Assignment 1-3: "Reality" TV

Reality TV has become a viewing favorite for Americans. One of the first times we were able to see people being “real” without a script was on The Real World on MTV. Years later, the television hit, Survivor came onto the scene. From there it has been an immediate downpour of reality TV shows. We have seen many programs come and go, but some that have stayed are The Bachelor, Nanny 911, Wife Swap, Trading Spaces, and Generation X’s favorites on MTV, such as Laguna Beach, and The Hills.

While many people either have lived vicariously through the “real” people on these shows, or watched to make themselves feel better about their own lives, or simply just for the entertainment, most of America has tuned into a reality show at some time. It was quite a shock at first to be able to see people on TV without a script, but now, there are people saying that these reality shows aren’t quite real.

There has been a lot of talk about the hit MTV show, The Hills. It is supposed to be a reality show about a group of early twenty-something’s living the life (with the occasional back-stabbing fight thrown in) in Los Angeles. Recently, it has come out that the show is not really “reality.” The show is said to be mostly scripted with a few of their own words thrown in. This is not so shocking news, as the camera crew just happens to be at the boyfriend’s house when he calls to break up, or the crew is in the office as the main character gets a promotion.

Ray Richmond, author of the article, “Calling it Reality TV is Altogether Unreal,” says that “it’s time to dump the term ‘reality TV,” and his “suggested replacement would be ‘partially scripted TV,’ which I imagine would be preferable to "fabricated" for those who work that end of the business” (2007). Richmond reasonably questions the fact that if it truly were “reality TV,” why would the credits show “story editors” or “story producers” (2007). Many shows labeling themselves as “reality TV” are hiding a little thing called a script behind closed doors.



Richmond, Ray. 2007. “Calling it Reality TV is Altogether Unreal. Hollywood Reporter –
International Edition. Vol. 400. Retrieved November 5, 2007 from EBCOhost.