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Media around the world seem to have discovered that the so called reality shows are very profitable, resulting in a growing string of such shows in recent years. Although not all are successful, many do achieve significant popularity and cultural prominence.

The primary basis for many of these shows (but not all) seems to be to put people in painful, embarrassing and humiliating situations for the rest of us to watch and, presumably, laugh at and be entertained by.

These reality TV shows wouldn't be made if we didn't watch them, so why do we watch them? Either we find them entertaining or we find them so shocking that we are simply unable to turn away. I'm not sure that the latter is an entirely defensible reason for supporting such programming. Turning away is as easy as hitting a button on the remote control.

So what causes us to derive entertainment from the suffering of others? Certainly there may be catharsis involved, but that is also achieved through fiction. We don't need to see a real person suffer in order to have a cathartic experience. Perhaps we are simply happy that these things aren't happening to us, but that seems more reasonable when we see something accidental and spontaneous rather than something deliberately staged for our amusement.

There is never any attempt to justify these shows as enriching or worthwhile in any way, though certainly not every program needs to be educational or highbrow. Nevertheless, it does raise the question as to why they are made.

One of the attractions of reality television is the supposed reality of it. Unscripted and unplanned situations and reactions. One of the ethical problems of reality television is the fact that it isn't nearly as real as it pretends to be. At least in dramatic shows one can expect the audience to understand that what they see on the screen doesn't necessarily reflect the reality of the actors' lives. The same, however, cannot be said for heavily edited and contrived scenes one sees on reality shows.

Why do we watch such shows?

i dont watch reality shows, never have.
i find them sickening and am surprised when those who DO
watch them don't lose their faith in all humanity.

I'm not watching those shows, but recently there is quite a lot of them.
but when i just see it, just without thinking it is just sad how ppl can act, and what they can do for money, it is same like selling themselves

whenever i put the tv on these days there a reality tv show on kill them all gun_bandana

I love watching Survivor. You know why? Because it boosts my ego to see just exactly hoe clueless and stupid people can be, in the wilderness. You know why they don't allow South Africans, Australians and New Zealanders on the show? Because we'd be having the time of our lives, that's why.

Have you seen those morons, spending day after day, trying to make a fire? And they all wear glasses! Ever tried to make a fire with a mgnifying glass? It takes about thre minutes. Ever thought normal glasses might work the same? But no, they sit there rubbing sticks, getting dehydrated, then complain because they can't understand why they feel so listless and tired. Morons.

I wish there were more shows like that. Best entertainment that's on tv.

I have come to the conclusion that most people who watch reality shows are stupid. They are entertained by watching some people on an island running on a log for an hour and getting mad at eachother. Or making out with some slob batchelor who can barely spell his own first name.

Reality shows are the bane of television. If things don't change soon television will literally be dead to me. Even the so called spoof reality shows are stupid and only promote real reality shows more.

It hurts me to turn on tv and see this shit on every channel during prime time almost every day. It's truly ridiculous.

what most reality tv does is show how ppl will debase themself for a little money or a little fame. It's pretty stupid and they should call it fake-reality tv no reality soap is real

indeed, a true reality show would show some guy sitting on a couch eating cheetos for an hour. THAT's reality, these people on an island is not.

eating cheetos and scratching

Reality Shows (Probably Not) coming to a tv near you soon :

Priest Factor - 12 alter boys on an island with a catholic priest and watch the story unfold. Last boy untouched gets to kick the priest in the balls.

SF Homeless Survivor - Twenty-seven conservative politicians are made to live as homeless on the streets of San Francisco. The one who begs the most money gets to take a shower.

Elvis Lives- A group of ten Elvis impersonators are left on a tropical island. Each week, they get clues to find the secret treasure: the world's biggest stash of deep-fried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Winner gets to go to Disneyland.

Big Momma - Six boys from 14 to 17 are put in a house with an over caring mother and must pass tests like "I want to comb you hair the other way", "bath time" and "if you don't eat everything you can't play ball with your friends".

Kennel Quest - 13 people are trapped in a dog kennel with hungry, rabid dogs. Whoever lives the longest gets to take home one of the dogs.

Michael Jackson Survivor - Fifty-one fertile women from every state in the US are inseminated with Michael Jackson sperm. First one to pop out a kid wins a free plastic surgery of their choice. The children all get to sleep in his bed, and occasionally get to go out in public without wearing a scarf over their face.

Dot-Com Survivor - A group of twenty ordinary computer nerds are given $100 million each. Most spectacular crash wins worthless share options in all the other companies.

Curry Survivor - 10 people are locked in a house with only 1 toilet, fed only curries, losers are voted off by not getting to the bathroom in time. Winner gets a lifetime supply of curry.

Married On The Island Of Dr. Moreau - Twenty five single men and women are stranded on an island inhabited by Marlon Brando and a slew of genetic mutants, who try to marry them.

Big Sister Factor - 10 only-children are strapped into chairs and verbally taunted and attacked by professional big sisters until they truly believe they were an accident or adopted. Winner gets free lifetime counseling.

Rock Quest - Conduct a nationwide quest to find a talentless plumber, a tone-deaf accountant, a musically-challenged computer programmer and a taxidermist, give them heaps of marketing and promotion, and turn them into a world-beating rock group.

