How Real Is 'Real TV?'

by Neda Jafar

"Survivor," "Real World," "Road Rules," "1900 House," and "Big Brother" represent the new voyeuristic shows that have caused television broadcasters to make a broad leap from fiction to 'reality.' Even conservative oriented broadcasters, such as CBS and PBS have bought into this latest TV trend: CBS, with its popular "Survivor," and newly introduced "Big Brother," and PBS with "1900 House." But how real is real TV?

According to Matt Roush, Senior TV Critic at TV Guide, and the "critical barometer of the good, the bad, and the strange," some real TV shows are better than others. Preferring shows that offer some degree of quality, like the "1900 House" which presents a higher educational purpose, Roush contends that other shows "will do just about anything for ratings."

What is real TV? As opposed to television comedy and drama, voyeur TV is an unscripted portrayal of real people, warts and all, where the participants of the show are put into heightened realistic situations where their reactions serve as the food of interest to the audience. The camera eavesdrops on their every private moment, hoping for conflict and controversy. In fact, Mr. Roush believes that producers urge conflict to occur so that a story can be told, otherwise the show would be boring to watch. Further, the casting directors for these shows look for "talent" in real people who would seem to present conflict. "These docu-soaps seem to look for a demographic/racial/generational mix in order to create sparks," Mr. Roush commented. Unlike the qualifications for shows like "Jeopardy," Ruthie, on "Real World Hawaii" was chosen because she was an alcoholic and could bring outrageous conflict to the screen.

While the participants of these shows are everyday people involved in supposedly real situations, Roush admits that it must be kind of difficult to resist playing to the camera for recognition and future fame. "It seems that the more outrageous the behavior, the more the action is celebrated," Roush commented. Sometimes this behavior can cause a good or bad affect depending upon whether the other real TV participants decide to vote this "performer" off the show.

Targeted to an 18 to 34 year old viewership, unlike shows like "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" which tend to appeal to audiences of 50 years and older, these shows tend to be popular with teens because they are new, different, and the characters on the shows could be anyone. Because these shows reflect "real world" situations where ordinary people can become stars overnight (for example, Elian Gonzales, Ted Kazinsky, or Darva Conger) Mr. Roush explained, that the origins of these shows could have sprung from 24 hour news programs, where broadcasters, hungry for news, make celebrities out of real people. However, many of these shows' contrived reality-circumstances seem to create a sense of sensationalism for the viewer. Afterall, how many real people would actually compromise themselves to eat worms or publicize their private lives just for television exposure?
Real TV "Survivors"