The theory that best describes my topic of Reality TV would be “The Cult of the Celebrity”.  The people on these Reality TV shows are looked at as celebrities even when they are not.  Some of them might actually turn into celebrities with the help of the viewers.

            I found the analysis of this topic to be very interesting.  This allowed me to really think about how Reality TV is sometimes perceived.  This also allowed me to compare the different types of reality TV shows to one another. 

            The journal article I was assigned to analyze gave a different perspective than I would normally expect see.  I would normally expect people to pick apart the actual shows.  Mark Andrejevic decided to research the actual viewers of the shows.  This brought up some interesting points.

With Reality TV being tagged with the theory of “The Cult of the Celebrity”, we see a lot of times where Reality TV ends up exploiting the Reality TV stars.  The TV Shows edit what the viewers see of the Reality TV stars and give the audience the view that the show wants the viewers to see.

Based on my analysis, I see that Reality TV is entertaining.  I wish that people wouldn’t take it so seriously and be so critical of most of these shows.  Some people might like the competitive Reality TV shows, when others might enjoy just watching the drama of other people’s lives as they are filmed going through their days.

In the end, I will say it again, I love my Reality TV shows and I would just keep in mind that this is still just TV, not real life.

Written Analysis 4-Formulas

Reality TV shows do have a predictable narrative structure.  Formulas in pop culture are referred to as plots that have been used so much that they are predictable in nature.  Each type of Reality TV show has its own special “formula”.

Shows like “The Bachelor”, “The Bachelorette”, and “Sweet Home Alabama” are shows that have a romantic formula.  These shows are almost identical.  They have a number of contestants that come on the show trying to win the one person’s heart.  That one person takes all of the contestants on group dates and also one-on-one dates.  Each week there is someone voted off.  Each show always has some sort of drama and at least one person that is out of control.  After the seasons end on these types of shows we can always expect a show with the people that did not find love in a house together in “Bachelor Pad” and “Southern Nights”.

Shows like “Jersey Shore” and “The Real World” have the same types of contestants that end up drinking and partying the entire season.  This show seems to be to be an interactive formula.  There are relationships built on the show and also relationships broken.  This show brings a group of people together for a season and then sends them back home.  There is not a competition, no voting off, just watching their reactions to different situations and different people.

Competitive shows like “Celebrity Apprentice” brings on actual celebrities to compete with each other to end up being hired by Donald Trump as his personal apprentice.  This show brings out a competitive formula.  As the weeks go on, they are raising money for their choice of charities.  This show originated by normal people being chosen to compete on “The Apprentice”.

Formulas are definitely seen in all Reality television shows.  The plots are predictable and very similar to the shows they are following.  I enjoy the romantic formulas and the competitive formulas most. 

                                                                     References

Brown, R.B.(2005).  Profiles of Popular Culture.  Madison, Wisconsin:  Popular Press

The journal article that I analyzed is a book review of “Reality TV:  The Work of Being Watched.”.  Mark Andrejevic.  Lanham, MD:  Rowman & Littlefield, 2003.  This can be found on pages 1116-1118 of The Journal of Popular Culture. 

This book was written to give a different perspective of Reality Television.  Two groups of people were analyzed by Mark Andrejevic.  One group was a group of folks that cannot wait to settle in and watch their favorite Reality TV show.  They wish the people that are skeptical of Reality TV would just get over trying to figure out if it is “real” or not.  They are looking to enjoy the entertainment of their show.  The other group are the Reality TV skeptics.  Andrejevic found that both groups have issues.

He decided to research further and bring out an entirely different perspective.  Instead of tearing apart the shows themselves, he decided to take a look at the promises and the pitfalls of Reality TV for the viewers.

Andrejevic’s studies found that Reality TV promises to revolutionalize television and allow normal, everyday people the ability to be on television and be in the public eye while monopolizing corporate media.  The pitfall of this is the fact that the surveillance ends up exploiting these same people by modifications of what is actually shown to the public.  The promise to revolutionalize TV is empty according to Andrejevic.

The author’s study found that people are manipulated by Reality TV.  Most people that say they are not manipulated by Reality TV unfortunately really are.  These people are in denial.

The author talks about a couple of different types of Reality TV audiences.  One is the “savvy” Reality TV viewer.  Rather than be manipulated by the culture industries, these viewers enjoy the entertainment while deconstructing it.  (almost a defense mechanism)  With this, Andrejevic introduces the problem of the “savvy” Reality TV viewer.  These viewers are knowledgeable about Reality TV,, however, they “cannot escape the grip”.

