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The reality television craze seems to be making a huge impact in today’s culture. Like a disease, it has invaded the airwaves (and brain waves) of media-drone audiences everywhere, spanning throughout all demographic age groups. This type of programming streams from the creative outlets of network producers who take our cultural standards and virtually destroy them.
Whether it is issues of gender, race, sexual orientation or social status, reality television flagrantly flaunts a distorted image in conservative faces and turns us into willing participants in tearing down the consensus. This feat is achieved through hyped portrayals of average Joe Schmoes competing for extravagant prizes in purported real life situations. Audiences cannot seem to get enough of the torture, embarrassment, temptation and drama that have become the staples in the success formula for these shows. But, often times viewers skew the lines of what is real and what is part of an elaborate script. Problems are bound to arise when society begins to believe that this is how “real” people in the “real” world act.
Most of this type of programming even offers an element of participation for viewers, allowing them to affect the outcome of events by voting for their favorite cast members. No matter what the viewer is into, there is something for everyone: music, sports, cooking, dating, home remodeling, supermodels, car makeovers, the list goes on and there is no subject off limits within the realm of reality television. In this carefully constructed world, we even get to see Tommy Lee go to college. With factors such as these one cannot help but wonder if the reality television craze is being taken entirely too seriously.
Research on the impact reality television has on today’s culture shows two startling consequences that many are not aware of. Evidence suggests in some authoritarian countries, the only voting that occurs in free and fair elections is for reality TV.
In addition, journalist Matt Labash, stated in The Weekly Standard Magazine, “Reality television nurtures an already powerful urge for participatory cultural forms.” The global divide is lessening and thus uniting through the power of the media.
Even academic avenues and scholars are joining in on the phenomenon. Los Angeles Times staff writer Elizabeth Jensen stated, “It’s a rich vein for study, offering a virtually unlimited terrain due to the sheer amount of TV programs on screens. It offers something for everyone, from looking at gender roles to scholarly research into how voters are influenced by late-night comedians.”
Who would have thought that we would be living in a generation so media driven, we turned to television to help us make our political and social decisions?
The effects and consequences of reality television should absolutely be taken seriously. Love it, like it or just plain hate it, there’s no denying that reality television has made a monumental impact on our society’s starved attention spans.
Always remember the importance of looking critically at the world and not fall into a false reality mentality.
Denise Davis is a senior majoring in English. E-mail her at opinion@louisvillecardinal.com.
