The Hate on Reality TV
- Thread starter SturmDolch
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In response to the OP
For one major reason, and one major reason alone: Because people want to sound cool by hating on the popular thing.
There's minor reasons, though, and one of them are that it's because people tend to think it's nothing more than:
The broader storyline in a Big Brother, Survivor or any reality show that involves a lot of people in not a lot of space doesn't really follow the same construction that a more scripted story does, and as such can't be viewed in the same way, and because of that it gets seen as 'nothing happening', and as a result simplistic, and (ugh) "dumbed down", despite being much more complex because things that do happen aren't so obviously shown to the viewer in the way it might in a drama series.
For example: If you take a show with the same number of main characters as a reality show might, such as a British soap opera, you'll find that most of them don't really interact with one another- Families A and B might be having a massive feud, and the boy from Family B might be dating the girl from Family C, but nobody in Family C will be dealing with Family A- Family C have their own storyline to deal with involving Family D, who won't deal with A or B at all.
The same situation in a reality show would involve everyone- if Housemates A and B don't get on, B and C are screwing and C and D have some task set by the producers, if it blows up between A and B at some point, there's every chance C will get dragged into it and D winds up having to handle the fallout when they're trying to do the task.
In that paragraph it's a mess, now imagine trying to edit it into a TV show when you don't have control over timing, and you can't be sure that Housemates E through to L aren't going to do something else at the same time- as opposed to in a script where E-L basically don't exist for the purposes of that event- it's going to be a difficult story to convey.
On top of this, it means viewers can't just 'dip in'- the A/B plot in a soap can be condensed into two weeks' worth of episodes, finished with and discarded completely, while in a reality show it might play out over the course of the whole series, while other plotlines go on around it- so it looks like nothing's happening, when there's just as much happening, just played out slower and amongst other things- you know why something's significant in a scripted show, because it's relevant to the thing you were just shown 30 seconds ago. In a reality show, you might not realise it's significant, because it's relevant to something that happened three episodes ago that you missed- or worse, wasn't shown anyway because the producers didn't think it'd become anything.
It's an image problem, rather than anything inherently wrong with the form.
The good thing is, though, that this did allow drama writers to take more risks with their scripts- most TV shows used to be very simple in terms of script, even more so than the soap example above, and aren't comparable to the drama we see on TV today.
In fact, any of the more long-form drama that's seen all the critical acclaim in the last decade or so- Lost, 24, The Wire- can all be traced directly back to the likes of Big Brother for these reasons.
In response to the OP's later post, #22
Stuff like The Amazing Race are only really regular gameshows- but because they take weeks to play rather than an hour or so, aren't in a studio full of flashing lights and involve something that isn't just answering questions, people see it and think "another reality show", and gets condemned for the reasons listed above.
The Amazing Race, as a show, has been done before, a million times before reality TV got big- but now it's apparently "bad" because Big Brother happened.
For one major reason, and one major reason alone: Because people want to sound cool by hating on the popular thing.
There's minor reasons, though, and one of them are that it's because people tend to think it's nothing more than:
a view held exclusively by people who have only watched enough of it to fill... well, the time it takes to say the quoted part of that post out loud.Sky Captanio said:
The broader storyline in a Big Brother, Survivor or any reality show that involves a lot of people in not a lot of space doesn't really follow the same construction that a more scripted story does, and as such can't be viewed in the same way, and because of that it gets seen as 'nothing happening', and as a result simplistic, and (ugh) "dumbed down", despite being much more complex because things that do happen aren't so obviously shown to the viewer in the way it might in a drama series.
For example: If you take a show with the same number of main characters as a reality show might, such as a British soap opera, you'll find that most of them don't really interact with one another- Families A and B might be having a massive feud, and the boy from Family B might be dating the girl from Family C, but nobody in Family C will be dealing with Family A- Family C have their own storyline to deal with involving Family D, who won't deal with A or B at all.
The same situation in a reality show would involve everyone- if Housemates A and B don't get on, B and C are screwing and C and D have some task set by the producers, if it blows up between A and B at some point, there's every chance C will get dragged into it and D winds up having to handle the fallout when they're trying to do the task.
