When one normally thinks of reality TV, he or she will imagine a concept or idea constructed by producers meshed into some sort of theme or recurring situation. In the end, they think of some whacked situation which they can somehow turn into a lucrative TV program. There are many levels of "real" situations within the "Reality TV" genre.
I would consider the show "Cops" the most legitimate and concrete version of reality. When the show was created at the beginning of the 1990s, it was just cameramen following cops in various regions of the country performing their everyday duties. There would always be some crazy, unimaginable situations from episode to episode which ultimately made for good TV. Producers did come up with the concept and decide to put it on camera, but most of the show was pretty much as real as you can get. The events and people on the show are actual crimes. Chasing drug dealers with $10,000 worth of cocaine and oxycontins down the highway (sometimes the opposite side) going 80-90 mph... That's a screwed up, but a real situation. When they chase these people out the car, through the fields, and into the helicopter spotlight; you know that stuff's really going down. You can't stage this stuff unless it's a Tom Cruise film or something. I would consider "Cops" the most authentic version of Reality TV.
A show like the "Real World," I would call a deceitful type of reality. Yeah, it's people just living together as room mates having their lives taped on a day to day basis. Well, that's what it's advertised as. If you were in a house and cameramen were following you around and recording you at every moment, would you truly act as you normally do? No. You'd put on a show or twist things to make you seem cooler, funnier, smarter, whatever. The whole show is overly produced. Music doesn't play in the background of your life in the real world. You don't have two separate hairstyles and earrings in a minute long fight with your room mate. It's not the REAL WORLD. It's the edited world. And in the new seasons, the casts don't have job assignments! What's up with the that? That's not the real world. That's just living the high life paid for by MTV.
And finally I would consider "The Bachelorette" a distorted reality. Let's get real for a second. Do men actually chase after and flock to the same woman for her love and hand in marriage? I'm sorry, but it's usually women that are the needy ones doing the chasing. Men do not really go after women and compete for their love. Guys are more like, on to the next one. I have quite a few female friends and they're always asking me for advice about how to get this one guy. I always tell them to move on if he doesn't want you or show you the time of day. Yet, they still are all deeply attracted and attached to that one guy they're sweating over. Plus, our society considers women past the age of 35 who still aren't married desperate, or just a lesbian. This show is just a sorry excuse to attract female viewers who dream of this type of fairytale moment. All women would love 20 guys to compete for their love. In reality, chances of that happening are pretty slim.
I would consider the show "Cops" the most legitimate and concrete version of reality. When the show was created at the beginning of the 1990s, it was just cameramen following cops in various regions of the country performing their everyday duties. There would always be some crazy, unimaginable situations from episode to episode which ultimately made for good TV. Producers did come up with the concept and decide to put it on camera, but most of the show was pretty much as real as you can get. The events and people on the show are actual crimes. Chasing drug dealers with $10,000 worth of cocaine and oxycontins down the highway (sometimes the opposite side) going 80-90 mph... That's a screwed up, but a real situation. When they chase these people out the car, through the fields, and into the helicopter spotlight; you know that stuff's really going down. You can't stage this stuff unless it's a Tom Cruise film or something. I would consider "Cops" the most authentic version of Reality TV.
A show like the "Real World," I would call a deceitful type of reality. Yeah, it's people just living together as room mates having their lives taped on a day to day basis. Well, that's what it's advertised as. If you were in a house and cameramen were following you around and recording you at every moment, would you truly act as you normally do? No. You'd put on a show or twist things to make you seem cooler, funnier, smarter, whatever. The whole show is overly produced. Music doesn't play in the background of your life in the real world. You don't have two separate hairstyles and earrings in a minute long fight with your room mate. It's not the REAL WORLD. It's the edited world. And in the new seasons, the casts don't have job assignments! What's up with the that? That's not the real world. That's just living the high life paid for by MTV. 
And finally I would consider "The Bachelorette" a distorted reality. Let's get real for a second. Do men actually chase after and flock to the same woman for her love and hand in marriage? I'm sorry, but it's usually women that are the needy ones doing the chasing. Men do not really go after women and compete for their love. Guys are more like, on to the next one. I have quite a few female friends and they're always asking me for advice about how to get this one guy. I always tell them to move on if he doesn't want you or show you the time of day. Yet, they still are all deeply attracted and attached to that one guy they're sweating over. Plus, our society considers women past the age of 35 who still aren't married desperate, or just a lesbian. This show is just a sorry excuse to attract female viewers who dream of this type of fairytale moment. All women would love 20 guys to compete for their love. In reality, chances of that happening are pretty slim.
I agree that Cops started as the most authentic 'reality' TV Show. However, I think that has changed. I think that Cops has had to change to keep up with other shows. Most of the reality shows aren't scripted still, but I believe the people on them are encouraged to act a certain way.
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