Thoughts on the Scripting of Reality TV

When reality television first made an appearance in an episodic capacity as opposed to news documentaries and traditional game shows. Many people were hooked. The "Real World," genuinely drew fans from all areas of our culture and all economic groups. There was no one that I knew or met who was not interested in this experiment or its outcome. It was fascinating to watch and an interesting and progressive idea; a great concept for a channel that focused around young culture and music.

When the documentary aired that went behind the scenes in the first "Real World," I was a little shocked. But, I was not bothered. Though the cast members stated that they were egged on and encouraged in their behavior, I thought it was nothing more than if you had listened to a friend who gave poor advice or who liked to instigate a situation. I thought the cast members were still in control of their behavior for the most part; and that they were still basically choosing to behave in the ways they were behaving--be they romantic or confrontational. It still seemed like the way they would behave if they normally had to live in a house with strangers that were so different than themselves.

I have to admit. I've enjoyed reality television since that point. In my own personal life I've seen a lot of crazy things and a lot of human behavior that can easily mirror that of individuals in these reality shows. People get angry and become irrational. People become romantically involved with the wrong person and are helpless to change their situation for whatever reason. People get drunk and do things that they are ashamed of or would never do sober. These are all things that I've seen repeatedly in people's behavior in life.

So, even still; I did not think reality television was exaggerated to the extent that it truly is. The newest documentary I saw described how the basic methods that the first "Real World," producers used; have increased 10 fold. The basic encouragement and egging on is still present; but, producers employ psychotherapists who then predict reality show participant interactions with one another. Footage is edited to then create an illusion that is far from a basic stretching of the truth. It is a blatant bold faced lie. Scripts are written.

Tammy Faye Bakker--who visited the set of the "Surreal Life" for a week or two--stated in an interview that all of the cast members of the show were completely respectful of her during her visit to the show. Yet, if you watched that episode of the show, shots were edited in to show the cast members jumping in the water nude and inviting other cast members to skinny dip. Then the producers show a reaction shot of Tammy Faye looking in that direction. Tammy Faye Bakker stated that this never happened once while she visited the house.

As a person that enjoyed reality shows, a significant damper has been put on them for me. I didn't think everything was real, but I thought the participants were at least making up their own phony reactions, and that some reactions were genuine. It really sucks to think that there is still a writer or producer pulling the strings more than just selecting a cast that would most likely have certain reactions to one another. The information exposed in this documentary made many of my favorite shows much more boring and I now flip channels, instead of watching the whole thing.

Maybe producers should understand that even though provoking the guests may make it a more exciting and volatile show; people that like reality shows are tuning in to watch other people do what they do. Boring or not, there will be an audience. It's the same as sitting in the park or the mall and people watching. People are interesting. They should leave more up to the cast members they've asked to be in the show and leave the editing up to audience imagination.