Reality Tv

Audiences are addicted to reality tv because of the allusion of truth. In chapter 7 of Faking It, reality tv is used as an example of a category 2 mockumentary. Roscoe and Hight write reality tv shows need to have a sense of ethical morality. Included in reality tv are shows like ER. CSI would fit into this as well. Look at the cultural impact of CSI. Before the show, science was not cool and there weren’t kids coming out of high school dreaming of being a crime scene investigator. Because dramatic cases occurred within a non-fiction setting of an occupation, the events seem like simulated life. But this is not the case, life is not as exciting and exotic as it appears on tv. To go more mainstream reality tv, shows like Real Life promote a certain type of reality. Producers construct a house in which drama will likely happen. Cameras are situated all over the house waiting to capture a moment that can be used in the editing room. Most events are not planned but the way they are edited take the action out of context and leave the viewer to believe other wise. Reality tv will always be an oxymoron for shows previously mentioned. Shows, for example seen on Animal Plant, are better examples of how a reality tv show should be structured. The camera is used for interesting angles but keeps out of the false construction and is addressed by the hosts. The acknowledgement from the host to the camera makes a trust bond between the host and the viewer. Anything as melodramatic as Real World is not reality, it’s just a night time parody of soap operas.