Reality Bites: America's Fascination with Reality TV Could Spin Into Movies

What is America's obsession with reality TV? Why do millions of people spend thousands of hours each week, watching ordinary people try to get a job ("The Apprentice), try to get a date ("The Bachelor") or try to sing ("American Idol") instead of actually living their own lives? Because Americans want to be reassured that other people are just as dysfunctional as themselves.

Reality Check
Defining the term "reality television" can be quite complicated. The first reality programs involved ordinary people instead of professional actors, doing ordinary things via unscripted storylines (such as "COPS" and "The Real World"). Along the way, it has expanded to include the sub-genres of reality game shows, dating shows, sports shows and Celeb-Reality shows, detailing the lives of B-list celebrities.

Altered Reality
With the premier of "Survivor" in 2000, a new genre was created. Displacing ordinary people to a new location - such as an isolated Caribbean island - making them compete in both physical and mental challenges for food and shelter, it was just as much about the harsh living environment as it was the politics behind voting people off of the show. The $1 million dollar prize for the winner was enough encouragement to promote plenty of backstabbing and bickering among the contestants. The reality game show instantly became a hit, placing "Survivor" among television's highest rated shows. With relatively low production costs and a quick turnaround time, network executives began copying the format, loading up reality programming throughout the networks. Soon there were contestants living in small confines with many cameras ("Big Brother"), spanning a world-wide competition ("The Amazing Race"), fighting for a title ("The Contender,"), cheating on their partners ("Temptation Island"), running a restaurant ("The Restaurant," "Hell's Kitchen"), running a casino ("American Casino," "The Casino") and improving their lives ("Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," "Extreme Makeover," "Trading Spaces," "What Not to Wear," "Super Nanny").

Back to Life, Back to Reality
Some critics downplay the success of Reality TV, claiming it is only a fad. By airing every single day of the week on a television set near you, it has become a pop-culture phenomenon that has caught the imaginations of many. Others claim that the secret behind reality television's success is due to America being a nation of voyeurs; experiencing life vicariously through others. Viewers can imagine themselves competing in these programs, second-guessing actual events with those they would have done (and it makes a good water-cooler discussion the following day, as well). The contestant's competitive nature of building alliances and betraying allies all in the name of a large cash prize can lead to the destruction of anyone… and this is what we want to see played out on the TV screen. We are obsessed with the dysfunction of our fellow Americans. The conflicts that are played out on TV lead to great drama. Watching other people fail on television reassures us that we're not the only ones with messed up, complicated lives. It is this perverse pleasure that we, the reality TV audience, enjoy the most.

Mark Burnett: Master of Reality
Arguably the single-most influential person on network television today is Mark Burnett. He is the creator, executive producer and director on each of the incarnations of "Survivor." His behind-the-scenes prowess almost single-handedly dragged CBS out of the network ratings cellar and lifted it into the top-ranked echelon the network is currently enjoying today. Paired with the top-ranked drama "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "Survivor" has consistently brought CBS high Thursday night rankings, even toppling "ER," a feat many considered impossible just several years ago. Because of the pop-culture success behind his show, Burnett has received many offers to create similar reality TV shows for different networks, including "The Apprentice," "Rock Star: INXS," "The Casino," "The Contender," "The Restaurant" and the upcoming series, "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart." Not every show Burnett produces turns into ratings gold, but his proven track record gives him the ability to explore different subject material.

Celeb-Reality
The newest sub-genre created is the "Celeb-Reality" craze. Celebrities are accustomed with paparazzi following them in the general public with cameras flaring left and right, but they were never under constant scrutiny 24 hours a day… until now. With VH-1's "The Surreal Life," a mismatched group of B- and C-List celebrities share a household together, all caught on film. The petty bickering, daily chores and everyday life is all detailed on display. Celebrities already have fame and money, but can they be normal? Can they live in a house filled with roommates or will their egos get in the way? Just as Americans want to see average people fail on reality TV, they want to see celebrities fail as well, proving the viewer is not a failure in "real" life. Other "Celeb-Reality" programs pale in comparison, basically becoming a publicity machine, such as "The Osbornes," "Being Bobby Brown," "The Simple Life," "Hogan Knows Best" and "America's Next Top Model."

Reality Films: The Next Frontier?
With the wild popularity of reality TV, some filmmakers have been thinking outside the box, looking to move the genre onto the big screen. Writer-Producer-Director Steven Soderbergh recently criticized reality TV, declaring the genre is more fictionalized than big-screen movies. To that effect, for his upcoming film, "Bubble," - a small-town murder mystery - Soderbergh used unprofessional actors throughout his movie, ripping a page from reality TV. Soderbergh hopes to prove there's more reality on the big screen than the TV screen. In addition to "Bubble," there's more reality programming coming to a movie theater near you. With the documentary "March of the Penguins" becoming the second-biggest documentary of all time, and the just-released documentary "Grizzly Man," film-goers and critics alike are flocking to theaters. "Penguins" follows the mating cycle of emperor penguins in Antarctica, while "Grizzly" follows a pair of Alaskan bear activists, who ultimately get devoured by the animals they attempt to protect. Will "reality films" favorably compare to the reality TV juggernaut? It's possible, but it is still too early to predict the outcome. Reality TV may have prepared audiences for reality films - also known as documentaries - but it seems American audiences (as well as those worldwide) are avidly watching reality play out on the TV set, even if they aren't as enthusiastic watching it happen outside the box.