In that paragraph it's a mess, now imagine trying to edit it into a TV show when you don't have control over timing, and you can't be sure that Housemates E through to L aren't going to do something else at the same time- as opposed to in a script where E-L basically don't exist for the purposes of that event- it's going to be a difficult story to convey.
On top of this, it means viewers can't just 'dip in'- the A/B plot in a soap can be condensed into two weeks' worth of episodes, finished with and discarded completely, while in a reality show it might play out over the course of the whole series, while other plotlines go on around it- so it looks like nothing's happening, when there's just as much happening, just played out slower and amongst other things- you know why something's significant in a scripted show, because it's relevant to the thing you were just shown 30 seconds ago. In a reality show, you might not realise it's significant, because it's relevant to something that happened three episodes ago that you missed- or worse, wasn't shown anyway because the producers didn't think it'd become anything.
It's an image problem, rather than anything inherently wrong with the form.
The good thing is, though, that this did allow drama writers to take more risks with their scripts- most TV shows used to be very simple in terms of script, even more so than the soap example above, and aren't comparable to the drama we see on TV today.
In fact, any of the more long-form drama that's seen all the critical acclaim in the last decade or so- Lost, 24, The Wire- can all be traced directly back to the likes of Big Brother for these reasons.
In response to the OP's later post, #22
Stuff like The Amazing Race are only really regular gameshows- but because they take weeks to play rather than an hour or so, aren't in a studio full of flashing lights and involve something that isn't just answering questions, people see it and think "another reality show", and gets condemned for the reasons listed above.
The Amazing Race, as a show, has been done before, a million times before reality TV got big- but now it's apparently "bad" because Big Brother happened.
Everyone has their tastes, but I find that "reality" shows have no merit that makes them worth watching.
To each his own, as I am the opposite of you. I like family guy and despise "reality" shows.
To each his own, as I am the opposite of you. I like family guy and despise "reality" shows.
I agree with this very wise man.Douk said:
I remember an ex girlfriend sitting and watching.. oh jeeze for the life of me I can't come up wiht the name, but it was about these friends who live in some big city and go to a private school and it's basically following all of their ridiculous drama. And it seemed really fake and they definitely were just inventing stuff to make it an interesting show instead of a vaginal secretion of fail.
I had a lot of disdain for reality shows until I saw the Colony, it absolutely blew my mind. It is the quintessential example of a reality show done right. It has the right mixture of drama and is actually informative. I mean go figure a reality show that can teach you something!
I am almost as stoked to see the second season of the Colony as I am for the next season of True Blood or the next episode of Lost.
I am almost as stoked to see the second season of the Colony as I am for the next season of True Blood or the next episode of Lost.
Wait, so watching Family Guy makes you an idiot? When the hell did this happen?
OT: I hate reality shows. Specifically Cops and Survivor.
When stuff you can see on your front porch (depending where you live) becomes the new standard for television, we have hit a low point indeed...
And when you send people to "survive" in a place people already live, and give the "winner" $1,000,000. Yeah, fuck off.
And yes that was basicaly a joke by Danial Tosh that I changed to suit my need.
And don't even get me started on the pure shitpiles that are Jersey Shore and Real World.
OT: I hate reality shows. Specifically Cops and Survivor.
When stuff you can see on your front porch (depending where you live) becomes the new standard for television, we have hit a low point indeed...
And when you send people to "survive" in a place people already live, and give the "winner" $1,000,000. Yeah, fuck off.
And yes that was basicaly a joke by Danial Tosh that I changed to suit my need.
And don't even get me started on the pure shitpiles that are Jersey Shore and Real World.
Nothing necessarily wrong with reality TV, but since it's cheap and required very little creativity, it is effectively taking over intelligent television with easy, inexpensive, uncreative drivel. That's why I hate it.
Though admittedly, watching all the fail-singers at the beginning of American Idol never gets old.
Though admittedly, watching all the fail-singers at the beginning of American Idol never gets old.