Reality Television It Is Futile Essay

Then, a fourth reason is that reality shows can sometimes reveal situations of success, which in turn inspire and motivate the audiences to change their lives for the better. Examples of such shows include Dr. 90210, in which plastic surgeons operate on patients, change their appearance and as such increase their self-esteem, or the several shows revealing people fighting, and beating, obesity (Goodman). These types of reality shows set the example that something can be done, and how it can be done, in order to achieve one's personal goals. Additionally, they can be used to send political messages. An example in this sense is the Dove campaign, which sends the message that "For too long, beauty has been defined by narrow, stifling stereotypes […] it's time to change all that" (Daum).

The money or other non-financial rewards involved in the television show make up for the fifth reason as to why reality is so popular. This feature is often combined with the viewer testing his own abilities in front of the television set and imagining himself as the winner of the prizes; he will for instance answer questions for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire or reveal his judging decisions in American Idol. When a million dollars or a high record deal with on of the most reputable studios are involved, the interest and attention of the public will increase.

Sixth, the average individuals see reality shows as a means of improving their levels of socializations. Imagine a simple factory worker who conducts a routine, unchallenging and unfulfilling job where the most rewarding day is the one in which she receives her paycheck. For this individual, reality television not only offers a break from this futureless job, but also gives her something to talk about with her equally bored colleagues. The discussions make the time go by sooner, make the job less of a bane and even set basis for future friendships.Finally, the seventh reason derives from the fact that reality television does not impose any educational barriers (Hirschorn, 2007). While other types of shows require minimum knowledge of the topics discussed, be them economic, political or technological, reality shows can be watched by anybody who speaks English. And there are those highly educated people who will argue that they do not watch reality television as it does not stimulate their brains, but chances are that when alone at home, they do flip the channels to reality series, as these may very well represent their "guilty pleasures."

3. Concluding Remarks

Reality television has gained increased momentum within our contemporaneous society and the evidence in this sense is extremely vast and could include the growing numbers of reality TV fans or the growing revenues of the industry. This paper has identified seven main reasons to explain the popularity of reality shows:

They remove previously set barriers between regular people and celebrities

They create role models

They reveal sensational situations

They motivate viewers to improve their lives

They introduce money and rewards

They improve the levels of socialization among watchers, and finally

They do not impose educational boundaries for the viewers

All these reasons come to support the initial thesis that reality television is not the result of the entertainment industry, but the demand of the people.

References:

Goodman, W.C., 1995, One Picture is Worth a Thousand Diets, chapter from book the Invisible Woman: Confronting Weight Prejudice in America, Gurze Books

Daum, M., August 2, 2005, Those Unnerving Ads Using "Real" Women, Los Angeles Times

Hirschorn, M., 2007, the Case for Reality TV, the Atlantic, http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200705/reality-tv last accessed on October 7, 2009

McDuffee, K., 2008, Reality TV: What it Is, Who Watches it and Why it Exists, TV Squad, http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/07/09/reality-tv-what-it-is-who-watches-it-and-why-it-exists /….....