A Thought on Reality Shows
We either watch reality shows or hate them, without thinking too much why. They are often described as “guilty pleasures”, and nowadays, there is enough variety to satisfy every taste or special interest. But why do reality shows like Big Brother exist?
TV programs portraying ordinary people in unexpected situations first aired in 1984, and Candid Camera is often seen as a prototype of the reality show we know today. However, the genre exploded as a phenomenon in the late 1990s and 2000s with the worldwide success of series such as Survivor, Idol and Big Brother.
From the producer’s perspective, reality shows are cheap to produce, profitable and therefore, the way to go.
“My loyalty is to the shareholders,” said Paolo Vasile CEO of Telecinco (Spanish private TV channel) at the Hay Festival. “Reality shows are the only autonomous form of communication Spain has, as everything else is imported,” he added.
As a fact, a way reality shows like Big Brother can be profitable is thanks to product placement: music that becomes famous later, food or clothes the contestants wear and basically any other commodities that are shown.
Graph – Audiences for GH VIP (Big Brother VIP)
Why do we enjoy them?
Researchers’ opinion is that the show’s appeal is mainly made of fictional drama driven by empathy, while others claim that viewers are driven by a voyeuristic desire to see the backstage views of life situations.
“It’s a chance to see what they cannot otherwise see,” said Lemi Baruh, Turkish psychologist.
Another reason why scholars think these programs are popular is that they make audiences able to compare themselves with the contestants, who are involved in situations that the viewers may wish they could be in, or not. Social comparison involves finding out how to gauge our own abilities, personality and emotions.
Fortunately, the escapism that TV provides, whether in real or fictional variety, is free. This is an important factor considering the demographics of people who watch these programmes.
Graph - Viewers of first Big Brother and Big Brother 2017
About legitimacy
The Big Brother series in Spain started with the slogan “Welcome to live life.” But Big Brother is not a mirror where society is reflected but more of a refraction of society, or as scholars describe it, ‘fictional reality’.
“The real Big Brother was the first one, when nobody knew what was happening to them,” confessed Paolo Vasile, “now it has lost naturalness because of the strategies between contestants,” he added.
Is Big Brother legitimate?
The rules of the game don’t prohibit participants to simulate, pretend or lie. This is a way to see another type of social behaviour.
Audiences affect the participants’ journey in the program. As an example, on one of Big Brother VIP last programs, they showed the contestants tweets and votes from the audience deciding who should get out of the house. With the live connection, they were also able to see their reactions.
What happens inside the house is real, but what is seen on TV is a selection made by the production team. They make an interpretation of reality whose main criteria is “newsworthiness.”
Or is it not…?
“We only take people who can be juicy for the program,” said Roberto Oliveros, Big Brother worker in an interview to Spanish newspaper El Mundo.
In the beginning, participants did not know the repercussion they had. Now, contestants learned to anticipate tests and games, control their way of acting and respond to the audience. Contestants also have a “fine” for voluntary abandonment of around 12,000€, and some of them do not leave the program because they just cannot afford it.
Besides, the rules of the game limit the actions of the contestants, as the main goal is to remain in the house as long as possible to win the 100,000€ cash prize.
Has anyone thought about the contestants? What do they get out of these programs?
Apart from the cash prize, in editions like Big Brother VIP, a Spanish celebrity like Chabelita can earn between 20.000€ and 27.000€, others go from 3.000€ to 15.000€. Some of them managed to make of the program their way of life by participating in talk shows or in club events (e.g. Big Brother contestant Suso went to Supervivientes, Mujeres Hombres y Viceversa, works in Sálvame and is now on Big Brother VIP).
In the psychological sense, it is considered that people who lock themselves in the house for months tend to desire that their lives take a radical turn. However, they also risk part of their future and how they will be perceived when they leave.
“Innocent of me, I thought it could be a gateway for possibilities as an actress, but on the contrary, it is a huge handicap, a label forever,” Fayna Betancourt, Big Brother contestant, said on a TV interview.
“When I go to an interview, they focus on Big Brother and they do not give me any other chance,” another Big Brother contestant, Marina Diez, said.
It definitely can be a psychological challenge for the participants, as they say, “the house intensifies everything and it changes the way you are.”
Looking back at this data, reality shows are profitable and engaging due to their voyeuristic nature. They change people’s lives, those who watch them and those who work for them. Therefore, they might have become a basic pillar of our evolving society. With new technology, this format might change and even let us be part of it through virtual reality, but its essence would remain the same. So, is it time for us to care more about what programmes and content are aired or should we leave this for the next generation?
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