which involve and describe typical situations of ordinary people. It is considered to be a kind of television genre disclosing different actual events, funny or dramatic situations without participation of professional actors. Reality television is one of the most widely spread genres of television aspects and it includes different kinds of TV formats without any strict limitations or prohibitions. It gives an opportunity to express a kind of programming freedom in order to show real situations of our life with its difficulties and puzzles.
Television reality shows covers thousands of different life episodes with the usage of creative editing in order to make shows more emotional and bright. Reality shows can be devoted to different subjects but the main fact is that they should provide the participants of the shows with the freedom to play and react in the most real and typical way. It is important to stress that one should not confuse reality shows with all others types of TV programs in which the participants are to ignore the cameras and are asked to behave in a natural way. The main task of producers is to encourage their participants and in some cases private conversations are used which are typed and play the role of narration.
Background Information
Television reality shows have been developing for a long period of time and covered many periods of television progressing. But it is necessary to stress that the peak in the development of this television type was in 2000 when the majority types of shows were produced. In the period between 1960s-1970s TV shows were scripted with the involvement of professional actors who were to create and play the characters.
People thought that reality shows were not thoroughly planned and actors were not normally trained though they were involved and played their roles according to the program. Producers could not meet the requirements of the public and create an interesting storyline. The first real TV show was created only in 1970 and was called An American Family. The author and creator of the show was Public Broadcasting System. This reality show disclosed the real life of different families which were about to face divorce. It had success while it showed some typical situations from the real life of people and highlighted life mistakes which should be avoided in ordinary families. (Pollick, 2006)
The next period in the development of reality shows was in 1980 when the next show COPS was introduced to the public. This type of reality shows was aimed at presentation of policemen’s work to the audience through the hand-held cameras. This reality show was really recognized and generally accepted. It considered to be the impact in the sphere of reality television, because this show gave a start to the plenty of others and production companies began their activities striving to create new exciting reality shows involving professional photographers, police cameras and news organizations. This period in the reality television development was very important and it brought real success to the sphere being very popular especially among the youth.
Meanwhile another type of reality shows appeared and was spread among the public. It was called The Real World and disclosed different unusual situations experiences by ordinary people. The audience enjoyed this show as it was really true to life and gave an opportunity to evaluate their actions watching ordinary people. This period left a print in the history of reality television development. (Keveney, 2007)
One of the most outstanding reality shows in the USA was considered to be CBS’s Survivor. This reality show was produced in 1999 and resulted in strong objections on the part of professional directors and actors. Nevertheless Survivor met the requirements of the public and found its audience in spite of all prohibitions and objections. This show was mostly concentrated on the play of non-professional actors and did not require a lot of cost for production, but all the same it was professionally done and satisfied the audience of that period. The success of this show was really vivid from the very beginning and that is why it caused an increase of competitiveness in the sphere of television activities.
Types of Reality Shows
Reality television has undergone a wide range of changes and periods of development. It was the reason for the creation of different sub-types of reality shows. The most popular are the following:
Documentary TV shows
This type of reality shows means that cameras are only passive observers watching usual activities of our every day life. This type includes the following sub-categories: celebrities, special living environment and professional activities. Such shows as Big Brother, The Simple Life, American Chopper, Temptation Island are considered to be the most prominent reality shows of this type.
Game Shows
This type of reality shows discloses the real competitions for some prize being isolated in a particular environment and showing team forces in different competitions. The participants are usually judged by the audience with the involvement of the voting or by the decision of the players themselves. Dating-based competitions, fear-centric, job search and sports are the main sub-categories of this type. The most famous reality shows of this sub-category are Flavor of Love, Making the Band, Top Design, Fear Factor and many others. (Dollar, 2008)
Self-Improvement
It is a special and very important type of reality shows because it brings positive changes to the life of the society and influences the audience. It is important to stress that this type of reality television format is aimed at the improvement of the ordinary people’s life with the involvement of the television. The most popular shows are the following: Extreme Makeover, The Biggest Loser, The Bad Girls Club and some others. One should note that this type is not only a kind of television entertainment but also a kind of aid to those who need support and look for different ways out of their difficult life situations and misunderstanding on the part of surrounding people… (Macartney, 2005)
Renovation
Renovation reality shows describe the peculiarities of a person’s work or living space. It includes While You Were Out, This Old House, Changing Rooms and some others. The purpose of these reality shows is to describe the experience of the society in life and work, to show some mistakes and achievements in order to bring some improvements to the publicity.
Dating Shows
Reality shows which are devoted to the dating and romantic meetings are the mostly spread among the youth. They are considered to be rather close to real life as they show the most typical situations faced by modern couples. Such shows as Parental Control, Blind Date etc. are the most popular in the USA. Dating reality shows are very spread not only in America but on the international level, because they are of high demand among the modern population and their audience if large enough to produce them again and again. They are very entertaining and involving and usually they lead to their complete imitation in life on the part of teenagers.
Talk Shows
Different types of discussions and interviewing belong to this type of reality shows. The main purpose of this show is to promote some useful information; these shows are very informative and strict in rules. They are created according to the traditional standards of news and broadcasting without any interference of other styles. To this type the following reality shows belong as The Jerry Springer, Ricki Lake and some others.
Hidden Cameras
It is one of the most interesting and relaxing reality shows which exist on the television. The purpose of these shows is just entertain and teach to laugh at each other and at typical life situations we face almost every day. Candid Camera and Scare Tactics are aimed at entertaining of the audience focusing on jokes and different funny situations of life.
The Role of Reality TV Show
The role of reality shows is very significant in our life, especially for those who prefer to devote their time to the television programs. Nowadays, at the period of globalization, our vision on life has changed a lot in comparison with previous generations. People try to imitate each others and demonstrate their life to the publicity. The youth tries to avoid quite and peaceful life somewhere apart from peers; and that is why modern reality shows are so popular in the society.
Sometimes TV programs may seem to be so real that we forget that it is only show not a real life. The demand on the reality shows production is very high and that is why they are so widely spread among the population. There is a type of people who are called reality TV junkies; these people cannot imagine their life without television and reality shows are their life with real actors and events. (Lynch, 2006)
The role of reality shows is quite vivid in our modern life. It is important to stress the main functions of reality shows:
- Informative;
- Entertaining;
- Instructive;
- Magistral.
The basic purpose of all kinds of reality shows is to reflect the real life events in order to evaluate them on the examples of other people’s actions and understand your own mistakes or life happiness. Reality shows make our life not so boring and dramatic providing the audience with different funny cases and situations and demonstrating our natural reaction on them. (Kurtz, 2007)
Conclusion
To sum everything up it important to state that reality TV shows became an integral part of our modern life with their competitions, funny situations and useful interviews. Inmost cases reality shows are very Magistral and instructive; they can even change our opinion of bring some changes. But one should remember that they can also influence our life negatively, so it is just a show and we should not care about the flow of events or take close to heart the fate of the actors.
References
Michael, Pollick. What is a Reality Show? Informational Paper. NY. 2006.
Keveney, Bill. Real World Launched a Revolution. USA Today, 2007.
Dollar, Steve. Reality Never Looked So… Real. The New York Sun, 2008.
Lynch, Mark. Reality is not Enough. The politics of Reality. 2006.
Kurtz, Howard. Reality Show. Free Press, pp. 480. 2007.
Macartney, Jane. TV Talent Contest. The Times. 2005.