Reality Tv Paper
Assignment 1:
Reality television has become increasingly more popular and appears to be taking over the entertainment business. Psychologist Lawrence Rubin seems to think it all goes back to Aristotle, “The notion of being drawn to drama and tragedy”(Kinon, 2009). The viewer receives a false sense of “real life” and disconnects from their own “real life” by diving into someone else's. The effects these television shows have on society as a whole can be positive or negative depending on the message the show depicts. Shows such as “Jersey Shore”, “16 and Pregnant”, and “Dr. 90210” are a huge success to MTV but could be considered detrimental to society by painting distorted pictures of reality in the viewer’s mind. Shows including “Extreme Home Makeover”,“Undercover Boss”, and “American Idol” can be considered to have a positive affect on society. These programs report the positive stories of the average everyday person inspiring the viewer. These shows reward well-mannered people doing amazing things around their community rather than rewarding others on behavior that is unacceptable to everyday norms of our society. This paper is going to discuss the negative affects reality television programs bring to society as well as the positive affects. We will also discuss how marketers can use the high ratings of these reality shows to reach a larger audience of consumers.
It is safe to assume that there are both negative and positive aspects of reality television. Do the cons outweigh the pros or vice versa? In our opinion there is much more negativity in reality shows in modern day entertainment than there are positive reinforcements. Reality shows give viewers false sense of reality and unrealistic expectations. The stars of these shows give off the persona of a real person where the audience develops a connection seeming they can relate to the everyday person. People seem to think, feel and act like these characters they see on these programs which could
Reality television has become increasingly more popular and appears to be taking over the entertainment business. Psychologist Lawrence Rubin seems to think it all goes back to Aristotle, “The notion of being drawn to drama and tragedy”(Kinon, 2009). The viewer receives a false sense of “real life” and disconnects from their own “real life” by diving into someone else's. The effects these television shows have on society as a whole can be positive or negative depending on the message the show depicts. Shows such as “Jersey Shore”, “16 and Pregnant”, and “Dr. 90210” are a huge success to MTV but could be considered detrimental to society by painting distorted pictures of reality in the viewer’s mind. Shows including “Extreme Home Makeover”,“Undercover Boss”, and “American Idol” can be considered to have a positive affect on society. These programs report the positive stories of the average everyday person inspiring the viewer. These shows reward well-mannered people doing amazing things around their community rather than rewarding others on behavior that is unacceptable to everyday norms of our society. This paper is going to discuss the negative affects reality television programs bring to society as well as the positive affects. We will also discuss how marketers can use the high ratings of these reality shows to reach a larger audience of consumers.
It is safe to assume that there are both negative and positive aspects of reality television. Do the cons outweigh the pros or vice versa? In our opinion there is much more negativity in reality shows in modern day entertainment than there are positive reinforcements. Reality shows give viewers false sense of reality and unrealistic expectations. The stars of these shows give off the persona of a real person where the audience develops a connection seeming they can relate to the everyday person. People seem to think, feel and act like these characters they see on these programs which could
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