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These days it seems every TV channel has their own reality shows, everyone seems to be really crazy about them and even the sponsors are ready to pour in money. Contestants of the show are made to fall in love, sing to the top or even live in the wilderness to win. Some are related to real life as well as others are in the fairytale aspect. Some celebrities are frequently invited on theses show to increase the TRP ratings of the show for more money and more publicity for the contestants and the channel. The bitter truth in all of this is there is actually very little reality in these reality shows. In this paper I will explore the truth about how real the reality of these shows are or how fairytale are they. There are so many reality shows for almost everything now. For example there is Keeping up with the Kardashians reality TV show is that really portraying the majority of everyone else’s reality?? They are born into money and fame and had parents who were famous before they made a name for themselves. Then there is a flip side and another show The Real Housewives of Atlanta. Some of these women became an instant celebrity overnight however it paved a way for them to become wealthier and more popular with becoming actresses on other sitcom shows or doing a clothing line, finding love and building a family. Below are some shocking statistics for reality TV. • According to Medical Procedure News, reality television is attributing to cosmetic surgery procedures with more than 9.2 million procedures performed as result of people watching these shows

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• According to WebMD Medical News, reality television is contributing to eating disorders in teen girls. With shows like Are You Hot? The Search for America’s Sexiest People and Extreme Make Over, young women believe that to be accepted you have to be “hot” or a “bombshell.” (Kirchheimer) Since the boom of reality television in 2000, eating disorders in teenage girls (ages 13-19) have nearly tripled. • Americans spend 1/3 of their free time watching television and of that 67% are reality shows (“Statistics…”) • The number of shooting days for reality TV in Los Angeles rose 53% last year, making up about 40% of all on-location production • Of the 240,000 entertainment jobs in Los Angeles, 30,000 are tied to reality television • It costs $7 dollars to produce a 10-day reality show • Reality TV episodes have increased to 57% of all television shows that can be found on your screens • There are more than five violent scenes in an hour of prime time, and five murders a night (“Statistics…”)

While Reality TV has the potential to offer some informative type of programs what do we know what is really real, or fairytale. So it causes some difficulty to determine the reality of it all. As a recent article from The Encyclopedia of American Studies (2010) maintains that the social significance of reality TV is as difficult to determine since the texts are often conflicted and contradictory, but there are some common elements that provide clues to what is the real of the real television shows.

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Moreover while reality programs depend on the media technology they seek to transcend and they are very focused on bodily experience in a way that authenticates the actual presence and function of the body in direct opposition staged fictional characters and narratives.

Reality TV can be presented as a freak of attractions who is degradation can be
Reality or Fairytale used for positive outcomes. Reality television was able to develop and mutate so quickly because of technological advances such as shows as American Idol (2002) which consists of casting votes and others who are on reality television for their lifestyle such as The real World and Keeping up with the Kardashians these reality television shows have been ideal and successful with more than just a few seasons. There are also some other reality TV shows that make us as the audience believe in fairytale such as The Bachelor or The Bachelorette where a man and or a women are the main character and many women and or men come to a house where they will have to get a rose to stay and continue to get to the know the person seeking love to get the end result of a marriage proposal and or dream wedding. Which is every person’s fairytale right? They shoot for several months and by the time we see the finale or last rose ceremony they have been engaged or whatever decision that person made for a while and by that time who knows if they are still in love, still together, married, dating etc. Unlike a fairytale they are always meant for each other.

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Reality Television can be both educational, fun and entertaining only in moderation and to know what is real and what is fairy tale. What shows are for the dramatic tension and what is actually reality wanting to do some good for the audience and for the narratives in the shows. Ratings and shows will always be a part of the entertainment business and what makes the network and the stars in the shows money. People are so involved in Reality TV that some want to live that lifestyle. Or some people are so addicted to their favorite reality shows that they live or believe that watching these types is real life and want and are willing to do what it takes to live like them or want to be like them even go to the extent of trying to get to them. Whether we watch a group of people live together in a house (big brother), or watch them build the house (the Block), reality television exposes that little peeping tom is all of us. Reality TV satisfies that instinct of peering into others’ lives, and the reality of reality television is that as humans we enjoy this. Reality TV is not much different from normal programs, like any program, reality television has the essentials, it has a mix of characters, it puts those characters in situation, and the result is usually a failure or success. But the catch of reality television is that the characters are real people, the story is not scripted, and with any failure or successes comes emotion. But does this reality TV revolution present the viewers with real life? Or does it present what the TV producers want the viewers to see? Reality TV is built on the foundations of exposing and exciting human emotions. In this aspect reality TV has successfully portrayed human emotions. The cameras have captured all features of being humans. For example, Survivor consists mainly of emotions Reality or Fairytale 6

