Personal conflicts, dramatic music and large reactions.
These are factors present in many of the popular reality TV dramas today.
Especially with the plethora of streaming platforms available, the large following of reality television is unmistakable.
The concept of reality TV is pretty simple: provide viewers with unscripted content from real people. Yet, even this basic concept has a sinister side to it. Reality television would have never become this popular if it wasn’t reliant on exploiting its contestants to achieve the drama the audience is looking for.
As an avid reality TV fan, Junior Brie Howell has recognized the exploitation of reality TV. “Without that [dramatic] environment I’m not sure viewers would continue to watch. The reason I watch is so that I can have a dedicated time to laugh and enjoy with friends and family, but if it didn’t interest us, we would pick another show,” she said.
It’s expected and understandable that people want to watch things that are new and exciting. However, that doesn’t justify innocent contestants being used as pawns for the entertainment of the viewers.
Take the widely popular show “The Bachelor.” The premise of the show is fairly innocent: a bachelor picks his future wife from a pool of eligible women. But if the show was truly this wholesome, it would have never reached the extremes it did.
The producers are constantly creating a jealous and toxic atmosphere on the show, pitting people against each other, and dehumanizing the contestants into possessive and one-dimensional characters.
Howell continued, “I watch the show so I can be entertained, so without the drama, I wouldn’t watch it. Any extreme emotion is entertaining because you don’t see it coming. It keeps you on the edge of your seat.” But being entertained by someone else’s toxic and hostile reality isn’t something that should be as widespread as it is.
“The Bachelor” isn’t the only perpetrator, though. Recently, Nathan Fielder —most commonly known from his show “Nathan For You”—released a show on HBO Max titled “The Rehearsal.”
In this show, Fielder claims to help his contestants rehearse a confession or experience—down to their words and actions.
Yet the way he goes about helping these people is jarring and even disturbing to some.
Fielder manipulates the people and places on the show, creating a spectacle out of his unaware contestants. The absurdity of his methods is what garnered the show’s large following, making it as popular as it is.
Junior Alene Keppy is largely against Fielder’s ways. “I would not be okay with that [Fielder’s methods on the show]. I would not want to put my physical and mental health in the hands of someone I don’t know,” Keppy stated.
Reality television may be enjoyable from afar, but behind the screen lies an industry notorious for its exploitation.
