The Non-Reality of Reality TV…

OK, we know that reality TV sucks us into its non-realistic world at one point or another, and it leaves us with the question of how real is reality TV, if everything seems scripted and edited. Yes, I find myself getting caught up in the lives of others that have opted to have the cameras follow them, but then I become a bit baffled at how something that is clearly edited for the cameras, can be called reality, because the reality of reality is that it is happening for that moment, leaving no room for second chances, it typically, is what it is.

Seeing what happens to the reality celebrity after the stint of the show, clearly alerts us to the fact that, it was all made for television, and once the cameras were turned off - so were their alleged realistic lives. Let’s take VH1’s Flavor of Love for instance; a show that was to find love for former rapper, Flavor Flav, but while the show is going on, Flavor Flav apparently had a fiancé and a child on the way, but somehow he was able to keep us tuning in week after week to see women fighting over a man, that was realistically taken, but somehow, we were sold the fact that the show was a ‘reality.’

So, if your definition of reality is like that of mine, then what you would consider to be reality is the cameras rolling constantly, never taking a break, and never missing a thing - the good, the bad and the ugly. Something that is unscripted, un-staged, and is simply what it is, whether we the viewers like it or not, as we are the ones that have opted to join them in their ‘real worlds.’

Admittedly, it is fun watching others embarrass themselves for the cameras, which is what ‘reality TV’ seemingly does to those that have vied for the opportunity to appear in the reality TV show for whatever their reasons may be, showing them in a light that must be entertaining for those that are watching them week after week. There is nothing wrong with watching what has been dubbed as ‘reality TV’ as long as we remember that this may not really be their reality, but at best, it serves its purposes of entertaining those of us that need to take a break from our own daily realities of life, to travel into a world of others that have at least given us some much needed entertainment.