What is the appeal of reality TV?

Question

With the launch of the eighth Big Brother series, we ask: what is it about reality TV that has such massive appeal?

For more information on the show visit our site: http://uk.tv.yahoo.com/big-brother/index.html

Answer 1

None at all. Watching people make fools of themselves is not entertainment. Jade Goody has no talent at all. The word 'nobody' was invented for her and people like her.

Answer 2

I'm afraid that shows such as this appeal to the baser instincts in people...sorry if it offends anyone. There are lots of "be nasty to someone" type shows, for example, I love quiz shows, but what is the appeal of "The weakest link" ? Love to see dancing..yes. Strictly come dancing? The nastier some of the judges are, the higher the ratings go. I am quite sure that other answerers can name a dozen shows that involve humiliation, sending off, harsh criticism etc etc...sign of the times.
Also, sex rears it's head these days in a very public way. I suspect though that even these things can be overdone, and people always want more and more explicit. Don't be surprised if some are getting a bit sick of such shows.

Answer 3

Seeing things out of the ordinary!! real people do things sometimes that are not rehearsed and you get a really good insight into lots of different personalities. I think Big Brother is fab and most of the other reality shows. Even I am a celeb in the jungle is great because the celebs go through so much they end up revealing a lot about themselves. I have no desire to appear in a reality TV show but I think they are hilarious to watch xx

Answer 4

Unfortunately, I feel that the main attraction is not actually catered for on these shows. I believe reality TV is about real people doing real things. The entertainment in this springs from the fact that everyone wants to feel 'normal'. So they tune in to watch what normal people are like, and compare themselves to them. Plus there is a feeling of empathy for the contestants, they almost become your friends. This is purely psychological, you're not aware of it, so you think it's just entertainment.

Why have I said that it doesn't cater for it's own purpose?
On the whole, and especially Big Brother, reality shows are increasingly selecting people who 'stand out' to take part. They can range from the slightly quirky to the almost insane, from the supermodel wannabes to the pitifully inept. These people do not actually represent the general population, they are only popular for the 'freak show effect', when people are glued to the TV, just to see what these morons are gonna say or do next.

I'm not against Big Brother, I actually quite enjoy watching it myself, but I have to say that it is getting worse in this way. My favorite winner so far has been Cameron. He was a real person, an average guy, and he won through being an average 'good guy'. In fact, series 4 in general was a good one, with no housemate being in any way freak show material. Some would argue that Jon was, but then again, I'm a bit of a science geek myself. I could relate to Jon, and I'm no freak.

I don't really watch any other reality shows, cos they're all really just rip-offs of BB, with a different setup.

Answer 5

ty to someone" type shows, for example, I love quiz shows, but what is the appeal of "The weakest link" ? Love to see dancing..yes. Strictly come dancing? The nastier some of the judges are, the higher the ratings go. I am quite sure that other answerers can name a dozen shows that involve humiliation, sending off, harsh criticism etc etc...sign of the times.
Also, sex rears it's head these days in a very public way. I suspect though that even these things can be overdone, and people always want

Answer 6

It's the intrigue of throwing together a large group of people of all different ages, gender's, races, backgrounds and opinions and seeing what happens. It's not everyday you would put a 50 something year old political activist in the same room as an aspiring young model who couldn't point to Britain on a map.

But I think what it also does is to stimulate conversation in the outside world on topics that have previously been 'swept under the carpet'. Look at celeb BB this year. We all know that racism still exists and bullying goes on, but we don't like to talk about it. Suddenly you have the CBB incident and the whole country gets engaged. I think this is one of the more positive things to come out of the show - getting people to talk about taboo's that we haven't always liked to mention.

But then again, sometimes there's just nothing to watch on BBC or ITV.....

Answer 7

Reality tv such as big brother is a load of crap! and do not particularly want to watch **** holes showing off, these so called people are a waste of space - decent people like myself do not suffer fools!

People who do enjoy this rubbish are very pathetic and sad indeed-if everyone switched the channel to something half decent - you would not make this crap in the first place!

Answer 8

I do like some Reality TV, but few in comparison to the number that are on.

My Favorite is Amazing race, and survivor is OK. The Runway show, So you think you can dance and The auditions of American Idol. Most others are much to annoying.

I like to see how people act under pressure, how capable and creative they are. The Psychology is very interesting.
Class always shows on these shows.

Answer 9

I think reality TV is within a category among other things such as celebrity gossip & magazineswhich are marketed towards a researched portion of the population in order to divert peoples attention away from what are more important. keeping one's level of knowledge at a minimum. Brainwashed into not waking up to smell the coffee...

Answer 10

The reason people like reality tv is because it makes them feel better about THEMSELVES. Seeing someone else really screw up ON TELEVISION means the viewer can think "omg! I would NEVER do that on tv... so I must be a much better person than THAT person". AND, the reason they WANT to be on reality tv? Either they are a wanna be actor, OR, they think that they can show how much better they are than OTHER REALITY CONTESTANTS. What they don't realize is that reality shows are cut for DRAMA! Which means even if a contestant IS a good, nice person, they will be shown on the air at their worst moments..... Which is exactly what viewers want to see so they can feel better about themselves. It's a vicious cycle.

Answer 11

I think there are several reasons:

1. Big Brother is on every day and therefore becomes habit-forming and addictive.

2. people are fundamentally interested in other people - how they relate to themselves and each other, their motivations etc. It can be fascinating to watch others.

3. People are interested in the mundane - thats why soaps are so popular - they are real life soaps, they are not too taxing on the brain and you can get engaged in the "characters" and get wrapped up in their story just like a soap.

4. TV companies are pushing the reality format onto us - they know they can save money by showcasing a lot of ordinary Joes, rather than spend money developing good programmes with writers and actors they have to pay good money for. And we lap it up because of the reasons above. Because of the viewing figures they also get to make good money out of sponsorship/syndication etc.

The same goes for these "competition" shows like X factor etc. - they save money by pushing a load of mediocre singers/wannabees at us rather than pay for professional singers to entertain us instead.

Plus of course they make money too by getting us to vote for which one is the least mediocre. Why do you think most of these people's fame doesn't last? Becuase they aren't that great - they get their 15 mins of fame while the TV companies make a mint while they are in the public eye. Seems the public are the ones that lose out.

I am really curious to know how much TV companies are making/saving out of all these reality shows.

Thats all I can think of for now. .