The other type of viewer the author mentions is the “perceptive” viewer.  Andrejevic did a case study on a fan of the Reality TV show, “Big Brother”.  Big Brother captured “perceptive” viewers.  This show had a 24/7 live feed of the show by web cam in addition to the multiple times a week show on TV.  The ability to see these folks 24/7 gives full “access to the reality of manipulation” and shows just how contrived Reality TV is.

I agree with a lot of what Andrejevic came up with from his studies.  Since he did say he wanted to add a new perspective to analyzing Reality TV, he certainly did this.  I do not believe that things would have turned out the same if he would have covered some other types of Reality TV shows. 

 Shows like “American Idol” and “The Voice” are very different types of Reality TV shows than shows like “The Kardashians”, “The Osbournes” and even “Big Brother”.  Let’s take a look at how these points would be taken when we think about “American Idol” and “The Voice”:

The empty promise-Reality TV promises to revolutionalize TV-  This point, according to the author’s studies, is that this is an empty promise because the surveillance ends up exploiting these people due to modifications with surveillance.  “American Idol” and “The Voice” do just the opposite for their contestants, well, except the outcasts on American Idol.  There are stars made from these shows.

Manipulation of the people by Reality TV- This one might be true with “American Idol” and “The Voice”.  There is some type of manipulation in every Reality TV show because the folks that create the show want you to see certain things and not see others.  I do believe there is certain scripting and formats that need to be included with these types of game shows.

Savvy Reality TV viewers- The author states that these “savvy” viewers enjoy the entertainment while deconstructing it to keep from being manipulated.  These folks are still around with “American Idol” and “The Voice”.  Even with “American Idol”, where normal people like us vote, there are “savvy” Reality TV viewers out there picking apart the pieces wondering if the winner is fair and wondering if the show is “staged”.  The also seem to be the viewer that enjoys the show the most!

Perceptive viewers- The author sees these viewers as the group of folks that are more knowledgeable about Reality TV.  They are able to see the full manipulation of the programs.  These are the folks that watch the 24/7 live feed webcams.  I do believe that these types of viewers would be able to perform their perceptive viewing tasks with “American Idol” and “The Voice”.

 


 

The analysis is important.  Rather than picking apart the television shows themselves, the author decided to give a perspective of the promises of Reality TV.  The analysis allows us to think about how people normally perceive Reality TV shows.  Also, it brings into perspective the different audiences and almost gives Reality TV audiences an amount of “skill” to avoiding manipulation.

My analysis of the words of the author brought another point to mind that the different types of Reality TV shows do make a difference to Reality TV perceptions and influences of their audiences.

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 I love reality TV.  My TIVO works hard to save all my favorite shows for me so I can watch them at my leisure.

If I need to fit myself into a category based on the author of this book, I would pick a “savvy” viewer because I love to pick the shows apart as I enjoy the drama.  I would keep Reality TV in perspective and enjoy the entertainment of it all.

Manipulation is a strong word, but I guess I’ll take it as long as I can still watch.

  

References

Andrejevic, M., & Lanham, MD. (2010)  Reality TV:  The Work of Being Watched.  The

     Journal of Popular Culture. 1116-1118.

Reality TV is my topic.  One of my favorite Reality TV shows is hosted by Donald Trump and includes several real life celebrities.  This show airs on Sunday nights and it is “The Celebrity Apprentice”.  Donald Trump may be a hero to some, especially in the business world. 

Donald Trump, because of his impact in the real estate development business, is one of the most successful businessmen of all time.  His very first success was the transformation of a famous hotel at the edge of bankruptcy into The Grand Hyatt. 

Donald may also be looked at as a villain because of his lavish lifestyle, his tough business practices, his private jets, private helicopters and his beautiful women.  He is also worth approximately $2.9 Billion and owns several Trump Towers and Casinos.  This reputation is basically a stereotype that exists for “real estate tycoons”. (Donald Trump, 2012)

It is true that although most business people may find Donald Trump a hero in the business world, others that are not so interested in this line of work may not.  The involvement that Donald has with his Reality TV show could make him a hero for all.  I believe that most everyone would say that someone that whole-heartedly gives back to those in need is worth being seen as a hero.

While competing in given tasks on Donald’s Reality TV show, the competitors are also raising money for charity.  Every task that they are set out to work on and complete raises a considerable amount of money.  The team that raises the most money wins that particular task and receives all of the funds for their team captain’s personal charity. 

Even thought, this Reality TV show is a competition and someone is “fired” every week, they are still giving back to those in need.  I, personally, because of this would recognize Donald Trump and the celebrity contestants as heroes.

References

Brown, R.B.(2005).  Profiles of Popular Culture.  Madison, Wisconsin:  Popular Press

Donald Trump.(2012).  Biography.com.  Retrieved March 4, 2012 from:

            http://www.biography.com/people/donald-trump-9511238