The Real, the Bad, and the Ugly by Cassie Heidecker is an interesting example of analyzing the reality TV epidemic and in addition to the people that view it. The author starts out by listing things that go into a reality TV production and things that happen in real life in order to state that these are two different things despite the idea that reality TV is supposed to be “real”. The mundanity of real life is emphasised here vs. the idea that reality TV is scripted and has a lot of extra work put into it to make reality TV more appealing to a broader audience. The author goes on to say that real life is boring which I thought was funny and a little ironic considering that later the author mentions that she is somebody who sets aside time
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Cassie states that the concept of reality is defined by the qualities it lacks more than having any other defining characteristic. The author reinforces this statement by citing by the definition of the word in the dictionary. Reality TV could happen to anyone. The fact that the people on reality TV shows have not been prepared to be on TV is what makes it real. This makes it easier for the audience to project themselves onto the contestants of the show. The people who end up on reality TV shows do not have any one defining characteristic. The shows do not discriminate. It is an equal opportunity …show more content…
I have honestly never seen the concept expanded upon to this degree although I never really understood the intent of this writing.I did, however find it entertaining. It was never made clear to me why she was trying to hard sell reality TV in such a fashion. I never had a problem with reality TV other than the fact that some people I know try to emulate the way people act on those shows. Maybe I am overthinking this. It is a slippery slope however; one day a person might be enjoying an episode of The Bachelorette and the next he might not even remember his own name. One could lose himself and end up in a cold dark room with the blinds closed avoiding phone calls from colleagues. “One more episode” he tells himself. Though he knows, deep down, that is not the case. His habit has turned into a lifestyle. He winds up living his days from vote to vote, elimination to elimination, never knowing how life could have turned out if he had just said
Cassie states that the concept of reality is defined by the qualities it lacks more than having any other defining characteristic. The author reinforces this statement by citing by the definition of the word in the dictionary. Reality TV could happen to anyone. The fact that the people on reality TV shows have not been prepared to be on TV is what makes it real. This makes it easier for the audience to project themselves onto the contestants of the show. The people who end up on reality TV shows do not have any one defining characteristic. The shows do not discriminate. It is an equal opportunity …show more content…
I have honestly never seen the concept expanded upon to this degree although I never really understood the intent of this writing.I did, however find it entertaining. It was never made clear to me why she was trying to hard sell reality TV in such a fashion. I never had a problem with reality TV other than the fact that some people I know try to emulate the way people act on those shows. Maybe I am overthinking this. It is a slippery slope however; one day a person might be enjoying an episode of The Bachelorette and the next he might not even remember his own name. One could lose himself and end up in a cold dark room with the blinds closed avoiding phone calls from colleagues. “One more episode” he tells himself. Though he knows, deep down, that is not the case. His habit has turned into a lifestyle. He winds up living his days from vote to vote, elimination to elimination, never knowing how life could have turned out if he had just said