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By Robert Reid

This essay discusses the appeal oI reality TV using the Cultivation Analysis Theory and
Cognitive Dissonance Theory to explain why humans are attracted to this genre oI television.
Big Brother, Australian Idol, and so you think you can dance are used as examples oI realty
game shows that are popular and widely watched by people around the world. The idea oI
human interest is discussed to portray why realty TV has been so successIul, explaining that
realty TV shows appeal to the common` person because they are made interesting to people
that don`t have to be intellectuals. The interaction between the consumer and the program is
discussed and portrayed as a reason why people are attracted to reality TV because oI the
interaction they have with the shows.

Reality television has become one oI the biggest revenue makers Ior television channels and
is one oI the most popular genres oI media provided by television, with pay TV now having
niche channels just Ior reality TV. One oI the biggest reality TV shows to hit the world in
recent years has been Big Brother, with this year in 2008 Australia having it`s 8
th
season and
other countries clocking up to 16 series. People love reality TV so much because they can see
themselves in the people on their TV screens and can relate to them or their situation. Reality
TV includes shows such as Big Brother, through to more Iictional shows such as Law and
Order, any show that is based on reality can be deemed a reality TV` show.

People watch TV to experience things that they cannot or haven`t experienced in their lives,
TV creates a link Ior them to what they would like to experience. Shows like Law and Order
capture our imagination and we like to think that that is the way police oIIicers are and shows
like this convince us that crime rates are higher then they are, because we see it all the time on
TV. As described in the Cultivation Analysis Theory, people watch TV like a religion and this
aIIects their lives, 'most oI what we know, or think we know, we have never personally
experienced. We know` these things because oI the stories we see and hear in the media.
(West, Turner 2007, pp 407) The Lindy Chamberlain case in Australia is a prime example oI
people thinking they know something because they saw it in the media. The Australian public
were convinced oI Lindy Chamberlains guilt because the media portrayed her in a bad light,
and only showed Iootage depicting that she was guilty. As a consequence the jury Iound her
guilty, and she was sentenced to gaol time. Later it was Iound by an inquiry that she was not
guilty and yet everyone believed she was guilty because oI what they saw on TV.

In recent years, reality TV speciIically reality game shows such as Big Brother have increased
dramatically in the number oI diIIerent reality shows there are and the amount oI screen time
they occupy. In Britain there are '30 reality programs during peak time every week night on
the core terrestrial and digital channels (Hill, Weibull, Nilsson, 2007) This is a reIlection on
the TV that the consumers want to watch, these reality TV shows have come to great acclaim
by the public and are in high demand, not only in Britain, but around the world.

The growth oI TV shows such as Big Brother or the Australian and other Idols can be
accredited to the want by the public Ior seeing ordinary` people on TV. Ordinary` people
being on TV means that the consumer can relate to the program directly because the people
they are watching are not Iamous and are not acting on the show, they are being themselves
and the public Ieel they can interact with these people because they are seeing them as
ordinary` people. 'Reality TV is oI course a construction, what has become signiIicant is the
way these Iormats have exploited the reality eIIect oI television`s liveness`; that is, the Iore
grounded liveness enhances the illusion that what is being watched is real or genuine, thus
challenging the competing suspicion that it is only being staged and produced Ior the camera.
(Turner, 2006 pp 155) People like to watch live` and real` things happening on screen so
they can connect with the TV and the people on screen, they Ieel the get to know the people
on screen and then have a voting process to vote people oII the show that they don`t like.
People Ieel they are a part oI the show when they Ieel they are inIluencing what happens, and
they are able to control` what happens in the show by evicting the people they think they
have got to know by watching and have decided they don`t like.

