Reality television is more popular than ever, and it can be argued that it’s more influential than ever before. Unlike shows of the past, reality television has the ability to turn ordinary people, or pseudo celebrities, into stars and millionaires overnight. That statement is exemplified none better than shows like Jersey Shore and Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Like all other entertainment mediums, it must evolve and it's already began to do so by becoming grittier and raw. The question is: where do we draw the line?
The evolution of reality TV starts with the birth of the docu-series, which serves as a unique form of reality TV which presents itself as a mini documentary, shying away from thoughts that reality shows are scripted to some point and that producers and writers play an important role in creating the drama played out on TV. It plays off the original voyeur style shows like The Real World and Intervention. The first show of this kind that really comes to mind is the docu-series that was based on Lindsay Lohan.
Lindsay followed Lohan's intense recovery from substance addiction and allowed viewers to look inside her struggle to restart her career.
At the time, the show was immensely popular because of how raw and real Lohan was supposed to be for the cameras. However, anyone who watched the show saw that there was still an air of mystery to Lohan, and long story short she wasn’t getting that real. But the show still pegged the question, what is wrong with this picture? Why would she choose to broadcast her life in such a vulnerable state for the world to see? More importantly what does it say about society and our obsession with seeing the most private and vulnerable moments played out for our enjoyment?
Lindsay was a mild docu-series if you compare it to what’s on reality TV today. Shows like True Tori and Kendra On Top are taking drama and reality to new heights.
True Tori focuses on the relationship between Tori Spelling and her husband Dean McDermott, as the episodes began airing on Lifetime after McDermott’s highly publicized affair. After the first few episodes aired, it was like a fire was set on the internet, with tons of people commenting on whether or not the drama was real or fake, and again pegging the question of why anyone would air such personal information. Talk show host Wendy Williams even voiced her opinion on the saga, revealing what everyone was thinking at the time: she’s doing it for the money and the exposure.
Kendra Wilkinson’s show Kendra On Top features a similar plot line this season following Wilkinson and her husband in the aftermath of his cheating allegation. This show also has viewers in awe of what people are willing to show, the same people that complain about the media commenting on their lives.
Both shows have done well in the ratings though, with True Tori even being brought back for a second season.
It seems as if reality TV is headed in the direction of the gritty and classless. People are putting their lives out there just to capitalize on the opportunity, without adding anything of value to the television medium.
While we can’t dictate what goes on in people’s lives, I do think it’s time to reevaluate goals and appropriateness when it comes to television. The airing of these shows reveals a deeper issue within our society. Perhaps it's an obsession with fame, leading desperate women to flock to reality television in hopes of gaining that level of infamy. What is truly worrisome is the effect that this will have on the generation of young viewers who watch these shows, leading to a new crop of young people who believe that, in order to be successful you have to completely relinquish your privacy and put your family struggle on display.
In the end, I take solace in the words from MSNBC Media Analyst Steve Adubato, who said this on the Today Show: “Here’s the deal. There are people being featured on these programs who don’t belong on television.”
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