20-03-2014, 10:23 AM
Reality shows-An online survey
[attachment=60279]
INTRODUCTION
Reality shows
Reality Shows are genre of television shows or programmes which feature common people and or celebrities or both, in real life or scripted situations/environment or a mix of both real and scripted incidents. Reality Shows are also referred as ‘Reality Television’. Reality shows have become quite a rage of late; these were non-existent until the 1940’s. Reality shows in those times were quite authentic. This was because it was a new concept and as such manipulation was limited to only creating unordinary situations for ordinary citizens. However, the reality shows of today have blurred the reality. The irony of ‘Reality Shows’ is that even though they are known as ‘Reality Based Shows’; most of them are ‘Unreal’. Real Life is nothing, what popular Reality Shows depict. The idea of placing people in situations, just to see how they react, became imaginable and almost ‘Passé’. Audiences have seen and known what will happen. As such, previous projections of human behaviour do not hold that much ground as compared to the ones that are being churned out with all the melodrama and unexpected spoofs or stunts.
Celebrity Shows
Reality based Celebrity Shows are the ones which show daily routine of celebrities or show celebrities in a certain environment with other celebrities performing task or tasks. These show some scripted, unscripted, kinky or unknown aspect of celebrities. Some routine based shows are Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Kathy Griffin: Life on the D List, The Anna Nicole Show, The Osbournes, Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica and Hogan Knows Best etc. Some of the Environment Confined shows are Celebrity Big Brother, The Simple Life, Tommy Lee Goes to College, The Surreal Life, and I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here!
Original Life Event Shows
Original Life Event Shows are the ones which show authentic real life events captured on tape by amateurs or professionals who happened to witness the events. The events shown are accidents, bad behaviour, disasters, daring rescues, escapes, stunts, police chases and other extraordinary events. Some of these shows specialise in only one category, like National Geographic’s ‘Caught in the Act’ show which showcases incidents involving animals. Some of the popular such shows are Caught on Camera, Maximum Exposure, World's Most Amazing Videos etc.
LITERATURE REVIEW
While research relating to reality television is relatively new, several studies have been conducted in relation to viewer characteristics, media effects, realism and gratifications.
• Reiss & Wiltz’s study utilized a questionnaire format and chose human service workers and college students as participants. Five specific reality shows were noted on the questionnaire and included Survivor, Big Brother, Temptation Island, The Mole, and The Real World. Researchers chose these five shows based on the “low level of morals found on the shows and the exploitation of the participants as well as their appeal to a viewer’s basic human quest for truth and need for genuineness.” (370)
• In the study conducted by Nabi, Biely, Morgan and Stitt, only Arizona residents who were awaiting jury duty participated in the study. And most recently, a study conducted in 2006 by Alice Hall addressed the audience’s understanding of the “nature, realism and gratifications” of reality show programs. (191) The study participants included college students at an urban Midwestern university, with an average age of twenty three. Here again, the participants chosen were limited. While the results of these studies are useful to further understand the nature of audiences, more diversity among participants could have produced results that may be applied more universally in the field.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
By identifying participants who consistently watched these programs, it was believed that various themes would arise out of this study for analysis and comparison. This study sought to identify and further explore these common themes.In order to locate these possible underlying themes among reality show viewers, a qualitative approach was taken utilizing in-depth personal interviews and questionnaire. Participants were asked questions broken down into three basic categories: (1) personal background information (including such demographics as age, employment status, etc), (2) reality show viewing habits, including a definition of reality programs and naming specific programs by title and (3) specific reasons for watching particular shows. By asking questions of this nature, respondents were able to describe in detail why they watched the programs.
The purpose of the above mentioned questions was to determine any potential themes found among participants. This method was chosen to gain further insight into what viewers think or feel when determining their program selections from the participant’s perspective.
[attachment=60279]
INTRODUCTION
Reality shows
Reality Shows are genre of television shows or programmes which feature common people and or celebrities or both, in real life or scripted situations/environment or a mix of both real and scripted incidents. Reality Shows are also referred as ‘Reality Television’. Reality shows have become quite a rage of late; these were non-existent until the 1940’s. Reality shows in those times were quite authentic. This was because it was a new concept and as such manipulation was limited to only creating unordinary situations for ordinary citizens. However, the reality shows of today have blurred the reality. The irony of ‘Reality Shows’ is that even though they are known as ‘Reality Based Shows’; most of them are ‘Unreal’. Real Life is nothing, what popular Reality Shows depict. The idea of placing people in situations, just to see how they react, became imaginable and almost ‘Passé’. Audiences have seen and known what will happen. As such, previous projections of human behaviour do not hold that much ground as compared to the ones that are being churned out with all the melodrama and unexpected spoofs or stunts.
Celebrity Shows
Reality based Celebrity Shows are the ones which show daily routine of celebrities or show celebrities in a certain environment with other celebrities performing task or tasks. These show some scripted, unscripted, kinky or unknown aspect of celebrities. Some routine based shows are Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Kathy Griffin: Life on the D List, The Anna Nicole Show, The Osbournes, Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica and Hogan Knows Best etc. Some of the Environment Confined shows are Celebrity Big Brother, The Simple Life, Tommy Lee Goes to College, The Surreal Life, and I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here!
Original Life Event Shows
Original Life Event Shows are the ones which show authentic real life events captured on tape by amateurs or professionals who happened to witness the events. The events shown are accidents, bad behaviour, disasters, daring rescues, escapes, stunts, police chases and other extraordinary events. Some of these shows specialise in only one category, like National Geographic’s ‘Caught in the Act’ show which showcases incidents involving animals. Some of the popular such shows are Caught on Camera, Maximum Exposure, World's Most Amazing Videos etc.
LITERATURE REVIEW
While research relating to reality television is relatively new, several studies have been conducted in relation to viewer characteristics, media effects, realism and gratifications.
• Reiss & Wiltz’s study utilized a questionnaire format and chose human service workers and college students as participants. Five specific reality shows were noted on the questionnaire and included Survivor, Big Brother, Temptation Island, The Mole, and The Real World. Researchers chose these five shows based on the “low level of morals found on the shows and the exploitation of the participants as well as their appeal to a viewer’s basic human quest for truth and need for genuineness.” (370)
• In the study conducted by Nabi, Biely, Morgan and Stitt, only Arizona residents who were awaiting jury duty participated in the study. And most recently, a study conducted in 2006 by Alice Hall addressed the audience’s understanding of the “nature, realism and gratifications” of reality show programs. (191) The study participants included college students at an urban Midwestern university, with an average age of twenty three. Here again, the participants chosen were limited. While the results of these studies are useful to further understand the nature of audiences, more diversity among participants could have produced results that may be applied more universally in the field.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
By identifying participants who consistently watched these programs, it was believed that various themes would arise out of this study for analysis and comparison. This study sought to identify and further explore these common themes.In order to locate these possible underlying themes among reality show viewers, a qualitative approach was taken utilizing in-depth personal interviews and questionnaire. Participants were asked questions broken down into three basic categories: (1) personal background information (including such demographics as age, employment status, etc), (2) reality show viewing habits, including a definition of reality programs and naming specific programs by title and (3) specific reasons for watching particular shows. By asking questions of this nature, respondents were able to describe in detail why they watched the programs.
The purpose of the above mentioned questions was to determine any potential themes found among participants. This method was chosen to gain further insight into what viewers think or feel when determining their program selections from the participant’s perspective.