'A popular literature oI true stories, by making the local and the remote world human, may be
a substitute on an extended scale Ior those intimate encounters oI direct perception which are
the basis oI any understanding men have oI each other (Hughes, 1936) Though this is an old
theory it still holds relevance in today`s society and can help us to understand what the appeal
oI reality TV is. Hughes talks oI true stories making our local and remote world human`,
when considering reality TV game shows and other reality TV Iormats, they are attempting to
make the Iake` world that is television more real` to the consumer, so that the typical person
sitting at home on their couch can interact with the people that are on screen and can Ieel
more connected to them. This idea oI connecting with the consumer can be dated back as Iar
as the early 1900`s with the idea oI the human interest` story in journalism. 'By human
interest, we reIer to media stories that Iocus on the predicaments and circumstance oI
particular, but previously unknown, individuals in which the events are presented as irrelevant
to public policy. (Fine, White, 2002) This idea oI human interest` has been adapted Irom the
news genre to the entertainment genre, and can help to explain why reality TV is so poplar, it
is because the producers oI these shows create human interest`. There is no advantage to
watching these programs Ior political or educational enlightenment; they are predominantly
just interesting to the common person.

The cognitive dissonance theory outlines that people will in the most part only engage with
people or things that agree with their views and people try to avoid dissonance. 'In their
eIIorts to avoid Ieelings oI dissonance, people will ignore views that oppose their own,
change their belieIs to match their actions (or vice versa), and/or seek reassurances aIter
making diIIicult decision. (West, Turner, 2007 pp 133) Reality game shows and other reality
TV programs provide a medium oI television that is most likely not going to portray views
that people disagree with, as they are generally shows only based on human interest` and
commonly try to avoid making political statements. This thereIore creates a cognitive appeal
to reality TV because the Iormat oI reality TV is trying to relate to people without creating a
dissonance Ior them. Big Brother is the biggest reality TV game show in the genre, and the
election` to keep the contestants on the show has been compared to political elections. 'Big
Brother is easy to understand and speak about; manages to attract young people who are most
likely to Ieel excluded Irom political participation; appeals unashamedly to pleasure rather
then obligation or selI-interest; and entails direct relationship between viewing, voting and
visible consequences. (Coleman, 2006 pp 457) Saying that Big Brother is easy to relate to Ior
the consumer and is designed to appeal to the public, even iI major issues are not addressed in
the show. It still manages to capture millions oI people around the world. 'In Short, Big
Brother, although substantially incomparable to a general election, is characterized by the
very qualities that political participation lacks. Big Brother, in this sense, represents another
side oI democracy; a counterIactual democratic process in which conspicuous absences in
contemporary political culture are played out. (Coleman, 2006 pp 457) Big Brother along
with other reality TV shows creates an appeal Ior its consumer that does not create a
dissonance Ior them like a political election, or news and current aIIairs shows do and allows
Ior the consumer still to interact with it.

Through the theories oI Cultivation Analysis and Cognitive Dissonance it can be seen why
people are so attracted to the reality TV genre. Many people tune into realty TV shows daily,
across the world to see what happens to their Iavorite contestant on their Iavorite reality TV
game show. Did Saxon and Bridgette hook up? Did David get evicted Irom the Big Brother
house? Everyone is gripped by the experience oI watching these shows and they Ieel they are
connected to the show and the contestants. They get to know the contestants over the time
they are participating on the show and the consumers views are more then likely not
challenged by the show, they can sit and watch and not worry about political agendas or
whether their Liberal or Labor views are going to be challenged by the shows. Especially
shows such as Australian Idol`, or So you think you can dance` because these reality shows
are aimed at gaining human interest`. The idea oI the show is to create a human interest` that
the majority oI the population can relate with. People who can`t sing or dance can still watch
Australian Idol` or So you think you can dance` and it interests them to watch the people
that can sing and/or dance try and win these competitions and gain the experience oI what is
happening on screen by supporting their Iavorite contestant. However they have never
experienced what is going on; they Ieel they have experienced it by watching on as the people
on the screen complete tasks. This is why reality TV appeals to the world, and has become
such a successIul medium oI television over recent years and will continue to be one oI the
most watched mediums oI television.






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