associated with survival, leadership, and how humans can have alliance to get there failure and or success as co-operating as a team. The cameras have successfully conveyed to the audience all these emotions, and the stories connected with these emotions. More often there are other reality TV shows that are real life situations that you or someone you may know might be going through so it hits home more than the other reality TV shows that are just about celebrities or people we do not know just intrigued by their lifestyle. For example Hoarders, Celebrity rehab, Intervention those are “real life” that people can relate too or help with people that are in their lives with an addiction or even themselves. Below is a chart that shows what the audience actually sees with reality TV content. The colors are according to the graph colors as they key.

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Reality or Fairytale how to distinguish the difference or even want to or yet just watch for comical and entertainment and recreational purposes. There are several reality shows that I can see are for comical purposes and brings it all back together in regards to the money, ratings, or who is in it to win it. The Jersey Shore which is a reality show on MTV and about adults who are all in one house living at the Jersey shore and who go out and party, have to work to make money, but seem to do nothing other than that. All the contestants have done well for themselves from their stardom off this particular show. They have had several very successful seasons and even have had several spin offs with some of the cast mates. All in all with all these Reality shows there is some kind or prize or paycheck yet this is some of their fairytales coming true off of their show. Reality TV shows have affected society in many different ways. Some audiences get hooked on these shows because they help them escape their own real lives. The shows vary in theme and material and every show is designed to attract the biggest possible audience. The bigger the audience, the more money the shows makes. According to a poll by CNN, 57% of 1016 adults believe that Reality TV shows provide a distorted picture of events while another 23% say the shows are "totally phony". The amount of pressure for TV ratings pushes people to make the show more interesting some contestants have even said after they watch the show or see them they think and feel they were misrepresented and the reality of the show was taken out of the show. Therefore this should make you think how real are the reality shows and fake are the Reality or Fairytale 8

fairytale endings and fairytale shows per say. All of these shows increase the demand of reality and it is inevitable that the contestants will be pushed to the limits and a make for drama however this is what the reality TV standards are drawn too to make up for the ratings and this is what makes reality TV for the viewers to watch to bring in the money and the ratings and it is all a business deal.

According the Wikipedia for Reality TV. Often sports programs, news, game shows, are not classified as reality shows for they are classified as documentaries. Reality shows are unscripted, melodramatic that document ordinary people with their humorous actual events. Therefore this goes to show that they are ordinary people hired to fit or a play a certain part for the show as actors and actresses and celebrities are hired to play their roles for movies, plays, and sitcoms. To get real reality I would recommend turning off your TV sets and tuning into your own life for that is a real as it gets with all the situations good or bad handed to you other than watching the shows on TV for reality for they are more for the purpose of just TV and that is too simply watch. They are somewhat like game shows, with a truth and false and consequences.

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There is no doubt that reality TV presents the viewers with small aspects of real life. Reality TV provides the viewers with true conflicts and emotions that have been felt. However, in the attempt to portray all traits of real life, I believe reality TV often fails. There are many contributing factors to this failure. (Reality TV, 2010.) In the end you as a person need to see and test yourself to see what you think is Real TV or what is make believe or fairytale cause you will see how dramatized most of these reality shows are. And how the love shows can turn out to be something real not a fairytale. For most part viewers continue to watch these shows and tune is every night or every other night or even every week for something new to happen on their favorite show even if it’s not real.

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References

Reality TV. (2011). In Encyclopedia of Consumer Culture. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/sagecc/reality_tv

Reality Television. (2010). In Encyclopedia of American Studies. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/jhueas/reality_televsion

“Reality TV.” (2010). Reality Television: Creating a world where no one is real. Retrieved from http://www.onhoward.wordlpress.com

“How real is Reality TV?”(2010). Retrieved January 1, 2013, from http://www.EZinearticles.com

“Reality Television”. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.enwikipedia.org

References: Reality TV. (2011). In Encyclopedia of Consumer Culture. “Reality TV.” (2010). Reality Television: Creating a world where no one is real. “How real is Reality TV?”(2010). Retrieved January 1, 2013, from http://www.EZinearticles.com “Reality Television”