One of my favorite Reality TV shows is now on
its 5th Season. This show
airs on Sunday nights and it is “The Celebrity
Apprentice”, starring Donald Trump and several real celebrities. The famous contestants this season are: Victoria Gotti, Tia Carrere, Penn Jillette, George
Takei, Teresa Giudice (coincidentally, a Reality TV Star), Dee Snider, Michael
Andretti, Paul Teutul, Sr, Patricia Velasquez, Debbie Gibson, Lou Ferrigno, Adam
Carrola, Arsenio Hall, Aubrey O’Day, Cheryl Tiegs, Clay Aiken, Dayana Mendoza, and
Lisa Lampanelli. (Campagna, 2012)
Donald Trump started working in the real estate
industry in Manhattan in 1971. He is now
one of the most well known real estate developers. Donald’s first success was transforming a famous
hotel at the edge of bankruptcy into The Grand Hyatt. Not only is Donald Trump known for his
success in the real estate industry, he is also known for his lavish lifestyle,
his tough business practices, his private jets, private helicopters and his beautiful
women. This is exactly what stereotype
exists for “real estate tycoons”. (Donald Trump,
2012)
After much success, Donald Trump built a $200 Million
building as a monument of his success.
Trump Tower opened in 1982. The building
was 58 stories tall with a 6 story atrium.
This atrium accompanied a waterfall reaching 80 feet tall. Donald Trump is known internationally as being
one of the most successful businessmen of all time with an average net worth of
approximately $2.9 Billion and now has several Trump Tower and Casinos. (Donald Trump, 2012)
Donald began starring in a reality TV show called “The
Apprentice” in 2004. This was a very
popular show that allowed individuals from all over to compete with other
business people to become one of Donald’s Apprentices. Donald earned two Emmy Awards for “The
Apprentice”. (Lee, 2012)
While competing in given tasks, 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. As each team
(usually this starts out with the men against the women until it becomes
uneven) nominates a team captain, the team captain is ultimately responsible
for the success of their team.
The losing team is called back into the “Board Room” with
Donald and his associates. He usually
has his son and daughter with him as they visit each team while they are
competing. They give feedback to Donald
Trump as he makes his decision of who to fire from the losing team.
Reality TV reflects many rituals as we see in real
life. These are often overly exaggerated. For example, with “The Celebrity Apprentice”,
rituals include job interviews when applying for a job. All contestants on this show are working
towards the job of “Celebrity Apprentice”.
This ritual is drawn out throughout the entire show. Another ritual that “The Celebrity Apprentice”
conveys is charity work. This is a great
example of working hard to give back to others that are in need and also to a
charity that you believe in. Would we
have thought that Donald Trump would be so open to giving to charity?
Rituals are everywhere within Reality TV. These rituals are the same as our daily
rituals. Reality TV shows the daily
events of people just like us. For
ratings, these rituals are overly exaggerated.
Looking at another reality show “The Bachelor” as an
example; Dating is a ritual. This is overly
exaggerated as well. How many people
really openly date over 25 people at once that are basically stored in one
location? This is a ritual but it is exaggerated. “The Bachelor” is leading up to a wedding. The show goes through all rituals within the
marriage process including meeting, dating, meeting parents, being engaged and
ultimately marriage, but in warp speed.
A lot of folks also stereotype Ben, “The Bachelor” as this great
catch. I think this show makes him look
like a real jerk.
There are many stereotypes of Reality TV. There are so many different reality shows. What is entertaining for one person may not
be for the other. I would say
personally, I have seen some of “The Real Housewives” shows. I could not continue to watch these shows
because there is entirely too much drama.
I love reality competition shows such as “Celebrity Apprentice”, “American
Idol”, “The Voice”, “The Bachelor” and “Big Brother”. Some people believe these shows are staged or
edited for better ratings. I believe
there may be some truth to that. I enjoy
the entertainment.
We can stereotype the competitors all day. We may not think that certain celebrities
would fit into the business world even though they are very successful. I was definitely proven wrong with Brett
Michaels and his role on “The Celebrity Apprentice”.
Celebrity Reality TV shows another side of the people
that we think we know just by how we have seen them. Our assumptions are not always correct. I cannot wait to see how this season of “Celebrity
Apprentice” pans out.
References
Brown, R.B.(2005).
Profiles of Popular Culture.
Madison, Wisconsin: Popular Press
Lee, A.(2012). She
Knows Reality TV Magazine. Retrieved March
4, 2012, from:
Campagna, A.(2012).
Donald Trump talks about upcoming season of “Celebrity Apprentice”. Retreived March 3, 2012, from:
Donald Trump.(2012).
Biography.com. Retrieved March 4, 2012 from:
What a great blog!! :) Love the graphics and obvious work that was put into creating such an interesting topic. One of my all time favorites as well, The Celebrity Apprentice, most certainly has impacted today's societal culture, and you my friend have defiantly given light to the topic. Good job!! Can't wait to see whats to come. :)
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