A few years ago, no one would have dreamed they'd be seeing attractive young people swallowing pig's intestines on a weekly basis. Or an eclectic bunch of city slickers trapped on a desert island surviving on rat flambé. Or women lining up to marry a rich guy. Ok, maybe that last one wouldn't have been too much of a stretch, but the above are all examples of the new kinds of "reality" we see on the tube.
No longer does that word refer to events taking place in daily life. Instead, 'reality' is a term for unscripted television pitting ordinary, though usually beautiful people, against outrageous situations in a shiny, made-for-TV package.
Take for example the now-infamous Joe Millionaire, which follows the trials and tribulations of twenty women on a pursuit to be the next Mrs. Millionaire. As we all know, the catch is that our wealthy beau is nothing more than a mere construction worker, pulling in a meager $19,000 per year. The contestants proceed to unknowingly vie for the attention of the dirt-poor Evan Marriott, who will eventually whittle the group down to one lucky woman.
This all makes for entertaining television, but is it necessarily fair to play psychological games on these unsuspecting women?
Biology/Premed freshman Jamie Beckman, who cites her favorite reality television show as The Bachelorette, feels there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the program, but doubts the plausibility of a successful relationship built upon deception.
"Relationships should be built upon trust," Beckman said. "If they're not, there's no reason for the people to be together."
Also, Beckman questions the realness of the show's participants.
"It's all about the competition," Beckman said. "They never even really get a chance to know each other."
Many new shows are taking on characteristics of a supercharged The Dating Game, incorporating bizarre tactics to reduce a group of potential suitors to one Mr. or Mrs. Right. Shows like Meet the Parents, The Bachelor and its female-oriented counterpart The Bachelorette try to find love in between gags and challenges. More often than not, though, the relationships burn out once the shows no longer grace the television screens of America.
Every reality television-based relationship in recent memory has failed--from Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire?'s Rick Rockwell and Darva Conger to most-recently The Bachelor's Alex Michel and Amanda Marsh.
"I think it's possible to find love anywhere," Business sophomore Jacob Glick said. "However, I just think finding true love within one hour of a reality show, or however long it is, would be a miracle. For me, I believe that you have to actually have interaction with a person to know if true love exist - not this false, competitive environment developed by the reality show."
On the lighter side of reality television are shows like American Idol and Star Search, which focus on the talents of individuals rather than surviving in horrid conditions or finding the perfect mate. These shows are a throwback to the vaudeville productions of yesteryear, though they come complete with their own set of dramatic overtones and hype that greatly increase their entertainment value, but detract from the overall atmosphere of "reality."
As the envelope gets pushed further and further with reality shows, though, some may wonder how far is too far.
"If the people are willing to go on the show, then I think it is entertaining," Beckman said.
Glick echoed this sentiment, saying it would be too much "if it came to the point where they are doing some show where the people face some kind of real harm, like fighting or drugs or something like that. If it comes to showing that to get a rating, it's pretty sad. Also, certain things just don't need to be shown no matter how 'real' it is - there are some things better left in the bedroom you know what I mean?"
Glick feels that the craze will soon abate and people will go back to watching the usual television fare.
"It's obvious, well hopefully it's obvious, that it's a fad," Glick said. "It'll be that genre of show that gets played out way, way too much and people will eventually say 'this is stupid' and change the channel. The TV executives will then move on to the next 'in' show at the time. But until then, I hope they keep making quality reality shows like the one where they had those little people versus an elephant in a strength competition."
Some of the information in this article was obtained from http://www.realitynewsonline.com
Reach the reporter at mikeprice@asu.edu.
