Real Reality Vs. Faux Reality

Educational television channels such as The Science Channel and The History Channel have shows such as "The Deadliest Catch" and "Ice Road Truckers" which illustrate and provide insight to real people doing hard and dangerous jobs. This is not to be confused with an ABC program such as "Dancing With The Stars" which is rehearsed, scripted, produced, and even sometimes prerecorded before the actual "live" recording.

Before Phil Harris (RIP) died earlier this year from a stroke, every time watching his show you would know this is realistic and not planned because it takes place in nature. There are crabs the size of someone's head!! In huge nets, in 50mph winds rainstorms.. Crabs everywhere so him and his team can provide us all with some crab meat! Also, on Ice Road Truckers you would think some of those men driving those trucks are lunatics for agreeing to go on those missions through Alaska, in legit CRAZY blizzards, to transport some supply for the oil industry up North near the Arctic Zone. They were driving on ice in huge trucks carrying pipes and stuff. That's dangerous and informative! All for a couple-thousand dollar paycheck. Come on, you cannot tell me that is not some real reality. Some people may say all reality TV is fake, but History and Science Channel promote authentic, credible content. How could any of that possibly be planned? Unless they were psychic...

If you know a show such as "Laguna Beach" (Sorry to all the Laguna Beach fans, but that shit was definitely planned out by Lauren)is somewhat planned out and rehearsed... that is fake reality. It may look like a real situation, but those girls talked on the phone about what they were gonna say on camera while Laguna was being filmed. Also, Super Nanny is NOT real reality!!! That is a just a plain stereotype of an ol' British nanny just like Mary Poppins. The woman on that show was hired.

Reality TV's Ability to Turn Contestants Into Celebrities

Every once in a blue moon, a renowned contestant on a reality series will break out from other contestants on the show and make a name for themselves. Yet, no matter how popular or successful they may become... They are also recognized for and linked back to the show which somehow made them famous. Here, I present a few cases.

Elizabeth Hasselbeck - After appearing on "Survivor: The Australian Outback" in 2001, Elizabeth became a popular co-host and enthusiast on The View during its 2002 season. Following Lisa Ling's departure in 2003, Elizabeth was asked by Barabara Walters herself to become one of the official hosts of the show and serve as the conservative, right wing nut at the table. Despite her many uninformed discussions and controversial opinions during "Hot Topics," you gotta give this woman credit for not only marrying a former professional football player, but becoming such a widely recognized villain on television even causing Rosie to quit early!

Lauren Conrad - I'm sure everyone can agree that MTV's "Laguna Beach" and "The Hills" are a bunch of boloney (Or however you spell it. Think "Oscar Meyers"). Although considered real-life situations in the early stages of promotion and advertising for Laguna, everyone eventually figured out those high school kids were being followed by camera men. Is that what happens in reality to you on a daily basis? Anyways, "Laguna Beach" followed with "The Hills," which documented the notorious LC leaving Laguna for the Hollywood Hills to attend fashion school in L.A. and work at Teen Vogue. Basically, she has her own fashion line now, cosmetic line, and brand that has carried her name for several years. You may despise her, but Conrad is fairly noticed by teens and adults around the country.

Adrianne Curry - After appearing on the 1st season of "America's Next Top Model," she pursued a modeling career and eventually broke away from Tyra's antics to appear on VH1's "The Surreal Life." On that show, she showed America her true craziness and even met her future-husband Christopher Knight AKA Peter Brady. Her and Chris got their own spinoff show on VH1 titled "My Fair Brady," which ultimately bombed in the ratings and no one watched. But hey, she managed to marry someone with $$ and a little bit of fame. Good for her!

There are many other examples I could go on about, including pretty much every American Idol winner (minus Taylor Hicks), but that would take forever. The fact of the matter is reality television every now and then has the ability to produce a celebrity of some degree. These characters portrayed in the media sometimes carry enough charisma and energy to represent for all the struggling, wannabe actors/singers/models/talent praying to make it big like Elizabeth.

