Is "Reality TV" Really Reality

In the last few years reality TV has become the most popular genre on our TV’s. As you can see from the bar chart below it holds the highest percentage. Unfortunately I could not find figures for 2012 to 2015. But I can tell you that the most popular reality TV shows according to IMDb are, keeping up with the Kardashians, Dancing with the stars and Dance Moms. 

http://www.statista.com/statistics/201565/most-popular-genres-in-us-primetime-tv/

The definition of reality TV is “Television programmes in which ordinary people are continuously filmed, designed to be entertaining rather than informative.” But what many viewers may not know is that reality TV has become more scripted as in a sense of writers creating plot lines and situations that will create conflict. Editors can also edit the clips to intensify situations more than what they really were.

For example, when a viewer sees an argument between two people on screen and the camera cuts to a clip where we can’t see them talk but we can still hear them, chances are that what they are saying was said in a different conversation and the editor placed it to an argument to exaggerate the situation more. This is done so often that they have even created a name for this, frankenbiting.

Here is a video about reality TV lies:

But why is reality TV so popular? The reason it’s so popular in production is because it’s cheap to make. The stars that are in these shows get paid less as they are not trained actors. The editing of the show also has low pay and the writers don’t need to do out script after script. For the viewer’s popularity, viewers are not fully aware of all the set ups and believe that all these situations and arguments that reality TV stars get themselves into are for real. This then intrigues the viewer and leads them to wanting to know more. It also allows a viewer to escape their everyday life and watch the life of another unravel. As a reality viewer myself, I find that I get engrossed with the drama and even though I know the situation is not real or fixed, I still feel myself needing to know more. It does become an addiction and I feel that’s what gets the viewers. Reality TV also gives a viewer to compare their own lives to others, which can lead to a boost in happiness.

I will be conducting an analysis on the reality TV show Dance Moms. The reason for this is because I didn’t want to focus on the partying aspects or the cheating that happens in most reality TV shows. With Dance Moms we see the different views from the mothers, from the teacher and also from the kids which I feel is something that most reality TV shows don’t have. Since I have started this analysis I have found myself wanting to know more and have actually started watching the show. Down below is a trailer tease for Dance Moms and also scripting secrets from Dance Moms.