Page 197 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

CHAPTER 7

grams (The Apprentice, Survivor, Big Brother, and Queer Eye for the
Straight Guy) was chosen based on popularity. Three of the programs (The
Apprentice, Survivor, and Big Brother) had competition-based themes,
and the fourth (Queer Eye for the Straight Guy) was a makeover program.
Contract-renewal (i.e., program renewed for more than one season) and
press coverage of the public appeal of the programs are the criteria for
popularity. The programs were monitored for the use and frequency of
production techniques, including video and editing techniques, music,
audio manipulation, and single-camera confessionals. A further study
of these techniques would reveal their effects on television viewers and
determine if a correlation between production techniques and popular-
ity exists.

Literature Review

Though reality television is not quite a new phenomenon, with its of-
ficial introduction in 1973 with the Public Broadcasting System (PBS)
documentary television series An American Family, the emergence of
digital technology has increased the frequency with which these programs
emerge on prime-time television.
The new format for reality television combines documentary with
game show and soap opera, inspiring such names as “docu-soap” and
“non-fiction drama.” The popularity of reality TV draws on the current
tendency of news reports to be presented as entertainment, like that of the
O.J. Simpson police chase in 1994 or the Clinton intern scandal in 1998.
With technological advances and the Internet, the global population has
unprecedented access to information. According to June Deery, reality
TV, as a genre, offers a special access to reality, “making it possible for
the audience to view the public and private activities of real people.” 18
Many viewers find it easy to identify with the cast members of these
programs because they are not professional actors. However, according
to Mary Beth Haralovich and Michael W. Trosset, although the situa-
tions in which the cast members may find themselves are prearranged by
producers, the relationships that form and the actions of the cast are by
19
and large unscripted. One of the draws of reality programming is the
manipulation of the beloved cast as entertainment, such as the predica-
ments of cast members on Survivor or Fear Factor, where contestants
are required to perform incredible stunts or eat bugs and animal parts.
Couples are encouraged to cheat on one another with other singles on

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