The Fictional Reality

The Fictional Reality In today 's society, reality television shows are known to be one of the most popular genre of television. One of the biggest aspect why reality television shows are so beloved by the audience is the fact how ordinary people can gain instant fame. Ordinary people can watch the shows, see people like themselves and fantasize that they too could become celebrities by being on television. However, some instances are just too good to be true. There is a distinct line that separates these so called "reality" television shows from the authenticity of real life. Reality television shows may seem convincingly real to the naked eye, but they do not accurately portray "real life". One has to first take note of the environment all of these contestants are set in. Majority of the time they are set in very unlikely settings that would normally never happen in the real world. Film producers and directors are paid to creatively manipulate the settings contestants are placed in, in an effort to keep the audience 's attention captivated. For instance, take a look at a very popular reality television show called "Survivors". In this show, a dozen or so contestants are supposedly trapped on a deserted island, competing for cash. For the majority of people, the odds of one being forced to live on an island where no laws, rules, nor society exist is pretty much slim to none. These superficial scenarios are nothing more than just a fictional fantasy. Reality television shows exists for the sake of entertainment for the viewers. Realistically speaking, if one were to be deserted on an island, their motivations for survival would be to survive for the sake of being alive and not for such materialistic reward such as money. As stated by Prose, "For Darwinian trappings, the series offers a skewed view of the purpose of the struggle for dominance" (Prose, 269). The contestants are not really competing for "survival". Behaviors of many contestants are drastically impacted as well. The majority of the time, If a cameraman were to record one 's movement all day for 24 hours, its inevitable for the contestants to feel that they have to uphold a certain image of themselves. Due to this very nature, one can easily take notice of the change in the contestants behavior that fails to accurately portray real life. A contestant may purposely be a bit more extroverted or they may be more daring and bold in an effort to gain the praise of their fans. The change in their personalities may even occur at the request of the directors. There are times when directors will even be desperate enough to ask the contestant to reenact a particular scene. This is usually due to because something may have happened off-camera, or because the footage the camera did catch was poor. More often than not, directors may even encourage many contestants to over exaggerate their reaction or in extreme cases, simulate them entirely. Joe Swanberg, a reality television show writer stated to the Washington Post that "We contrive comedic situations and then we help edit them, and we go back and re-shoot scenes to bring out the various stories. And sometimes we just tell the contestants you’re mad, you’re happy, whatever. Act that way. And if they’re not getting it, we feed them a line” (Booth). One cannot truly expose of themselves of their true personality knowing that they are being watched continuously. Many reality television shows may undergo an extensive audition process so the directors can pick out who would be best to play a certain role. The directors know that the underlying key to the success of many television series are all dependent on the cast. The cast plays a significant role when it comes down to appealing the audience. Although people who auditions are ordinary people, contestants that do finally get selected are people who stand out of the crowd. Another very popular reality show known as "Big Brother". This show has "an extensive casting process, where potential roommates are screened and tested to see which ones will offer the best television" (Halt). This screening process allows the directors to pick a variety of people who they feel will provide an interesting storyline. The director will extensively be on the lookout to check whether he or she is qualified to play characters such as the "villian" or the "dumb blonde". It is usually at this point when producers will start the creative process of writing a storyline that will keep the viewers coming back for more. This casting process is more complicated than simply just choosing contestants. One crucial step is to make sure everyone has signed an agreement. This agreement not only make the image and rights of the contestant the production 's company, but also makes it certain that they must keep all of the technical aspects such as editing and filming of reality shows completely confidential. This agreement is known to be the main weapon the producers use to make sure that their reality show remain a secret. Technically speaking, many reality television shows are just another example of scripted television. If one were to examine all of the footage on a reality television shows, they will come to a realization that all of the clips that are being shown are only the interesting and exciting moments. Producers and video editors have the power to cut and weave together clips in a specific sequence in an effort to make it more interesting for the audience. Clips can be rearranged, thus easily distorting the interpretation of a certain event. Just as there are exciting moments in real life, there are also boring dull moments. Producers usually take time to filter out all of the dull monotonous moments simply because it does not appeal to the audience. The hundreds of recorded footage while on set of a reality television show are all condensed into just a couple of episodes. The action of creatively editing footage can easily create an interesting story that manipulates the viewers perspective. With thousands of facial expression filmed and endless amounts of dialogue, a professional editor can create almost any storyline he or she wants. Just like video clips, the dialogue of a contestant can easily be manipulated in a way so that the director can change the plot. For instance, if a contestant were asked who they despised on the show, the answer can inadvertently filled in with another name that was produced from a completely different scene. This is known to be one of the most popular forms of dialogue manipulation. It is just an "instructive improvisation that doles out consistent and frequently reinforced lessons about human nature and, yes, reality" (Prose, 268) There were a number of reality shows being sued because the directors were accused of rigging a show. A reality show known as "Storage Wars" is one of many shows that partakes in the rigging process. Storage Wars is about professional buyers partaking in an auction. These buyers would purchase the contents of abandoned storage lockers based on five-minute inspections. The goal is to turn a profit in the merchandise. Typically in every episode, the buyers may come across an antique item that coincidentally ends up being very valuable. Since the likeliness of this happening is very slim, the producers end up taking desperate measures in order to keep the show running. Storage wars was accused multiple times about how producers deliberately add expensive items in the storage bins behind the camera. In December David Hester filed a lawsuit against "A&E Television Networks alleging that producers of Storage Wars rigged the reality-television series by salting storage lockers before they were auctioned off to buyers"(Gardner). Reality television shows true purpose is to entertain the audience. Since there are a lot of deceiving tricks directors and producers use behind the scenes, one cannot compare the lives of the contestants to their own. More often than not, video clips and contestants are manipulated for the benefit of the audience. Reality television show does not accurately portray "real life" at all. Although these shows do present real people with real reactions, it is still considered to be as another form of "scripted television". Work Cited
Booth, Wiliam. "Reality Is Only An Illusion, Writers Say." Washington Post. N.p., 10 Aug. 2004. Web. 13 Apr. 2004. .
Gardner, Eric. " 'Storage Wars ' Rigging Lawsuit: David Hester Says A&E Can 't Plead First Amendment." The Hollywood Reporter. Hollywoodreporter.com, 18 Feb. 2013. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. .
Halt, Martin. "Un-Reality Television." You Are Being Manipulated. Word Press, 17 Jan. 2011. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. .
Prose, Francine. "Voting Democracy off the Island: Reality TV and the Republican Ethos." Signs of Life in the USA. 6th ed. N.p.: Bedford / St.Martins, 2009. 365 -271. Print. Readings on Popular Culture for Writers.

Cited: Booth, Wiliam. "Reality Is Only An Illusion, Writers Say." Washington Post. N.p., 10 Aug. 2004. Web. 13 Apr. 2004. . Gardner, Eric. " 'Storage Wars ' Rigging Lawsuit: David Hester Says A&E Can 't Plead First Amendment." The Hollywood Reporter. Hollywoodreporter.com, 18 Feb. 2013. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. . Halt, Martin. "Un-Reality Television." You Are Being Manipulated. Word Press, 17 Jan. 2011. Web. 16 Apr. 2013. . Prose, Francine. "Voting Democracy off the Island: Reality TV and the Republican Ethos." Signs of Life in the USA. 6th ed. N.p.: Bedford / St.Martins, 2009. 365 -271. Print. Readings on Popular Culture for Writers.