Reality TV is a popular genre in today’s world. Understanding the diverse thoughts on reality TV can be something so obvious, but can simultaneously have many hidden motives. Voyeurism, schadenfreude, cultivation theory, relational aggression, and intimacy entitlement are all thoughts that Jaffe discusses in his article Reality Check, and they can all be important in regards to understanding reality TV. Although there are so many miscellaneous and intellectual thoughts, I only want to pin point the importance of one. Schadenfreude is a vast factor when trying to understand reality TV but humiliation, authenticity, and gratification can also be dynamics that play a role in this understanding.
Schandenfreude is a German word which deciphers …show more content…
The genre Reality TV can be deceiving because reality TV now days isn’t exactly authentic. Reality TV is supposed to be a documentation of genuine occurrences and unscripted circumstances. This definition almost makes it sound more like a documentary, but the difference is that reality TV highlights the drama and conflicts that the family or individuals partakes in throughout the series—more than a typical documentary would. “In general, one of the negative things about television is that is gives a distorted image of what the rest of the world is like.” This was stated by APS Fellow and Charter Member Craig A. Anderson (212). After talking about Andersons and APS Fellow’s previous statement, Jaffe states that, “the show “Survivor” and “The Apprentice” each shoot for almost a month and a half, turning 1,000 hours of life into about 15 hours of programming” (213). This statement proves the reality of another one of Anderson’s testimonials: “TV changes the perception of what is normative.” (212). There is so much heavy editing, scripted occurrences, and illusive events being put in the script to make the show more humiliating and captivating to …show more content…
Kubey and Csikszentmihalyi talk about a study done in 1986 by Byron Reeves, Esther Thorson, and their colleagues. The study was to determine whether the simple formal features of television activate the orienting response, thereby keeping attention on the screen (183). The results of the study were announced as the following: “By watching how brain waves were affected by formal features, the researchers concluded that these stylistic tricks can indeed trigger involuntary responses and “derive their attentional value through the evolutionary significance of detecting movement. . . . It is the form, not the content, of television that is unique” (183). With this being said, the study shows that watching TV is a natural
Schandenfreude is a German word which deciphers …show more content…
The genre Reality TV can be deceiving because reality TV now days isn’t exactly authentic. Reality TV is supposed to be a documentation of genuine occurrences and unscripted circumstances. This definition almost makes it sound more like a documentary, but the difference is that reality TV highlights the drama and conflicts that the family or individuals partakes in throughout the series—more than a typical documentary would. “In general, one of the negative things about television is that is gives a distorted image of what the rest of the world is like.” This was stated by APS Fellow and Charter Member Craig A. Anderson (212). After talking about Andersons and APS Fellow’s previous statement, Jaffe states that, “the show “Survivor” and “The Apprentice” each shoot for almost a month and a half, turning 1,000 hours of life into about 15 hours of programming” (213). This statement proves the reality of another one of Anderson’s testimonials: “TV changes the perception of what is normative.” (212). There is so much heavy editing, scripted occurrences, and illusive events being put in the script to make the show more humiliating and captivating to …show more content…
Kubey and Csikszentmihalyi talk about a study done in 1986 by Byron Reeves, Esther Thorson, and their colleagues. The study was to determine whether the simple formal features of television activate the orienting response, thereby keeping attention on the screen (183). The results of the study were announced as the following: “By watching how brain waves were affected by formal features, the researchers concluded that these stylistic tricks can indeed trigger involuntary responses and “derive their attentional value through the evolutionary significance of detecting movement. . . . It is the form, not the content, of television that is unique” (183). With this being said, the study shows that watching TV is a natural