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reality shows
Book Summary by:
darpan
Original Author: bb
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Reality television covers a wide range of programming formats, from game or quiz shows which resemble the frantic, often
demeaning shows produced in Japan in the 1980s and 1990s (a modern example is Gaki no tsukai), to surveillance- or voyeurism-focused productions such as Big Brother. In many reality television shows, the viewer and the camera are passive observers following people going about their daily personal and professional activities like MTV’s Laguna Beach. Some documentary-style programs place cast members, who in most cases previously did not know each other, in artificial living environments; The Real World is the originator of this style. Often these show a celebrity going about their everyday life: examples include The Anna Nicole Show, The Osbournes, Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica and Hogan Knows Best. Some documentary-style shows portray professionals either going about day-to-day business or performing an entire project over the course of a series. No outside experts are brought in (at least, none appear on screen) to either provide help or to judge results. The earliest example(and the longest running reality show of any genre) is COPS which has been airing since 1989. Another type of reality TV is "reality- competition", or so-called "reality game shows", in which participants are filmed competing to win a prize, often while living together in a confined environment. In many cases, participants are removed until only one person or team remains, who/which is then declared the winner. Usually this is done by eliminating participants one at a time, in balloon debate style, through either disapproval voting or by voting for the most popular choice to win; voting is done by either the viewing audience or by the show's own participants. A well-known example of a reality-competition show is the globally-syndicated Big Brother. Dating-based competition shows follow a contestant choosing one out of a group of suitors. Over the course of either a single episode or an entire season, suitors are eliminated until only the contestant and the final suitor remains; like Flavor of Love. the competition revolves around a skill that contestants were pre-screened for. Competitors perform a variety of tasks based around that skill, are judged, and are then kept or removed by a single expert or a panel of experts. The show is invariably presented as a job search of some kind, in which the prize for the winner includes a contract to perform that kind of work. Examples include The Apprentice.Fear Centric shows like fear factor, sports shows like The Ultimate Fighter, Self Improvement or Makeover shows like The Biggest Loser, Renovation shows like This Old House, Dating Shows Like Blind Date, Talk Shows like Ricki Lake, Hidden Cameras like Candid Camera and Hoax reality show like Mtv Bakara are gaining popularity with time. Reality television's global success has been, in the eyes of some analysts, an important political phenomenon. In some authoritarian countries, reality television voting represents the first time many citizens have voted in any free and fair wide-scale elections.
Published: November 29, 2007
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