A Different Perspective on Reality TV
I'll admit when I'm out of line, and I have noticed most of my opinion posts are about how reality TV is ruining American society. I wish I was exaggerating, but I really believe this is true.
Isabel Bart, 22, graduated Quinnipiac University as a media studies major in 2012. I trust her media instincts, and wanted her to give me a wake up call to the other side of reality TV.
Shannon: Hey! I have been interviewing people simple questions about television programming, and one of my questions is "what do you think is the worst show on TV today?" Every single one of them says reality TV. I want to hear the other side of people who watch reality TV. If you could say anything about reality TV programming to people unfamiliar with it, what would you say?
Isabel: I finally, and I mean FINALLY have confirmation that ALL THESE YEARS what I have assumed has been correct: Directly from THE CREATOR OF THE OC: I can tell you that Laguna Beach and The Real Housewives came — and I’ve been told this by the people who worked on those shows — because of The O.C.
Wow that makes sense now that I think about it. Why do you think that is?
Well I've said all along that those shows were spawned off The OC because Laguna Beach's original tag line was "the REAL OC.” And the Real Housewives of Orange County is self-explanatory. So these were semi-reality shows that were honing off a majorly popular nighttime soap, to show people how people who lived there ACTUALLY lived. Without The OC, Bravo and MTV reality shows would not be where they are today, if at all. Honestly those two shows made those empires, and it all started with The OC. I'm sure I'm not the only one who made that connection, but I've said it many times without clear confirmation.
That does make a lot of sense. For me the beginning of it started with CBS's Survivor, I think it started in 2000 or 2001. But that route of Reality TV was really the more competitive theme, not the "reality living" theme.
Right, right. I mean Survivor opened the door, and then American Idol really careened it into outer space, and then The OC had people create these “reality-docuseries.”
Yeah, definitely. This is funny to me, because I used to love Survivor, American Idol, The OC, Laguna Beach and all of those when it first started out. Now I can't stand a lot of the shows out now, and to me it started with The Hills, which again is ironic since I am a fan of Lauren Conrad and was a huge fan of Laguna Beach. But when it became known that producers were manipulating the situations and Lauren quit because it was not a real representation of her life, I started to lose faith in reality TV.
Yeah, i mean it was huge in its heyday, and then it went downhill when that came out, and the only thing that brought MTV back was the Jersey Shore.
What are your views on the Jersey Shore?
I mean, I remember watching the premiere with my sophomore roommates. It was over the top and ridiculous, but it was fun to watch, and it was the first show I watched that was geographically located near me, since it was before I got into the Housewives. The casting was perfect, and I think it was the first show that showed twenty-somethings really partying at clubs and stuff. MTV always had the Real World, but that was already dated by the time Jersey Shore came around.
Did you watch all seasons of the Jersey Shore?
No, only like the first 2.
Yeah me too. I stopped really when they got to Italy (Season 4). When did you start watching the Housewives?
Two summers ago. First New York, then Jersey, then Beverly Hills, and then just all of them. And then almost every other show on Bravo.
What do you like about the Real Housewives?
I have to say at first I judged my mom HARD CORE for watching the. But I started out with New York again because of the geography, and my aunt knows one of the housewives peripherally. Once you watch a few episodes, it's like watching the high school drama that goes on between your friends, but instead of being stuck in the middle of it, you're allowed to watch and comment without actually damaging personal relationships. You start referring to the people on the show on a first name basis because you're talking about their friends and family, which are personal things, but you don't actually know them, but you feel like you do.
Do you also watch some original scripted programming?
Oh yeah, Mad Men, New Girl, Downton Abbey.
What would you say to recommend people to watch The Real Housewives?
I would probably say that while I know it isn't the most intellectual show on television (or at all, really) it's a pretty interesting sociological look into people's lives, and if you're looking for some fluff to watch then it's definitely good for that. Everyone has an opinion on the topics these women face, so it's appealing to most people.
I also just got into a Disney Channel show, don’t judge. It’s awful but wonderful.
That’s really interesting you say that because I wrote a piece about the Disney Channel recently and how it is so different from when we were kids. How is it awful but wonderful?
I was just saying it's awful because I’m watching a show targeted at like 7 - 12 year olds and I’m 22 but it's wonderful because I’m invested in a couple on the show. They do have pretty clever writing on those shows. I mean they know kids AND parents watch them so they have to make it not dumbed down.
So how do you watch your TV shows? On TV real time, DVR or the Internet? And how often per week do you watch TV from an actual TV set?
I usually watch TV from an actual TV set except for if I have a conflict, then I usually watch the show I missed later in the week online. Summer is pretty light, so right now I watch in front of a TV Sunday and Monday nights, like one show on Tuesday, and then a show online Wednesday or Thursday. Although on Sundays and Mondays we sometimes DVR so we can watch a little later and skip through the commercials.