Dwarf Survivor - A group of twenty dwarves are placed on a tropical island. Each week, one of them is voted off the island. Last one to leave wins a pair of stilts.

SHRINK OFF - Twenty-five psychopaths are dropped onto a small deserted island, given each a piece of dental floss, a teddy bear, and a piece of paper. Last one left alive gets declared legally sane.

Harlem Knights - - We take 4 contestants and dress them up like Klansmen, put them on a subway, and have them get off at 125th St. in NYC at sunset. They are then required to split up and see who can last until sunrise without either giving up or getting beat down.

Potty Mouth - Put 20 people with Turret Syndrome at a grand final match. The last one to swear, assault someone, stutter, or twitch, wins.

Street Survivor - a group of ordinary men and women are thrown into the streets of LA. The last one to get shot wins one million dollars. Very short episode.

The Weakest Stink - 10 male contestants are quizzed about their personal hygiene. He that stinks the least at the end of round 10 is forced to do the nasty with the host.

JOE AXE - Place about 20 people in the woods with a crazed murderer. Have the psycho chase everyone and kill the people he finds. Last one standing gets to do it all over again next season.

PMS Island - Put a two guys on an island with twenty women and hide a bottle of Midol. See how long they can survive until they find it.

In the Woods - Place seven conservationists in a North American forest during bear mating season. The first one to conclude that their are too many forests wins.

The Weakest Shrink - Place 10 untrained counselors (contestants) in a room each with a psychopath. If the contestant shows any sign of duress they are eliminated. Each round there are more psychopaths per contestant. The last contestant remaining is the Strongest Shrink - Good Bye!

Changing Looms - (for children aged 4 and up)- Each child has the opportunity to swap places with a child that has been stolen for the Indian rug-making slave-trade. The best child-slave worker gets to take home a free rug (when they are 17).

Fort Flatulation - 15 people are sealed into an airtight house and fed only bean burritos & cheap beer. The winner is the last one still breathing.

SURVIVOR SIBERIA - Twenty people are dropped off in the middle of nowhere in Siberia for a month. The person left surviving gets an all-expense paid trip to Alaska.

Parent Quest - five young, successful couples are given a newborn with colic, a tantrum throwing toddler, and a preteen girl. Other bonuses include a 7 year old minivan, a mortgage, bills for braces, broken windows, and other miscellaneous fun stuff. Women can receive complimentary stretch marks and leaky breasts, men get diaper duty. If any couple makes it without swearing abstinence or sterilization wins a lifetime supply of Valium.

id pay to watch some of those

I'd not be surprised if say in a year or two some fat cat studio exec has one or two of those shows lined up.

We' re doomed

I don't like Reality shows there is too much of them and they are geting so boring.Anyone argee with me?I can't wait till they stop airing them.
This madness has to stop and it has to stop right now!
It is driving me crazy!JM Sorry had to let it all out of me.I am ok now.(Takes deep breaths)

^ That wasn't funny



That, however, was.

The reality is that people watch Reality TV because there is a chance someone could get killed in one of those shows. If that were to happen the censors would block the death scene immediatly. Face it, reality tv won't go away. It makes a lot of money for the networks and heck....if it sells people will buy it.

Oh, it will go away, as does every fad that stupid people partake in. People will eventually tire of Nancy getting mad at Lucy for sleeping with Steve and therefore voting her off/out of the island/house/mansion/forest/beach/boat.

Would it kill you to give credit to quoted sources, Storm? It is basically dishonesty to pass off something like that as your own work.

Still if someone dies while performing a stunt on a show like Fear factor. Or gets stab in the face by some looney tunes roomate in Big Brother the ratings will skyrocket and the demand for the show will increase. No matter how atrocious the show might be about. There are people that watch these shows expecting someone getting kill. And it won't happen because reality tv fans don't understand that despite calling it "Reality" it will be censor. Reality has build up a fanbase since it got started and fans will support these shows no matter how dumb the show might become. It won't go away the fanbase for these shows is too big. No way networks will just quit on something that brings a good source of revenue.

I don't watch television that much to begin with, but the only reality show I saw, was just the first episode of Big Brother.

Just hearing about all these influx of reality shows makes me worried that our future may just be bombarded with strictly this form of entertainment (via TV).

I hate reality TV. And that's all that's ever on anymore.

And people wonder why I mostly watch cartoons...there isn't anything else worth watching on the TV 90% of the time.

I'm grateful for the cycle of sports. Having one follow after the other is great, that way I always have stuff to watch.

That and movies tend to come out pretty frequently now adays.

I HATE and DESPISE Big Brother with every cell in my body.

Reality shows arn't that bad, even the one producers edit the crap out of i stil watch them.
i enjoy watching people suffer because i would put my self in the same situation everyone on that show put them on to bungie jump, or eat something nasty for 50,000 dollars so its all good.

Yeah i hate Reality tv it just fecking pissess me off.

I hate real tv.It is so boring.Now everything is reality tv.And it is driving me nuts.You can't even turn on a tv anymore without seeing a new one on.
Why are they are making me suffer like this?JM