Negative Stereotypes of Women on VH1

It's quite obvious that a number of reality shows, past and present, on VH1 have presented some of the most negative stereotypes of women on television. The producers definitely have a consistent formula in which they pick the most shameful, dramatized, and outlandish women to appear on some phony dating show. It's not only demeaning to women, but it portrays them as popular & wild party girls which can be misleading to young girls. We all know how girls often compete with one another to fit in. It's the scandalous representations of women on shows such as these in which people accept and adopt overtime.

WARNING
This post contains some offensive language, but only for the use of informing. It is not intended to attack or degrade women. If you don't enjoy reading such content, I would suggest not reading any further.
WARNING

As I watched all three seasons of both Flavor of Love (with Flaaaaavooorrr Flaaaaav!) and Rock of Love (with Bret Michaels from Poison) religiously on a weekly basis, I have pretty much broken down the classical stereotypical roles taken on by some of the relentless women on these shows. I will go over just a few which I find to be the most detrimental perceptions of women.

First we have the most awful, yet frequent stereotype of all. Let's get this one out of the way. The "Dumb Slut" is often the girl who's insecure, all over one of the nasty leading men of the show, and doesn't know her right from her left. Yes, this role is deplorable, but it's persistent and often discussed about on TV. Female contestants looking to get their big break on reality TV will confess of their numerous sexual experiences and, as odd as it seems, promote their stupidity.

Second is the "Gold Digger," who is the one who really has no physical attraction to the leading man and pretty much hates every person in the house. Her main and only objective is to somehow win and get some money out of the experience. This stereotype is represented of women all the time. You know. "Why go to college or work when I can just find a hot, wealthy businessman to take care of me?" It's a deceptive and distinctive trait viewed of many women. I know women are smarter than that and don't all think such delusional thoughts. Reality dating shows love to flaunt and draw attention to these inexcusable money-hungry women. By the way, not that my opinion matters... But money is just an object. It will not buy anyone happiness. It usually creates a lot more problems and misery. Just personal experience.

There's also the "Huge Bitch" who overpowers and tries to intimidate everyone. Come on, you see the banner of my blog. New York is the HBIC. The "Ugly Duckling" is the one who's sweeter, nicer, and more intelligent than every other girl competing; but gets eliminated within the first few episodes because her face isn't symmetrical or body's not proportionate. Basically, whatever the guy defines as "attractive." I don't have to explain anymore. You all know and realize that stereotypes of women on television are insensitive.

Jackass: 'Copycat' Behavior

Several seasons on the air and two hit movies, the popular MTV television show Jackass has undoubtedly attracted a generation of viewers young and old. Overtime the show has not only become a prominent media success, but infamous for its revered personalities and their crazy, foolish antics. Jackass' mass audience has clearly been influenced by some of the ridiculous stunts on the show, often attempting to mimic or recreate the actions of their favorite characters. Much of the targeted juvenile population that has grown up watching the hilarious program have come to view the "celebrity" type figures on it as role models. Essentially, these young Jackass viewers see Johnny Knoxville and Steve-o as fun, outgoing, likable individuals which ultimately causes this sort of copycat behavior. There have been a number of news stories and even YouTube videos depicting teenagers attempting to be like their perceived role models.

It seems as if even with the blatant "Don't Try This At Home" warning before the opening credits, the behaviors of Jackass' main audience are powered by the representation of coolness and confidence. The media produce this kind of activity that is known to be well-liked and admired among particularly young males. Yet, many of the outrageous stunts are continuously hyped up with the comedic result overshadowing the dangerousness of the actual exploits. Seeing others do outlandish things and inevitably hurt themselves in the process is seemingly fun to watch. In reality, this outward behavior would attract more negative attention than recognition.

Cast of Jersey Shore Asked to Delete Their Twitters Before Filming of Season 2

Recently, MTV has employed a number of new and altered tactics in order to keep the details of the popular hit "reality series" Jersey Shore under wraps. As a strategic move to keep the hype going for Season 2 this summer, MTV executives have forbidden the cast from using social media while in the production and post-production process. While social networking is considered by some networks as a great method of maintaining the viewers' interests during the airing of a show, MTV insists that Twitter updates will harm the success of the 2nd Season.

