Has reality TV gone too far?

You have to be a certain type of person to want to find love in such a peculiar environment as this and maybe were stupid in thinking that it would be so straight forward. It was the fault of the participants for willingly appearing on such a show.

Of course, it is easy to jump on the band wagon and criticise this new big brother style program. The reality is though, that the people who participated found it very rewarding. As to the example of the children burning themselves, I am very sure that before entering the house the children were lectured in health and safety. I am also quite sure that naked flames would not be in the house. Therefore if a child did burn themselves it would be through touching a hot object, in which case it would be a short pain followed immediately withdrawing their hand from the object. Upon seeing this, the parents are a wall away and it would take them a matter of seconds to get to their child. This is more protection than a child gets in regular day life! A rewarding experience for all involved, including the viewer.

On the other hand, those who are arguably ‘talentless’ appear on reality TV shows and make themselves a fortune. Who are we too argue? Maybe it is their good business sense to run to a tabloid after eating a witchetty grub and the newspaper obliges. Despite what anyone thinks, they have made themselves a few million from their fifteen minutes of fame. Maybe it was all worth eating a kangaroo testicle.

As much as we do not want to admit it, unfortunately racism does still exist in our society. This argument indicates that racism is still alive and kicking; what damage it can do to the individuals involved along with everyone else and how television and the rest of society can and should fight against it.

Moreover, it brought the debate about racism to the fore and to the masses. Internet forums were full of people discussing what was and was not racism. This dicussion helped educate many people who weren’t aware they might have been causing offence.

In addition, we should remember that Shilpa Shetty won Celebrity Big Brother that year, in part, no doubt, because Britons wanted to show we weren’t all racist. So by showing the comments of the few we were able to see they weren’t shared by – in fact were abhored by – the many. This has to be a good thing.

There have been thousands of people that have participated in reality TV shows; of course some will be unstable. In most of the reported deaths, the link between the suicide and the reality TV program is tedious. In the example provided about ‘Extreme Makeover’, the suicide happened four months after being told she would not receive the makeover. The sister of the woman who committed suicide on this occasion was bipolar. This leaves open the possibility that mental health issues ran in the family. Surely this is a stronger link as to why this woman committed suicide as opposed to it being the fault of the realty TV program.

One of the other reported deaths through reality TV was the death of a television producer who committed suicide after appearing on a reality TV show. However, once again, there was another reason behind the scenes, she was an anorexic. I am sure if we looked closely at all the cases, we would see the real reasons for their tragic deaths instead of using reality TV as a scapegoat.

Distasteful to who exactly? The prude British nation? This is the crowd that reality TV was created to fight against. It is designed to expose human nature for what it really is. It is meant to be different. If the actions of the people on these shows offend you, then it shows that you cannot accept reality, what happens on Britain’s streets day in and day out.

Yes, a lucky donee had to be chosen to receive a kidney; doctors do this sort of selection everyday. And if the government were not able to find a kidney for the people who needed it, why is it so wrong that a reality TV show gave someone the opportunity to choose who their organs go to? It is meant to be heart warming. But the old, conservative cynics among you want to criticise anything which breaks against stiff upper lip Britain.

Reality TV does highlight subjects that is not only very sensitive but also considered a taboo in our society. The subject of an ITV programme (1) aired eight years ago was a film following a brilliant pianist and lecturer who developed Alzheimer’s and watched his slow, painful battle. The show did highlight the illness that has for so long remained behind closed doors and did not show the actual death of Malcolm.
(1) http://www.internurse.com/cgi-bin/go.pl/library/article.cgi?uid=24524;article=BJN_16_15_961

Reality TV is absolutely refusing to die. ITV proved it still had the X Factor by pulling in 10.4 million viewers when Leona Lewis was crowned the winner. It peaked at 11.9 viewers who tuned in for the last fifteen minutes (1). Shows such as the X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing are still recording viewer ratings at 10 million plus when aired on prime-time television on Saturday nights. If reality TV really was going too far, how is it that the British public are continuously glued to their screens?
(1) http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/broadcasting/a40873/x-factor-ratings-top-previous-final.html

According to a survey conducted in 2007, the popularity of entrepreneurial reality television programmes – such as The Apprentice and Dragons’ Den – is good for business! Biddy Financial Services found that 42% of bosses of enterprises believed that these programmes inspired a new generation to go into business for themselves and have seen their own staff develop more ambition (1).
(1) http://www.businesshighstreet.com/news/18152705/Reality+TV+is+good+for+business

What makes reality television so gripping is the way we get to see other people’s lives and how different they are compared to our own – we are not going to get that from Emmerdale or Eastenders! Reality television shows how people react to different situations and as an audience get to see how it all pans out. The viewers do love when celebrities get involved. These are the people that we watch on television everyday, the people we listen to on the radio, the people who read the news and run our country. As humans, we love watching celebrities out of their comfort zone; away from the stylists, luxury and comfort. Television has to appear to all kinds of people and reality television is one aspect that has proved to be popular. Many of these shows do not offend or embarrass anyone and are simply good fun.

Thousands of people complain about reality television – it is stupid, it is disgusting, it is pointless. Stop complaining, stop reading The Sun and turn the television off. Simple.