ShmoopTube

00:01

We speak student!

00:05

Media Literacy

00:07

Reality Bites

00:09

a la Shmoop

00:12

The topic is reality TV

00:14

and we're talking here with Dr. Deb from Shmoop.

00:16

For the purposes of mass media,

00:19

let's start by defining what you mean

00:22

by "reality TV," because I think of

00:24

a presidential news conference

00:25

as the ultimate reality TV,

00:27

because people actually believe that it's real,

00:28

it's not staged, it's whatever.

00:30

Or they just don't care.

00:32

But what is it?

00:33

And how is it constructed?

00:35

Yeah, I mean reality TV is TV that documents

00:38

non-celebrities doing everyday things.

00:46

Everything from game shows to Real Housewives

00:50

to Survivor to a presidential debate.

00:55

So you have this whole smorgasbord

00:58

of emotions that producers slice and dice for us.

01:01

How is reality TV constructed?

01:05

Yeah, one specific example that I think of is in The Bachelor.

01:11

There was one contestant, Emily,

01:13

who ended up then going on to be the bachelorette,

01:15

because no one ever finds love on The Bachelor.

01:18

Her husband, or her fiance, before she had come on the show

01:21

had died in a race car accident.

01:23

And we all knew this sob story from her.

01:25

This was a big part of her personality on the show.

01:27

They brought her on a group date that took place at a racetrack.

01:33

Like, come on.

01:34

They knew and they -- And the viewers are just like,

01:37

"Oh, my gosh. How could they do that?"

01:40

And we know that they did that intentionally

01:42

but we still are like,

01:43

"Oh, how is she gonna react?"

01:45

And it's terrible. It's like her real life.

01:47

Her fiance actually died at this racetrack.

01:49

And it's terrible, but...

01:52

The producers know what they're doing

01:53

is all I'm saying.

01:54

But then, even once they've done that and they get their footage,

01:58

they then do more construction.

02:02

Because the editors make it look like things happened that didn't happen.

02:06

You can cut to me being like, [ gasp ].

02:08

And then now the editors are gonna make it

02:10

so it's as if you said something terrible.

02:13

[ rewinding sounds ]

02:17

[ gasp ]

02:19

And so there's the construction that's done

02:21

before anything's taped on reality TV, and then

02:24

the construction that is done afterwards, as well.

02:26

Got it. Makes sense.

02:28

[ whoop ]

02:29

What is reality TV?

02:32

How is reality TV constructed?

02:36

[ gasp ]

Full Transcript