Enough with the fake "reality show"

Daphne Wong

There are countless reality shows in the world which are marketed as depicting the real emotions of you and me. For example, and that aims to capture the fear and bravery of normal citizens. Some even pushes the limit, such as , where couples are separated and set up to flirtings with other participants of opposite sex. The hottest genre of reality show in this decade must be competitions --- be it singing contest or modeling competition, the ultimate goal of producers are basically showing the participants' human side. They prefer cryings, arguings and confession. The more noises it can arouse among the audience, the more valuable the participant is to the TV Station, and hence, the bigger chance they can stay in the show.

THE UPRISE
The uprise of Reality Shows can be attributed to the audience's growing discontent with the "educational" TV shows that do nothing but create an unreal harmonious picture of the society. It was a brand new ideas for most people and the citizens starring at the show were able to demonstrate the normal lives of most people. It was the genuinity that draws many back to the TV again.

However, as the number of reality shows rocketed, the theme and contents of reality shows reach the bottleneck. Audience would be bored because afterall, the "citizen" participants are not professional in entertaining audience. The producers therefore have to create some entertaining elements into the show, including arguments and emotional scenes. Thus, the fake reality shows resulted.

FAKE REALITY SHOW
Sometimes, the entertaining elements become the "selling points" of the show and even dominated most of the time. In "America's Next Top Model", the 1st episode (screening) must be about how the girls talk about each other in a mean way or how the judges laugh at the ugliness or awkwardness of the girls. Provided that US is a multicultural and multiethnical country, the girls with different ethnic origins must discriminate against each other and have serious arguments. Those are the spicings to the "boring" (to some) first round interviews. Basically, the perfect formula of good audience rating would be: Bitching + Lesbian crush + Discrimination (against background or ethnicity or sex orientation or personal habits) + Quarrels + Crying + Illnesses (the model contracted skin diseases, or passed away during photo shootings.) + Mental Breakdown.

HOW DO THEY CONNECT TO OUR LIVES?
The fake reality shows provide the chance for a "nobody" to become a star, in one hour.

As YOUTUBE, FACEBOOK and many BLOG SERVICE PROVIDERS are crowned as the most influential inventions that change the lives of millions on earth, the trend of publicizing personal private lives has grown even higher. Youngsters open their own radio station -- podcast and be the DJs, talking about personal affairs which not many would be interested. They express their emotions through their blogs, sometimes over-exaggerating the seriousness of ups and downs. They build their own blogging network so that whenever they visit the blogmates' page, they have to leave a footprint, which is important for "rating" and personal satisfaction. All these portals did not, in most cases, improve teenagers' thinking on social affairs nor writing, but rather encourage them to be individualistic and self-absorbed.

The aforesaid can be the background of the following argument, and the reality shows can also be the background for the individualism stated above. Anyway, the fake reality shows have satisfied the needs of this i-AGE to voice their ideas and perform themselves on TV. Imitating their predecessors, they want to have a character that people would remember, even if that means they have to be dramatic, outspoken and get themselves enemies. The one-hour programme is everything for the i-AGE to impress strangers. They want to be famous, get their online creation published and be popular. That is why the producers can still get people to willingly be the "actors" in reality shows.


WHAT HAPPENED IN HK?
In Hong Kong, the long singing contests organized and broadcasted by the two free TV channels have been the subject of discussion for many. "The Voice" of TVB was criticized for its arbitrary rating by inexperienced, unprofessional judges. In the first 5 episodes, TVB simply wanted to boost the audience rating. So many famous singers were invited to be the MC or even guest judge. The participants become casual and focuses on showing their "humour" instead of singing techniques after a few weeks. Those who were eliminated must cry in front of the camera as if some members of their family have died. The extremely unprofessional yet entertaining reality show was contrasted with ATV's production, "Asian Million Star".

In "Asian Million Star", the focus on singing techniques and performance skills has made the show extremely enlightening and educational for many. The progress and great achievements made by participants are also successful elements of the show. When any of the participants was eliminated, the sincerity of other particpants, MCs and also judges touched the audience. This genuinity was already rare in today's "reality show business".

CONCLUSION
Finally, the author would like to conclude by showing the two dramatic scenes in Britain and US, both from the "XX's got talent" franchise. As the Chinese saying goes, Audience, your eyes must be clear.

Britain's Got Talent: Susan Boyle


America's Got Talent: Donald Braswell