http://www.bafta.org/access-all-areas/videos/the-bafta-debate-the-reality-of-british-tv,253,BA.html

http://screen.oxfordjournals.org/content/47/1/133.full

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=tcLfBSK-3JEC&dq=debates%20surrounding%20reality%20television&source=gbs_similarbooks

Comments from Mrs Cole

Caroline,

You have a lot of interesting research here. Make sure you idenitfy which key texts you are going to focus on, because reality TV is such a broad area of study. You will need to include textual analysis of your chosen texts in order to be able to give specific examples to exemplify points that you will make in your essay.

Remember to explore the reasons why these programmes are so appealing to schedulers and producers, because they are so cheap to make (although it would be worth investigating whether things like the Real OC or The Hills are as cheap, because I wonder if the 'stars' get paid, because it is fairly constructed rather than proper realism).

You may also want to compare the American style of reality TV with programmes such as The Family from channel 4, because they are claiming to do the same thing, but the outcome is very different. It might also be an interesting way of developing ideas about representations of British life in comparison to the American Dream and what is really the 'reality'.

Debates surrounding the authenticity of the American programmes and whether the claim to be reality when it is actually not could be interesting too.

'Reality TV is a compelling mix of apparently 'raw' 'authentic' material'
Whats its appeal?

The effects of the media on adult thinking processes and memories may be blurring the line between the real world and reality shows. The few chosen to be on the shows are picked because of their attractiveness to the audience, and their ability to create conflict. This ensures a dramatic and conflict riddled season.

Read: 'At the limits of reality (tv), in Blurred Boundaries, Bloomington: Indiana University Press ... and .... 'How real can you get? Recent developments in reality television'


As reality shows continue in their popularity, it’s important to remember that what is billed as reality, may not necessarily be so. Even though they are based on kernels of real events, they are still created for a target audience, they send a message, and they are constructed and edited by media professionals to create the most commercially viable product possible.

media ed u
media1 account
Reality television is a hybrid genre. It is like a documentary as it is a factual form concerned with investigating human behaviour and relationships using ‘fly-on-the-wall’ camera techniques. voyeurism - pleasure of unseen viewing
Wife Swap and Ibiza Uncovered push the boundaries of taste and decency and question the values they present to a viewing audience.

Some participants have becomes celebs and gone on to make substantial amounts of money. But for the occasional Jade Goody there must be many more of those 23 housemates who have no job and who may wish they had not bothered with Reality TV – certainly an area worth researching.

content is enhanced for entertainment values and viewer entertainment

http://www.ehow.com/facts_5859416_effect-reality-shows-teenagers_.html

risks, benefits

http://www.ehow.com/about_6671177_relationship-tv-shows-teenage-behavior.html

http://realitytvmagazine.sheknows.com/blog/2008/06/17/teen-choice-2008-reality-tv-category-nominations-announced/

http://realitytvmagazine.sheknows.com/blog/2010/10/04/paris-hilton-gets-her-own-reality-show-on-oxygen/

Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors. The genre has existed in some form or another since the early years of television (primarily with game shows), but has expanded significantly since the series Big Brother first aired in 1999. Programs in the reality television genre are commonly called "reality shows" and often are produced in series. Documentaries and nonfictional programming such as news and sports shows are usually not classified as reality shows. The genre covers a wide range of programming formats, from game or quiz shows which resemble the frantic, often demeaning shows produced in Japan in the 1980s and 1990s (such as Gaki no tsukai), to surveillance- or voyeurism-focused productions such as Big Brother. Reality television frequently portrays a modified and highly influenced form of reality.

Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, often referred to as Laguna Beach, is an MTV reality show documenting the lives of several teenagers living in Laguna Beach, a seaside community located in Orange County, California. It differs from the usual reality show in that it is structured as a rather traditional narrative (more commonly seen in fictionalized television dramas or soap operas) than a straightforward observant documentary-style, which reality TV attempts to portray. During initial development of the show, ideas were to create a reality show which followed the lives of several wealthy teens. MTV producers thought about setting the show in Beverly Hills, mimicking the successful fictional 1990s FOX television show Beverly Hills, 90210. Producers scouted numerous other affluent Southern California towns including San Marino, Palos Verdes, Carlsbad, and Malibu before deciding to locate the show in Laguna Beach.

The Hills is an MTV television series that premiered on May 31, 2006. The show uses a reality television format, following the personal lives of several young adults living in Los Angeles, California. 

Reality television programming has been the focus of much criticism because of the questionable messages some of the shows depict. While these messages can have an effect on everyone who views them, the audience that may be the most susceptible is teenagers. The most contested issues are whether reality TV is, in fact, "reality" and whether teenagers may develop perceptions from the reality shows that may lead to poor choices and negative consequences.

Read more: Relationship Between Reality TV Shows & Teenage Behavior | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_6671177_relationship-tv-shows-teenage-behavior.html#ixzz11XklN6Ct

Eating and Eating Disorders
The characters included in most reality television shows are attractive and physically fit. Yet, there is a clear disconnection between the food and activities in which these people partake and their appearances. As teenagers strive to be like the people they watch on television, eating disorders are a potential result. This alternate reality that teenagers have entered changes the way in which they perceive themselves and how their bodies should look.


Read more: Relationship Between Reality TV Shows & Teenage Behavior | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_6671177_relationship-tv-shows-teenage-behavior.html#ixzz11Xlr2ixL

Codes and conventions of the teen film genre vary depending on the cultural context of the film, but they can include proms, alcohol, illegal substances, high school, parties and all-night raves, losing one's virginity, relationships, social groups and cliques, and American pop-culture.

The classic codes and conventions of teen film come from American films where one of the most widely used conventions are the stereotypes and social groups. The wide range stereotypes most commonly used include:

The Jock/Cheerleader
The Princess
The Geek/Nerd
The Rebel
The Misfit, or The Outcast
The Average Girl/Boy (the boy/girl next door)
The New Girl/Boy
The Loner
The Band Geek

Apart from the characters there are many other codes and conventions of teen film. These films are often set in or around high schools as this allows for many different social cliques to be shown. This is different in hybrid teen films, but for the classic romantic comedy teen film this is almost always the case.


The most popular teen dramas are set in affluent locales (e.g. Beverly Hills, 90210, The O.C., Gossip Girl), or in fictional town settings (e.g. Dawson's Creek, One Tree Hill). Most teen dramas have a cast of attractive actors, living a privileged and wealthy life. Shows that depict teen life in a more realistic manner tend not to do nearly as well, although there are exceptions, notable ones being the critically acclaimed The Secret Life of the American Teenager, My So-Called Life and Freaks and Geeks, as well as the British teen drama The Inbetweeners. Another being the Canadian-produced Degrassi series. All four Degrassi series; (Degrassi Junior High, Degrassi High and Degrassi: The Next Generation), have been very successful in Canada and the United States.

Homework:
Teenagers and Teenpics: the juvenilization of American movies in the 1950s
By Thomas Patrick Doherty
Chapter 3

Posed Questions
1. How are adolescent characteristics, issues or problems depicted in the movie?
2. How are the relationships and sexuality of teens depicted in the movie?
3. How realistic (true to life) is this movie?