Reality... Errr... Fabricated Television

Reality TV. If you've watched it, and since you're a person living in America in the 21st century you probably have, you know that it’s hardly reality. I don't know about you, but exciting events in my life don't tend to happen all jumbled up into the course of a week and separated cleanly into several episodes... But for whatever reason the “real world” is infatuated with it. Accoring to Jonmonkey.com in 2000, Survivor aired to 27 million viewers and since that time period shows such as Joe Millionaire, Survivor II and American Idol consistently beat out popular shows in the same time slot including Friends and other network favorites like CSI. Sensationalized reality is much more appealing than both dramatic television shows that feature actors and "real" reality. Shows like Jersey Shore, The Real Housewives and American Idol are just a few of the instant hit reality television shows that are a massive part of today's culture. 

This video clip from reality TV show "The Amazing Race" has nearly one million hits on YouTube.

It started in 1999 with Big Brother. Viewers were glued to the TV as they watched this entirely new concept of seeing real people, not paid actors, live their daily lives in a house together through the watchful lenses of hidden cameras. The events that happened were sensational and exciting and it made it even more so because it was REAL PEOPLE were experiencing them.

In my family, the show that we watched with religious commitment was Survivor. We were enticed by the strategy, crazy tasks and harsh conditions that the contestants have to learn to deal with. We each rooted for our favorite characters, there were always those contestants that were portrayed as the underdog good-doers and the evil cheaters. My dad's ultimate aspiration was to submit his very own audition tape and become the next soul survivor. It was far from our reality, but I think part of the reason for its immense popularity was because we, along with many other viewers, were able to put ourselves into the situations in the show and live vicariously through the contestants. 

That's just it isn't it? The reason we like reality TV so much and the reason for its massive popularity is because we are able to live vicariously through the "characters" in these shows. It is every singer's dream to be the next American Idol. Most of us probably even have a friend or family member that has tried out for the show. Aspiring dancers dream of landing a spot on So You Think You Can Dance and talented hopefuls of all sorts covet a spot on America's Got Talent. And the people on these shows aren't so far out of reach like other shows that have paid actors playing the lead roles. These people, even though they are portrayed in sensational ways, in our view are our peers. 

Even though we might not be able to relate to the insanely lavish lifestyles of The Real Housewives, we are able to put ourselves into their shoes much easier than the beautiful actresses in Desperate Housewives. Whatever the reason, reality TV is an extremely popular trend in pop culture today and it doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon! That’s all I’ve got, I need to catch the next episode of ANTM…