1)How have the documentary genres ‘Direct Cinema’ or
‘cinéma vérité influenced reality TV and the presentation of the ‘real’?
Discuss in the context of a contemporary reality TV show.
2)How does Hill define reality TV? Describe his definitions in the context of a contemporary Reality TV show.
3)What has the early docudrama (e.g. Cathy Come Home) contributed to the development of Reality TV? Discuss in the context of a contemporary reality TV show.
2)How does Hill define reality TV? Describe his definitions in the context of a contemporary Reality TV show.
3)What has the early docudrama (e.g. Cathy Come Home) contributed to the development of Reality TV? Discuss in the context of a contemporary reality TV show.
What has the early docudrama (e.g. Cathy Come Home) contributes to the development of Reality TV? Discuss in the context of a contemporary reality TV show.
ReplyDeleteCathy Come Home was broadcasted on the 16th November 1966 and displayed the struggles of a family fighting to survive in the housing crisis in Britain. It was one of the first instances that people like Cathy and her family were shown in that perspective, as humans. Cathy and her family had attempted everything to get their lives back on track but the economy, housing and authorities were against them. Lamb (2016) claims that Cathy Come Home had 12 million viewers and created sympathy for people in similar conditions. This docudrama was considered journalism and a documentary. Over the years since the broadcast of Cathy Come Home there has been a wide range of reality TV released. Most are about celebrities; Keeping up with the Kardashians and Geordie Shore. While these are a type of reality TV they are not contemporary. Wikipedia defines contemporary as “living or occurring at the same time… belonging to or occurring in the present.” I interpret this to something being constant. In modern reality TV there are shows similar to Cathy Come Home such as Benefits Street. Lamb (2016) states that, “…Benefits Street receives praise, it does so when being aligned with journalist practices… Benefits Street is what good journalism is about: bringing attentions to ignored problems…” After the release of Cathy Come Home issues such as housing became a growing topic and more people started filming it.
References
Lamb, B. (2016). Cathy Come Off Benefits: comparative ideological analysis of Cathy Come Home and Benefits Street. Teesside University.
Contemporary. (2016) Retrieved 13 October 2016 from https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/contemporary
What I found interesting in your post was that after the release of Cathy come home these issues became a growing topic and more people started filming it. I didn't know that Cathy Come Home had such a big impact on the society and the real life housing crisis. Good Post :)
DeleteHow does Hill define reality TV? Describe his definitions in the context of a contemporary Reality TV show.
ReplyDeleteHill believes that reality TV is a term or category used to describe “Popular factual programming” (pg40). Although he has this opinion he believes that the genre of reality TV is much more complex than that. (Hill 2005) states that there a variety of styles or techniques that can identify within reality TV. A few of these may include surveillance footage, hand held cameras or unscripted dialogue. What's interesting is that no one can predict what's going to unfold in front of the camera it’s a risk yet a thrill at the same time. The genre “Reality TV” has changed and developed immensely over time. (Hill 2005 pg40) states that in the early stages of establishing itself as a genre, reality TV was related more to on scene footage. Today, the more recent developments of the genre can include anything from famous celebrities giving birth to pet shows or even cooking competitions. The question then that Hill explored was the categorization of this genre and establishing a more confined definition of this diverse topic. The online dictionary definition of reality TV is “television programs in which ordinary people are continuously filmed, designed to be entertaining rather than informative.” Therefore, exposing that the primary idea is purely entertainment, sometimes at the expense of exploiting or embarrassing others. Hill explores how this genre works to shape our media experiences.
The terms factual entertainment and popular factual television are two traditional terms used to describe as (Hill 2005 pg42) puts it “Umbrella categories” for a number of programs and series. He describes the type of things under popular factual television being celebrity profiles, biographies and sports archives. In comparison to general factual which would include more of leisure and daytime shows. (Hill 2005) States that there are various ways to classify reality TV and no one right or wrong definition of reality programming. Hill worked with many industry scholars and audiences to establish a definition. What’s interesting is that a theory was brought up suggesting its human interest rather than reality that defines certain types of reality TV. Throughout the exploration of this topic Hill decided there was one common theme. This theme being that there are so so many distinctive reality based programs whether lifestyle or documentary that these shows have actually merged genres. The term manages to incorporate the broad idea of reality TV however according to Hill is more of an overall summing up label of the genre. An example of this to help explain in more detail is, “The Kardashians” this is a reality TV show yet would most likely fall under a different sub category as the reality tv show “Survivor.” (Hill 2005 pg55) calls this merging of genres “Hybrid Genres” and feels that there should be some recognition of the styles and formats and the differentiation acknowledged. Instead we just refer to all of the shows as reality TV alone. One defining characteristic that links all reality TV or contributes to the genre is the ability to let viewers see things for themselves and feel as though they are experiencing truth in real life situations. This is one of the most important aspects of attracting audiences to reality TV. This very same aspect though can be the downfall as people are starting to judge the reality and question the authenticity of this reality they are shown. Hill believes that there is a desire to have these styles and formats recognized however personally I don’t see the relevance or the need for this distinction as it doesn’t affect the viewing of lives of majority of people. As the genre develops and becomes even more in depth maybe people will start to categorise and label the different styles within reality TV, only time can tell.
