REALITY TELEVISION

Reality Television is an important addition to the culture of today

Reality Television is an important addition to the culture of today discuss

Introduction

Reality show or reality TV is the television genre, a kind of entertainment television and online broadcasting. Story is to show the actions of the group (or groups) of people living close to the situation (Marsh, 2010). Reality TV is very developed in the U.S. and the UK and the percentage of reality programming in the broadcasting schedule of these countries is much higher than in Russia, but the term "reality television" exists only in the western genre typology, in Russia in the same sense is used less precise - " reality show. "

Discussion

First, it is important to define “reality television” as a genre and its evolution to its current form in order to fully understand its popularization and influence in contemporary media. The appeal of “real” television is traditionally based on the promise to provide access to the real, provide dramatic uncertainty, and cater to voyeurism. Early forms of reality television can be traced back to quiz formats in the 1950's that catered to the appeal of placing real people in dramatic situations with unpredictable outcomes. Other precursors include makeovers and charity games such as “Queen for a Day” and “Strike it Rich”, staged pranks pioneered by shows such as “Candid Camera”, celebrations of ordinary people in unusual or unusually contrived situations such as “It Could Happen to You” and “Real People” and amateur talent shows. It was not until the launch of MTV's “The Real World” in 1991 that we began to see the emergence of reality TV genre as we know it today. The premise of the show was to place a young cast in an environment intended to ignite conflict and close contact, filled with cameras and surveillance to capture the action and encourage narrative development. The show was a pioneer in drawing in a young crowd to reality television and acted as a blueprint for proceeding shows such as “Big Brother” and “Survivor”. In addition, this further connects users' reality to that of the show, fostering a stronger relationship between the consumer (viewer) and the product (media source). Through these means, Reality TV attempts to permeate into viewer's personal lives. This strategy has been most effective amongst young people who are generally most active on the web (Andrejevic, 2004, pp. 121).

Devised by George Gerbner, cultivation theory proposes that television viewing makes an independent contribution to people's conceptions of social reality. The central hypothesis of cultivation research is that those who spend more time watching television will be more likely to hold beliefs and assumptions about life and society that reflect the most stable messages embedded in television's dramatic programs. Television entertainment offers vivid and repetitive “lessons” regarding gender, race, class, sexuality, age, and other socio cultural dynamics. Over time, viewers absorb stable images of different groups and perceptions of a broad range of social “facts” and practices; these patterns offer templates ...