Techniques used in Reality TV in Australia :: essays research papers

Untasteful, feral, depraved viewing; Euphemism for palpable voyeurism; Is spelling the end of decent, moral society - Slagging out reality TV from a high culture standpoint is as easy as taking candy from a blind, paralysed, limbless baby. Reality TV is a significant part of popular culture in the current settings of mainstream Australian society. Counting the number of reality television shows on two hands is now a physical impossibility. But what impact is this concept having on society now and into the future? The first wave of reality TV shows (such as Survivor, The Weakest Link and Dog Eat Dog) played on people's collective anxieties about the new workplace culture whereby nothing is secure. The threat of expulsion and humiliation is what draws people to this style of programming. This was followed by the lifestyle programs, which were the once removed cousins of Reality TV. Naturally no one is entirely satisfied with the way they live so these programs played on people's desires to improve their lifestyle and living conditions. The third wave of Reality shows (such as Joe Millionaire, The Bachelor and For Love or Money) plays with people's fears of falsified relationships; are there ulterior reasons behind a `supposed' loving relationship (such as money)? The main appeal of Reality television is that the viewer experiences raw human emotions like humiliation, deceit and rejection from a removed perspective. The ability to inspect and analyse the happenings of others without being seen t akes on a god-like perspective. It invokes the fantasy of having access to all that is hidden. Do the treacherous, backstabbing ideals of reality TV shows such as Survivor, Dog Eat Dog and Big Brother actually promote and legitimise their anti-social behaviour and ideals in society, or is it merely a frivolous form of entertainment, providing an emotional outlet for the typical, stressed individual? You could argue either way. Aristotle noted the paradox that people could be entertained by the sufferings and humiliations of others in art form, and named it catharsis. He described it as a purifying and cleansing of the emotions, and the concept is still applied in psychology today to bring repressed feelings and fears to the conscious mind. So could reality TV actually be a vent for people's entrenched emotions? Some would argue that reality TV is an ideal provider of raw human emotion in a realistic form (that is, the emotional relief coupled with the self-assurance of being safely separated from the trials and tribulations). Techniques used in Reality TV in Australia :: essays research papers Untasteful, feral, depraved viewing; Euphemism for palpable voyeurism; Is spelling the end of decent, moral society - Slagging out reality TV from a high culture standpoint is as easy as taking candy from a blind, paralysed, limbless baby. Reality TV is a significant part of popular culture in the current settings of mainstream Australian society. Counting the number of reality television shows on two hands is now a physical impossibility. But what impact is this concept having on society now and into the future? The first wave of reality TV shows (such as Survivor, The Weakest Link and Dog Eat Dog) played on people's collective anxieties about the new workplace culture whereby nothing is secure. The threat of expulsion and humiliation is what draws people to this style of programming. This was followed by the lifestyle programs, which were the once removed cousins of Reality TV. Naturally no one is entirely satisfied with the way they live so these programs played on people's desires to improve their lifestyle and living conditions. The third wave of Reality shows (such as Joe Millionaire, The Bachelor and For Love or Money) plays with people's fears of falsified relationships; are there ulterior reasons behind a `supposed' loving relationship (such as money)? The main appeal of Reality television is that the viewer experiences raw human emotions like humiliation, deceit and rejection from a removed perspective. The ability to inspect and analyse the happenings of others without being seen t akes on a god-like perspective. It invokes the fantasy of having access to all that is hidden. Do the treacherous, backstabbing ideals of reality TV shows such as Survivor, Dog Eat Dog and Big Brother actually promote and legitimise their anti-social behaviour and ideals in society, or is it merely a frivolous form of entertainment, providing an emotional outlet for the typical, stressed individual? You could argue either way. Aristotle noted the paradox that people could be entertained by the sufferings and humiliations of others in art form, and named it catharsis. He described it as a purifying and cleansing of the emotions, and the concept is still applied in psychology today to bring repressed feelings and fears to the conscious mind. So could reality TV actually be a vent for people's entrenched emotions? Some would argue that reality TV is an ideal provider of raw human emotion in a realistic form (that is, the emotional relief coupled with the self-assurance of being safely separated from the trials and tribulations).