Why are reality TV shows so appealing to people?

I agree pretty much with this quote from Wikipedia's article on Reality TV: "Some have claimed that the success of reality television is due to its ability to provide schadenfreude, by satisfying the desire of viewers to see others humiliated. American magazine Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Do we watch reality television for precious insight into the human condition? Please.

We watch for those awkward scenes that make us feel a smidge better about our own little unfilmed lives. " Media analyst Tom Alderman wrote, "There is a sub-set of Reality TV that can only be described as Shame TV because it uses humiliation as its core appeal. " Some reality shows are a bit classier, and can provide some valuable insight into careers, subcultures or areas of specialized knowledge of interest to many people.

Project Runway and Rue Paul's Drag Race are good examples of this. Shows with talent search type formats cater to the dreams of those who wish to believe in a TV program's ability to confer instant fame ... the idea that winning such a show might have the power to catapult someone relatively unknown into the inner sanctum of celebrity culture. From rags to riches ... or so it seems to the viewer who chooses the ignore the fact that very few who triumph on reality TV shows successfully launch robust careers after the fact.An illusion of much reality TV is that there is an intimate and clandestine view of participants, where many unguarded moments are revealed.

I can tell you from firsthand experience that this isn't the case. I participated in a couple episodes (as a guest, not a core participant) of "Starting Over" when ABC was filming it here in Chicago, and got an inside view of the world of reality TV. The participants were living in a house rigged with multiple cameras in every room plus microphones attached discreetly into their clothing every minute of the day.

There were usually a couple cameramen with BIG professional cameras (like news crews use) following them in full view on their "assignments. " The surveillance was very prominent to the eye at all times--they were never unaware that the cameras were always rolling. Add to it that 80 hours of raw footage were filmed at the house each day, leaving endless editing opportunities to create high drama by cut and paste.

In the end, reality TV is as much about creating illusion as any program based in a fictional story. Getting back to my initial observation--the idea that I feel a primary appeal of reality TV is the humiliation aspect-- I think it's also interesting to notice that the format of most shows gives viewers an opportunity for that while not really having to admit it to themselves. Few people would want to admit they want to watch a show in order to see people humiliated.

And so we have the contests ... at face value, the viewer can tell themselves they want to see victory, they are watching to see a winner. But the bulk of the show is the progressive journey of eliminating contestants, watching their sadness and/or humiliation as they lose one by one, and therein lies the bulk of the "entertainment value.

I agree pretty much with this quote from Wikipedia's article on Reality TV: "Some have claimed that the success of reality television is due to its ability to provide schadenfreude, by satisfying the desire of viewers to see others humiliated. American magazine Entertainment Weekly wrote, "Do we watch reality television for precious insight into the human condition? Please.

We watch for those awkward scenes that make us feel a smidge better about our own little unfilmed lives. " Media analyst Tom Alderman wrote, "There is a sub-set of Reality TV that can only be described as Shame TV because it uses humiliation as its core appeal. " Some reality shows are a bit classier, and can provide some valuable insight into careers, subcultures or areas of specialized knowledge of interest to many people.

Project Runway and Rue Paul's Drag Race are good examples of this. Shows with talent search type formats cater to the dreams of those who wish to believe in a TV program's ability to confer instant fame ... the idea that winning such a show might have the power to catapult someone relatively unknown into the inner sanctum of celebrity culture. From rags to riches ... or so it seems to the viewer who chooses the ignore the fact that very few who triumph on reality TV shows successfully launch robust careers after the fact.An illusion of much reality TV is that there is an intimate and clandestine view of participants, where many unguarded moments are revealed.

I can tell you from firsthand experience that this isn't the case. I participated in a couple episodes (as a guest, not a core participant) of "Starting Over" when ABC was filming it here in Chicago, and got an inside view of the world of reality TV. The participants were living in a house rigged with multiple cameras in every room plus microphones attached discreetly into their clothing every minute of the day.

There were usually a couple cameramen with BIG professional cameras (like news crews use) following them in full view on their "assignments. " The surveillance was very prominent to the eye at all times--they were never unaware that the cameras were always rolling. Add to it that 80 hours of raw footage were filmed at the house each day, leaving endless editing opportunities to create high drama by cut and paste.

In the end, reality TV is as much about creating illusion as any program based in a fictional story. Getting back to my initial observation--the idea that I feel a primary appeal of reality TV is the humiliation aspect-- I think it's also interesting to notice that the format of most shows gives viewers an opportunity for that while not really having to admit it to themselves. Few people would want to admit they want to watch a show in order to see people humiliated.

And so we have the contests ... at face value, the viewer can tell themselves they want to see victory, they are watching to see a winner. But the bulk of the show is the progressive journey of eliminating contestants, watching their sadness and/or humiliation as they lose one by one, and therein lies the bulk of the "entertainment value"...

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.