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Reality TV - is it a good thing?

The latest news from Cafestudy

Posted by: Caféstudy

11th Oct 2013 05:24pm


It seems Cafestudy members are split when it comes to reality shows such as The Biggest Loser, Big Brother and the X Factor. You either love them or you hate them!

Says BigGazza - “There is no ‘reality’ in reality TV. It is all manufactured rubbish and I refuse to watch any of it.”

When it comes to reality TV, many of you express strong views against it. The feeling is that it is not about reality anymore, but about creating drama through forced situations, for example, deliberately putting together clashing personalities. So really, according to some of you, it amounts to nothing more than a case of bad acting. The most unpopular reality show in this respect is Big Brother.

Some of you even describe reality shows as the exploitation of vulnerable people, and the show which causes the most controversy among you is the Biggest Loser. You either think it is a good thing, motivating those who are watching it to take action and lose weight....or awful. LiviaVenus describes it as “body shaming,” disliking the way it perpetuates the view that a person’s worth is tied up in their appearance. Jellybean51 says “who wants to watch a fit buff man telling a large woman to push the pain and see her dissolve into tears and throw up....I think this is awful.”

You highlight a difference between reality shows where contestants are on TV merely for the sake of being on TV, and reality shows where contestants actually do something. Suzukisue says “I prefer reality shows that are interesting and informative, where I could maybe learn something, e.g. Great Australian Bake Off or Masterchef etc”

You have more time for these shows, in which contestants actually need to have a talent, as well as those which can be informative – e.g. cooking and renovation shows. And not everyone hates reality TV – for many it is a guilty pleasure! According to one or two of you, it’s uncool to enjoy watching them......but you do anyway!

elysediamond
  • 27th Jan 2014 12:53pm

I do tend to watch reality television quite often, however I do much prefer reality television where it is a competition such as Masterchef, as things such as Geordie Shore, etc. seem a lot more staged and less realistic, making it harder to enjoy. This said, I think some shows such as Biggest Loser portray that this work your body to the limit, limit yourself to only salads, is the way to lose weight to it's audiences, however I think this is negative as it is not healthy to push yourself that far day after day, and instead they should be encouraging audiences to make subtle changes and better decisions in order to keep maintain a healthy lifestyle, instead of encouraging them to just keep losing weight.


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