Reference:
Hill, A. (2005) The reality genre. In A. Hill, Reality TV: Audiences and Popular Factual Television. (pp. 14 – 40).
Closely reasoned. An excellent post.
DeleteYou make a good point, great answer.
Delete2) How does Hill define reality TV? Describe his definitions in the context of a contemporary Reality TV show.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Dictionary.com, reality TV is "a genre of television programming in which "real life" people are followed in a situation, game, etc.;" (n.d). There can be many sub-genres of reality TV and Hill (2005) concurs with this by stating that reality TV ranges into different parallels, whether it be "associated with anything and everything, from people to pets, from birth to death." Along with this, other factors that need to be considered would be the actors chosen for the TV show, what specific scenario they are going to undergo, all with the intention of filming everything that is happening; (Hill, 2005 p.40) in order to gain a real and authentic sense on the concept of 'reality.'
Hill suggests that reality TV is split into two main headings which are industry terms known as 'factual' and 'popular factual' entertainment. Factual entertainment being the hybrid of fact-based and entertainment- based television, and popular factual entertainment being the genre that has more of a variety with their format such as biographies, celebrity profiles, and sports based entertainment. There is also the sub genre being general factual which consists of daytime shows, documentaries or other leisure entertainment. (2005, p.41) He also states that "one of the key reasons... different sub-genres within popular factual programming are so successful in the ratings is because they appeal to a broad range of occasional views." (Hill, 2005, p.51) this can concur with his example of a contemporary Reality TV Show, 'I'm a Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!', in that this popular factual television program contains challenges that are entertaining to the audience; including conflict between contestants which can stir a dramatic response within viewers. Another reason for other reality TV shows such as this one, which appeal to viewers on a larger scale could be the "self –contained, short segments, and/or serialized stories with strong, identifiable characters, " (Hill, 2005, p.52) the characters being the 'real life' contestants since each individual enters the show with a dialogue or motive to share their life story, or to portray themselves as a specific alter-ego that will either create tension or diffuse the tension (most likely the former, to attract more viewers to the show).
Second part to my answer:
ReplyDeleteHowever, can game shows like 'I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here', or 'Big Brother' be considered reality TV since their given situation is set-up and contain a format that is unrealistic and fake? Hill (2005) suggests that in comparison to docu-soaps and infotainment which provoke a more believable truth than game shows; game shows "are contrived, and therefore less true to life,"(p.55) thus saying that reality TV can invoke a subjective response from multiple individuals seeing as the concept of game shows like Survivor, or Big Brother could be seen as reality TV, since that's the genre that the media or the directors have given it; however, comparing them to the reality docu-drama play 'Cathy Come Home' could beg the question as to what really is the true definition of reality TV, seeing as 'Cathy Come Home,' was based on a 'real' event that occurred during the time it was filmed, so it had that raw, relatable and authentic mood to begin with.
To conclude, Hill(2005) indicates that after numerous amounts of research; including discussing this genre with many television scholars, there is not one specific definition for reality TV due to it's plethora of genres, sub-genres and hybrid of genres.(p.56) Many shows have the idea and concept of a reality show but the other factors differ with each other every time to the point where it becomes complex to give an ideal definition; in my opinion, it will always remain subjective since the genre is too broad of a genre to condense into a specific meaning.
References:
Dictionary.com . (n.d.). Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon. Retrieved October 28, 2016 from Dictionary.com website http://www.dictionary.com/browse/reality-television
Hill, A. (2005) The reality genre. In A. Hill, Reality TV: Audiences and Popular Factual Television. (pp. 40 – 456).
Made an error on References: It's meant to be (pp.40-56)
DeleteHow does Hill define Reality TV – describe his definitions in the context of a contemporary Reality TV show.
ReplyDeleteThe reality television show I have chosen to illustrate Hill’s definitions of Reality TV is the popular and long running television show ‘Survivor.’ Contestants are placed on a deserted island for a set period of time and forced to, well, survive. To define exactly what reality TV is however is not always so simple. As Steve Neale points out, there are numerous aspects, numerous meanings and numerous analytical uses of the genre. (2001.) Richard Kilborn states that reality TV can include slice of life observational modes of documentary film-making, fictional drama rooted in real life situations and also the “recording of events in the lives of individuals or groups, in the attempt to simulate such real-life events through various forms of dramatized reconstruction and the incorporation of this material into an attractively packaged television programme.” (1994.) The latter description best describes what kind of programme Survivor is. It is the recording of events in the lives of individuals on the island, in an attempt to simulate real life through dramatized reconstruction. The participants on the show have not actually been stranded on an island and had they not signed up for the programme would probably never have been stranded on an island nor met each other. Instead it is a simulation of real life happenings in a dramatized reconstruction of their lives.
For Bill Nichols reality TV includes all shows that present dangerous events, unusual situations, or actual police cases. (1994.) Survivor most certainly fits neatly into this description as an unusual situation that can often include dangerous events. Personally, I think Bondebjerg summed it up best when he stated that reality TV was a “serialized form of game show where ordinary people are put in extraordinary situations in order to co-operate and compete against one another. (2002.) This is exactly what Survivor is. The contestants must co-operate in order to survive but they must also compete with one another in order to be the sole survivor left on the island in order to win the cash prize at the end.
Hill, A. (2005) The reality genre. In A. Hill, Reality TV: Audiences and popular factual television. Routelage.