During American Idol, contestants are allowed to update their Facebooks and Twitter accounts to interact with their fan base. But, producers overlook all updates and statuses before being officially posted online. Once something is on the world wide web, it doesn't matter if it's on there for 30 seconds and then taken down... Someone (out of the billions of people who browse the web a day) will read it and spread the word.

Obviously though, Jersey Shore isn't in the same format as Idol which is usually aired live. Once the airing of American Idol is finished, the public already knows what has happened. Therefore, the use of social media is permitted to keep fans interacted and quenching for more. With Jersey Shore, the production process occurs over several months allowing only the cast and crew to know what has gone down. Prohibiting the use of Twitter is most likely a discrete line of attack to protect the "story" from being revealed. The less that is disclosed to the public, the better the odds are of Jersey Shore Season 2 becoming more discussed on Twitter than ever before.

"The Real Housewives of New York City" Season 3 - Highest Rated Finale in Series History

On June 3, Season 3 of "The Real Housewives of NYC" scored the highest-rated finale in the history of the series. It even beat out the finales of Atlanta and the notrious New Jersey season. Remember when that crazy Italian woman flipped the table at her own dinner party when Danielle called her out? CRAZINESS! 1.76 million adults within the 18-49 age category tuned in for the drama-filled season finale, with an estimated total of 2.64 million viewers altogether. That's a lot of Moms and young, aspiring housewives. Bravo's newest innovation, the "Talk Bubble," allowed fans to chat with one another and gossip about the final episode via Facebook, Twitter, and their mobile phones as the finale aired. The Talk Bubble, as stated online, receives a remarkable 1.89 million page hits a day. A "hit" is just another word for "views," made up by some computer geek somewhere. Bravo is corporately owned by it's parent company, NBC Universal Cable Entertainment. And of course the media conglomerate Universal Studios owns NBC.

The Talk Bubble is not only an excellent marketing device for attracting viewers, but a part of one of the newest crazes on television. The internet, especially blogging, has become the hottest trend right now in social networking. Hit reality shows such as "The Real Housewives" and many others are now able to obtain the public's opinions on what part of the shows their audiences love, hate, and could do without. The media advantageously promotes their cable networks' own Twitter and Facebook accounts as a scheme to advertise and endorse related products. Have you ever noticed Bravo and NBC often air commercials for films produced by Universal Studios? It's all in their master plan to gain media attention, such as this show becoming the highest-rated finale in Housewives history. This news, although not relevant to one's own life, is all over the internet. If you haven't read or heard somewhere about the reports surrounding this post, you're obviously living under a rock. The ability to simultaneously chat with other fans and viewers as your favorite show takes place has granted a show like this high recognition and publicity in the media.

Survivor... Edited in the Wilderness

As many see on television, Survivor depicts average people surviving in the wild and competing in eliminations to see who can last the longest. It may look like they are alone and no one is around to help them, yet is this what is actually happening? While they are generally interviewed all day long and do express "real" thoughts, the producers and editing team work their magic to make theses survivors seem as dramatic as possible. Several of the veteran survivors have revealed they were asked to discuss certain events and topics about the day. The editing team and the producer work together to edit only dramatic, entertaining scenes into the final cut, while the general public rarely sees what is going on behind the scenes. The filming crews and people standing nearby for aid clearly says that they are not truly survivors...

America's Next Top Model AKA Tyra's Time to Shine

So Season 14 of America's Next Top Model recently ended (Thank God!), and as reported the finale was the highest-rated program on the CW for its target audience of women ages 18-34 since last Fall's premiere of Season 13. HA! Does that even count... merely beating last season's ratings? Only 3.77 million people tuned in for the finale (Hey, it's more than last year) and many continue to wonder, such as myself, why this show still exists. I'll tell you why. Tyra absolutely LOVES taping the show over and over and over again... So she can go home to watch herself sport a new outfit/weave/gay friend at the judge's panel every episode. Listen, I am gay and I adore all my strong black women. Do not take anything I say seriously or assume it's out of prejudice. That's simply not my taste, nor style.

