Media the Content Dominance of Reality TV

Media

The Content Dominance of Reality TV

Few forces have emerged with greater dominance or less artistic appeal than that of reality television, which has largely defined primetime content for the last decade. What at one time appeared to be a fad, or a phenomenon at worst, ultimately reached a crescendo as the best path to high ratings, bid advertising dollars and household names. This is the pattern of media content which perhaps best reflects certain cultural qualities distinct to our time and place. Indeed, our collective embrace of this form of television, which allegedly depicts real individuals living real lives or facing real problems in front of national viewing audiences, suggests both a desire to see ourselves on the screen and, simultaneously, a desire to feel better about ourselves by observing the lurid, embarrassing and pathetic moments experienced by the 'stars' of reality television.

Selected Image:

This idea is directly reflected in the image selected for assessment here. The illustration featured at the following website linked here below succinctly captures the implications of reality television: (http://aaliyah-miller.blogspot.com/2013/02/hook-line-and-sinker-reality-tv-and-its.html)

Logos:

The late 1990s brought about great change in the content of television. To that point, primetime television was fully dominated by sitcom ratings monsters like Seinfeld and Friends, as well as primetime dramas like ER and NYPD Blue. But as the article by Miller (2013) reports, the late 90s saw a change in the approach taken by television studios, who saw the opportunity to significantly reduce expenditures on writers and actors by spearheading this emergent form of entertainment. The result would be a widespread embrace of forms that dispensed with performance, narrative or substance in favor of quick-cut editing, non-linear sequences of events and allegedly 'unscripted' interactions.

To this end, according to the article by Elite Daily (2012), "today, our definition of entertainment is watching imbeciles on television in an 'unscripted' and the nonsensical antics of their daily lives. Television networks recently reported that 15 of the top 20 highest-rated programs among the adult group were reality or 'unscripted' shows."

Ethos:

While it may not be exactly accurate to suggest that we are watching ourselves when we flip on Keeping Up With the Kardashians or Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, we are absorbing the consequences of a society that is highly superficial, materialistic and even mean-spirited. The 'real people' to who viewers seem most to gravitate are those exhibiting our lowest common denominator qualities of shallow consumerism, obsession with physical appearance and the ambition, if not the ability, to experience lives of lavish, detached excess. Or, by contrast, in shows such as Here Comes Honey Boo, Duck Dynasty and Jersey Shore, it is simply our collective desire to peer into the lives of fringe characters who we make as much the subject of ridicule as we do the subject of our adoration.

Pathos:

Ironically, given the 'reality' appellation to the genre, the impact of this transition in media content has been a decline in meaningful, complex or 'real' characters on the small screen. The host of negative stereotypes, insipid behaviors and manufactured 'real' scenarios have resulted in the advance of very particular cultural archetypes. Most of these tend to cater to short-term interest and quick financial returns. The result is a dearth of nuanced or emotive television content. According to Fahner (2012), while the true sociological impact of this content shift is not fully known, we can deduce a thrust toward negative emotional behavior such as narcissism, selfishness and neuroticism. According to Fahner, "Reality shows are much cheaper to produce than scripted dramas or sitcoms, so they need fewer viewers in order to become profitable for the network,' Gorham said. 'It all comes down to money, and reality shows are good short-term performers.' With the focus on profit, some worry networks don't pay enough attention to the negative stereotypes reality programs can illustrate and perpetuate." (Fahner, p.1)