Is Reality TV Just A Guilty Pleasure?

Reality TV is a genre that has wormed its way into our screens, our culture, and—for many of us—our guilty pleasures. While some might dismiss these shows as frivolous entertainment (we’re using the term “entertainment” generously here), maybe there’s more to it than good old fashioned wife swapping, marrying strangers and surviving in the wild with nothing but a six-pack and an epic tan.

 

Perhaps reality TV is so popular because it holds up a mirror to society, showcasing the full spectrum of human emotions. Watching real people in real situations causes us to reflect on our own life choices and experiences. Or perhaps it’s all completely fake, scripted rubbish that makes the producers a hell of a lot of money. As a writer of The Simpsons, Dana Gould put it, reality TV is “people who aren’t actors working with people who aren’t writers in an amateur production of nothing.”

 

But how “real” is reality TV… really?

 

*CHAPTERS:*

00:00 Born In The Wild

07:30 Bet on Your Baby

11:06 How Real is Reality TV?

16:38 Release The Hounds

25:14 The Role of NDAs in Reality TV

29:14 The Naked Magazine Sweepstakes

30:21 Ethics and Consent in Reality TV

31:24 Who's Your Daddy?

33:59 Viewer Shame

37:11 When Reality TV Goes Too Far

43:17 The Upsides of Reality TV

48:23 What’s Next on The Wholesome Show

 

SOURCES:

• Who's Your Daddy? (2005 TV series) - Wikipedia
• 34% of Aussies who watch reality TV lie about it
• "Born in the Wild": Lifetime TV has lost its mind | Salon.com
• "Born in the Wild" TV Review on Lifetime
• https://www.pedestrian.tv/entertainment/absolutely-bonkers-reality-shows/
• Release the Hounds - Wikipedia
• Intervention (TV series) - Wikipedia
• https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshwilson/2022/03/17/reality-tv-how-the-genre-has-consistently-re-engineered-itself-into-new-life/?sh=2cbffce5303a
• How Reality Shows Affect Our Lives and Society | Psychology Today Australia
• Reality TV Has Reshaped Our World, Whether We Like It or Not
• Why are people so embarrassed to say they love reality TV? - ABC News
• Full article: The Voice: non-disclosure agreements and the hidden political economy of reality TV
• Angles /The Reality Behind Reality TV by John Yazbek
• .css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}