What is reality TV? Simply put, it is a television programme that is supposedly real, where the viewer is like an observer, an eavesdropper, a voyeur.
The reality TV show follows a set pattern. Take a bunch of attractive, but different set of people and put them inside a confined space. Then create various situations that precipitate conflict between them. The participants fight, love, cry, hate, laugh. And the cameras capture everything faithfully for our viewing pleasure.
What's wrong with the above picture? Did you feel a slight prickle of unease when you realise that all reality tv is actually the same? No exceptions.
Reality TV is NOT real. It is manufactured in much the same manner as a daily soap. The moment you bring a group of people and put them in a closed environment, an artificial world is created. If the show were only about this, I would not have problem with it.
But the real problem for me is the exploitation of the participants. A TV channel is only interested in one thing - profit. It would like nothing better than to have the most popular TV show. Not because of TRPs or even prestige, but because they will earn mega ad bucks. Obviously, the audience as well as the participants fail to realise that the show is only about money. It is NOT about fame, NOT about success, NOT about the participant, NOT about the winner or loser, and NOT about the viewer. It is ONLY about the channel. It is ALWAYS about the channel.
I'm very sure that sooner rather than later, the content of these reality TV shows will become more sensational than the ones preceding them. And before we realise it, we will be watcing people torturing and killing each other for TRP ratings. Did I hear someone whisper "Truman"?
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