Reality TV and the new reality

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Sisterlover
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Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2011 5:49 pm

Reality TV and the new reality

Unread post by Sisterlover »

So, it's been a long winter and I've spent a good deal of it sedentary, on the couch, watching 'satellite' TV. We're probably all aware of the slough of crappy 'reality' television programs, but I wasn't really up to speed on the sheer amount of 'fake' reality television: From what I can gauge, it's almost entirely fake.

The biggest perps in this arena are TLC (yes, The "Learning" Channel") along with Discovery, A&E, etc. Even the cooking and home improvement channels have scraped the bottom of the reality show biz.
I've been trying to compile a list of the worst offenders, but its hardly necessary... just flip through the channels.
This wiki page lists several dozen craptastic shows that have graced the small-screen in the past few years, but they've barely scratched the surface.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_re ... n_programs

Here's what I'm thinking...
These shows barely bother to 'fake' the events televised. Obvious camera and lighting angles, poor acting and painfully thin plotlines reveal much... But, if the general TV watching public believes these shows are real (and clearly they do) then just imagine how 'real' fake news stories must appear!
It's my contention that these syndicated 'reality' shows are a precursor to the believability of fake news (which obviously put more effort into making the events appear real). This substitution of 'reality' over a huge percentage of television programming basically greases the wheels for the nightly news events (which will appear terrifyingly real compared to "Lizard Lick Towing")

Of course, the obvious answer is to blow your television up, but in the absence of that option, and if you can stand it, try watching some of this tripe, just to reaffirm what we already know... whatever is coming through that box in your living room is complete bullshit.
lux
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Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2011 10:46 pm

Re: Reality TV and the new reality

Unread post by lux »

I'm currently self employed as a dealer in the antique business in L.A., something I've been doing for about 15 years. Many of the current crop of “reality” shows deal with the business of antiques, i.e., buying and selling them. It is common knowledge amongst my peers that these antique reality shows are fake and the items being featured are often on loan from major collectors. And, In at least one case this fakery has even resulted in legal action.

Much of the information imparted on these shows is often completely unrealistic or downright false. I and most of my colleagues also agree that these shows have done a great deal of harm to our businesses by creating unreal expectations of value to items resulting in skyrocketing prices demanded by sellers which are way beyond their real value.

Since I am a believer in the maxim “the purpose of something is what it does,” I assume that the destruction of small business IS the purpose of these particular category of “reality” shows.
Sisterlover
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Posts: 204
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2011 5:49 pm

Re: Reality TV and the new reality

Unread post by Sisterlover »

lux wrote:I'm currently self employed as a dealer in the antique business in L.A., something I've been doing for about 15 years. Many of the current crop of “reality” shows deal with the business of antiques, i.e., buying and selling them. It is common knowledge amongst my peers that these antique reality shows are fake and the items being featured are often on loan from major collectors. And, In at least one case this fakery has even resulted in legal action.

Much of the information imparted on these shows is often completely unrealistic or downright false. I and most of my colleagues also agree that these shows have done a great deal of harm to our businesses by creating unreal expectations of value to items resulting in skyrocketing prices demanded by sellers which are way beyond their real value.

Since I am a believer in the maxim “the purpose of something is what it does,” I assume that the destruction of small business IS the purpose of these particular category of “reality” shows.
Interesting thought. There's some recurring themes in these shows that add up, such as the 'storage locker wars'-type shows in which the winners of a locker calculate the top price of anything of value (example: 'bunch of coat hangers: $5.00, old microwave: $75.00 etc.) to recover their cost and show a profit, when nothing is really of any value.

What I find most striking is the antagonism and hostility on display. In many of these seemingly inane shows, punch-ups and screaming matches are the norm. I've heard of producers instigating drama or downright demanding some type of altercation. They'd have you believe it's to bolster ratings. Another (and continuing) trend is the glamourization of being stupid. Shows like "Here comes honey boo-boo" "Gypsy Sisters" and the various biker/blue collar shows are clearly aimed at lowering the common denominator in that they make being trashy cool.
sunshine05
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Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2013 6:00 pm

Re: Reality TV and the new reality

Unread post by sunshine05 »

I've heard that about the antique related shows too. Another one - House Hunters. I read an article or blog a while back about this. The 3 houses that are shown aren't even the houses the buyers looked at in most cases and many of them are already living in their new house when they go on the show to tour 3 homes.

What I think the goal of reality shows (particularly the ones that show families' lives) is to condition us to believe that this is "normal". Giving up privacy and having cameras on us all the time - no problem. Everyone on TV does it.

The current false flag stories aren't believable and the script would never pass as a fiction novel but you're right, most people do believe everything on TV so it doesn't even matter if the official story doesn't make any sense.
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