All I'm saying is the show is most likely still on the air because whatever Tyra says goes. If she tells the executives at CW that Top Model WILL go on strong, it is in their best interest to agree with her to green-light the show for another season. Do they really want the feisty, aggressive side of Tyra to come out? No. I don't think so. The matter of the fact is that Top Model is pretty much one of the few shows that the CW is recognized for. If these people want to continue making money and attracting viewers, I think they need to develop a newer, better show with an even more famous, more attractive celebrity. Cause you know Americans always give in to the sex appeal. Everyone's sick of Tyra's antics, including me. And I loved the first 3 seasons (Eva was my favorite), but I'm over this show continuing on far too long. The media has saturated us with enough Tyra. Unless she can come up with more innovative, fresh, appealing ideas for the 15th Season... Up and coming models will soon have to go back to the old ways of setting up a booking and hiring an agent to actually become famous/recognized.

Kate Gossellin Full of Herself

These days, it seems like Kate Gosselin will do anything and everything in her power to attract media and tabloid attention. Now that Jon is out of the picture, Kate has cleverly worked what is left of her "celebrity status" to continue paying the bills. TLC recently announced that a series of specials will air this summer titled "Kate Plus 8." Most likely, the show will be more chaotic and out of control than "Jon & Kate Plus 8" ever was. Now that Jon isn't around to watch, play with, feed, and take care of the kids' needs while Kate complains and moans about motherhood in the background; the show will probably capture Kate having some sort of a mental breakdown. Of course the show has gained popularity because of it's general message that parenting isn't easy, but with love and patience anyone can get through. It also helps having eight adorable children to captivate and attract viewers.


But wait, there's more Kate Gosselin to satisfy your hunger for the unstable mother of eight. In TLC's delusional world of "reality," the executives of the channel figured it'd be a great idea to debut a new show at the end of the Summer/early Fall tentatively titled "Twist of Kate." From what I have read, the show will deal with Kate stepping into the lives of several other Moms and observing the ways their families function. A statement from TLC declares that Kate will be "experiencing firsthand their (Moms of America) challenges and triumphs." Basically it's just another attempt by Kate to get out of the house and away from her children so she can have a pity-party for all the struggling mothers out there. It just works out perfectly to fill more homes with Kate Gosselin right around the time the "Kate Plus 8" series of specials, as TLC has described the hour-long episodes as, will be ending. Between the magazine tabloids, media headlines, talk show appearances, and multiple TV shows... How much more Kate Gosselin will consume our daily lives before Americans decide to stop giving in to these ridiculous temptations?

American Idol, Season 9 Finale

So I don't know if anyone watched the American Idol finale, but in my opinion it was a 2-hour long circus of ballads, duets, and of course constants farewells to Simon Cowell throughout the show (No need for crazy Paula to come out and say goodbye). Ryan Seacrest was talking so fast, and trying to introduce as many performances and guests as possible within the allotted time frame that it was very demanding and difficult to keep up. One cool part of the show was when all 8 American Idols sang together, up till Kris Allen came out. Personally, there is only one American Idol and her name is Kelly Clarkson. Carrie Underwood is a little too prissy for me and has that "over-achiever" attitude. Kelly's sold more records, but Carrie did make it huge in the country music scene. But come on, don't you think Kelly Clarkson's voice is very soothing to the ears and quite beautiful? I love her nurturing and genuine attitude about life and being famous. It was like a huge flashback of my high school and college years watching American Idol. The show has become such a huge phenomenon on television in the United States. When I saw Jordin Sparks, I got a little emotional remembering all those times me and my friends would call in to vote. Although, it seemed as if the Fox network was getting a little too aggressive with other channels to score high in the ratings.

HERE'S MY REVIEW

The finale was very unorganized, too flashy, and fast-paced. Yet, it has remained as one of the most popular shows on television in the last 9 years. There were so many acts and celebrity friends of Ryan Seacrest that were presented on stage; it didn't have much to do with the two finalists and the winner at all. Honestly, I swear I watched the ending when Ryan announced the winner, but I can't remember his name. I know it was a guy who won and definitely not that girl with the dreads and vampire teeth. I think the show was originally better when it had less attractions and commotion all over the place. They have added so many segments and montages to the show over the years that it seems to me like Idol may get a cancellation from Fox in the near future.

What do you think about American Idol's representation of one's dreams to "Become a star?" Do you think the American media, such as a show like American Idol, influences our perceptions and impressions of reality?